Why Now is the Time to Sell Gold Jewellery

Helen Smith, head of jewellery at Hansons Auctioneers says uncertain global markets have caused gold prices to rocket to a six-year high, meaning now is the ideal time to sell gold jewellery or coins.

Golden Time to Sell

Now may be the time to sell gold jewellery or coins if they’re gathering dust at home, according to experts as prices have reached unprecedented highs.

And that means the price you could achieve at auction, where both dealers and private collectors compete to buy, is likely to exceed your expectations and beat scrap gold prices.

Helen Smith, head of jewellery at Hansons Auctioneers, said: “The current uncertainty in the world’s economy has driven the price of gold up to its highest level in six years. Prices are rocketing and that means it’s a very good time to sell your gold jewellery or coins.

She continued, “Many of our clients are genuinely surprised at how much their old, discarded and sometimes broken gold jewellery sells for at auction.”

Sellers may be rewarded by taking advantage of auction houses’ free valuation services where interest stretches beyond the ‘melt’ value. At auction, jewellery or coins are sold as beautiful or historical objects, not simply for their metal value.

Ms Smith added, “Sometimes people don’t realise what they have is gold. We often pluck gold objects out of boxes of costume jewellery.”

Profit in Gold

It is 20 years since Gordon Brown sold off the UK’s gold reserves, pushing the price of gold to its lowest ebb for 20 years. People who bought gold cheaply 20 years ago, or have treasures that have been in the family for many years, could be sitting on a pretty profit.

Ms Smith said: “We’ve witnessed impressive prices in the last couple of months, such as gold charm bracelets and chains achieving hammer prices of well over £1,000. That’s because of the heavy gold content.”

Standard investments in property, stocks and shares and currencies have been failing to deliver the returns hoped for. Gold is seen as a reliable physical option which regularly outperforms all other forms of investment.

Gold Guidelines

The US Federal Trade Commission has a number of guidelines to follow when choosing to invest in gold

• When buying bullion coins or collectable coins ask for the ‘melt value’ – the intrinsic bullion value of a coin if it were melted and sold.
• Always get an independent appraisal of the specific gold product you’re considering.
• Consider additional costs such as insurance and safe deposit boxes, which will cut into the investment potential.
• When buying gold stored in a third-party security facility, take extra precautions to ensure the metal exists, is of the quality described and is properly