If you have old gold jewelry, coin collections or flatware and serving pieces that made be made from real silver don't throw it out. Many people mistake older items for junk and toss away what could be cold, hard cash. If you've come upon old jewelry or boxes of old serve ware and perhaps rare coins your first step should be to have the items appraised since if made from real precious metals these objects could be worth hundreds, and in some cases, even thousands of dollars depending on the metals purity. If you go online you find several reputable and reliable gold buyers who will gladly pay top dollar for your old gold and silver.

When looking for where to sell your gold make sure to stay abreast of the ever-changing price of gold and other precious metals. You can find the current price of gold and other commodity trading rates on any business web site or stock exchange site. Knowing the price of gold will help you in getting the best price for your gold jewelry, coins and flatware as well as precious silver and platinum objects. Taking an active interest in the commodities market is recommended since it is very easy to be misled about the real value of gold and silver and the more you know the less chance there is of being taken advantage of. Selling gold and other precious metals is a process of negotiation and in order to get the best deal you'll have to justify the value of your gold.

The gold content of a piece of jewelry is indicated in karats. Solid gold jewelry is 24 karats. Lesser jewelry will have less gold content, 18 karat and 14 karat are common, and instead will have other metals and hardening agents. Most pieces of jewelry will have the gold content marked somewhere on a clip or on the back. It is important to know the accurate karat count because that is the only part of the jewelry that is of any value, the other metals are useless to a reseller. Most gold buyers will melt down the jewelry to extract the gold and toss whatever isn't gold. Even if you have a very big bracelet or watch it may not be as valuable as you think when the karat amount is determined. Gold plated is not something you want to hear when selling gold.

In some cases you may want to polish old coins or jewelry to give appraisers a better look at what you have. Though some antiques need to be kept in certain conditions to retain value gold, silver and platinum are very solid metals and with a little polish can offer a luster that adds to the overall value of the ring, bracelet or chain. Selling gold can be profitable if you know what you're doing and how to do it.

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