Frequently Asked Questions

Below you will find many Frequently Asked Questions people have when they intend to sell items to us.

Selling To Us

We offer payment options that work best for you. Our standard payment method is cash. We also offer payment by company check. You may also request a cashier’s check for large bullion sales.

In determining the value of your item we use the following factors: Current Market Price, Weight of item, and Purity of item. Please see our “How selling works” page for more information.

See our “What we buy” page for items we buy. We are not limited to buying just these items. Please call for items you are not sure of.

We buy all types of gold including yellow, white, rose.  We also buy platinum and silver.  We buy all purities of gold from gold-filled to 24k pure gold.

Some common purities are:

9K = 37.5% Gold –Common in Great Britain and Australia

10k = 41.6% Gold – Common in Mexico and the United States

14k = 58.5% Gold – Most common in the United States and parts of Europe

16K = 66.7% Gold – Most common purity for dental gold

18K = 75% Gold – Common in South America, Europe, Middle East, and the United States.

21K = 87.5% Gold – Most common in the Middle East and North Africa

22K = 91.6% Gold – Most common in India and Asia

23K = 95.8% Gold – Most common in Thailand

24K = 99.9% Gold – Most common in China, Korea, and Hong Kong.

We are not restricted to buying only these karats.  Our precious metals analyzer is able to determine the exact purity of your gold, silver, and platinum.

We buy diamonds of all sizes, shapes, and quality. All staff has completed GIA Diamond Essentials Program through the Gemological Institute of America. We are able to accurately examine and grade you diamonds, offering the best price possible to our customers. Click here for more information on diamonds.

Yes, we buy gold, silver, platinum and palladium coins, and bullion bars.

Examples of some bullion coins and bars are:

  • S. Gold Eagle and U.S. Silver Eagle
  • Canadian Silver and Gold Maple Leafs
  • South African Gold Krugerrrands
  • PAMP Gold Bar
  • Credit Suisse Gold Bar
  • RCM Gold Bars
  • Gold Philharmonics
  • Mexican Gold Peso
  • Austria/Hungary Gold Corona
  • Many other world gold coins

Yes, we do. We purchase any dental crown bridges or filling containing gold. Don’t be embarrassed if there is a tooth attached. We see it all the time and are able to get the tooth out to get an exact weight of your dental gold. Dental gold’s purity range from 10-20 Karats alloyed with other metals like silver, copper, tin or titanium. The Most Common purity of dental gold is 16 Karat gold. We deal with many dental offices and dental associates in the Sothern California area. With our Precious Metal Analyzer you are assured that you are getting the most for your dental gold.

Yes, we buy silver. We purchase any silver that is pure or sterling silver. We also buy Sterling Flatware from European countries (Ex: Germany, Austria, Italy etc.) They Purity of this Flatware are usually a little less then sterling silver. Sterling Silver is 92.5% Silver where most of the flatware from Europe is 90.0%, 83.5% or 80.0% silver. The only exception is Sterling from Great Britain where it is always 92.5%. With our Precious Metal Analyzer your will be confident that you are getting the most for your silver sterling flatware.

Yes, we love to buy silverware, we also buy Sterling Flatware from European countries (Ex: Germany, Austria, Italy etc…) They Purity of this Flatware are usually a little less then sterling silver. Sterling Silver is 92.5% Silver where most of the flatware from Europe is 90.0%, 83.5% or 80.0% silver. The only exception is Sterling from Great Britain where it is always 92.5%. With our Precious Metal Analyzer your will be confident that you are getting the most for your silver sterling flatware.

Yes, we enjoy buying your coin sets. We get a weekly buy price sheet from a highly reputable pricing agency (the standard in the coin business), so you will get an accurate and competitive price with the ever changing coin market. We also will buy your coin sets without their certificate of authentication, however its best that you have the COA’s so if you have it bring it with you when selling.

Yes, we buy numismatic coins. These coins are not of modern times and were purchased for their rarity unlike bullion coins which are purchased for their metal content.

We love buying graded numismatic coins. Similar to diamonds, coins also have an international recognized grading system.

Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS): represents one of the industry standards in third party grading companies, PCGS offers a guarantee of grading accuracy and authenticity for each coin they encapsulate and grade. PCGS certifies coins from over 100 countries.

 Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC): is the world’s largest and one of the highly trusted third-party grading services.  They have graded more than 37 million coins.  NGC backs their accuracy with their NGC Guarantee.

Both PCGS and NGC are the two most highly recognized coin grading companies.  They grade their coins on a scale of 1-70. 1 being the lowest grade 70 being the highest.

AG     3                                                          About Good

G       4, 6                                                     Good

VG    8, 10                                                  Very Good

F       12, 15                                                Fine

VF     20, 25, 30, 35                              Very Fine

XF     40, 45                                               Extremely Fine

AU    50, 53, 55, 58                              About Uncirculated

MS    60-70                                                Uncirculated

We do buy most gold-filled items, but we do not buy any gold-plated items.

We do not buy gold or silver plated items.  We do not buy items that we cannot guarantee their authenticity.

Most items will be marked to identify their percentage of gold or silver.  Some common marks are:

Gold

9k or .375

10k or .416

14k or .585

18k or .750

21k or .875

22k or .916

24k or .999

Silver

.925 or Sterling

Do not worry if you cannot locate the stamping on your items.  We are very thorough and check all items. Quite often there are items that have been resized or the marking has worn off from usage.  As long as we can determine the karat of the item, then we can purchase it.

Yes, we are located at 130 S. Mountain Ave, Unit R in the City of Upland.  We are north of 8th street between 8th and 9th streets.

We are able to evaluate and give you an offer for your items.  We do not do written appraisals for insurance purposes.

It is not necessary to make an appointment to bring in your items for a quote.  We are open from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday thru Friday, and 9 am to 5 pm on Saturdays. If you have several items it may take us longer to evaluate it all.  If this is the case it is better to call us to set up an appointment so we can make sure to have 2 people available to help you.  Our number is (909) 985-4653

Terminology

  • What is a “troy ounce”?

Gold and silver are measured in troy ounces rather than regular food or avoirdupois ounce.  A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams and is the standard in the precious metals industry.  By contrast a regular ounce is 28 grams.

  • What is a “Proof”?

A proof coin has a mirror-like finish.  This is done by polishing the die that is used to strike the coin.

  • What is “Purity”?

Purity refers to the percentage of metal within the bullion.  For example, the gold eagle has a purity of 22k or 91.6%.

  • What is “Premium”

Premium is the dollar amount that is charged above the spot price for silver and gold bullion.  For example a gold eagle may cost $60 over spot.  The premium is $60.00. All coins and bars have a premium.

  • What is “Spot” or “Spot Price”?

Spot or Spot price is the current market price for gold and silver.  It is traded daily and price changes from moment to moment.

  • What is “Bullion”?

Bullion is the term used to describe gold and silver for investment.  It can include coins, rounds, and bars.

  • What is “Junk Silver”?

Junk silver or 90% is Dimes, Quarters and Half Dollars 1964 and before. 40% silver is half dollars from 1965 to 1970.

  • What is “Karat” or “Carat”

Gold percentages are measured in karats.  24 karat is pure gold.  18 Karat is 75% gold.  The most common gold in the United States is 14 karat which is 58.5%.  10 karat gold is 41.6% gold.  Carat is the standard used in diamond weight. 1 carat is equal to 1/5 gram. With diamonds, 100 points is equal to 1 carat.

  • What is “Pennyweight”?

Pennyweight is a measurement used in the jewelry industry. 20 pennyweight is equal to 1 troy ounce. 1 pennyweight is equal to 1.55 grams.  Please see our Pennyweight vs Gram page for more information on how these two measurements relate to each other.

  • What is “Numismatic”

Numismatic is study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, and paper money. Numismatic coins have an intrinsic coin value over the metal value.  Bullion coins generally do not have a numismatic value as they are made for investment.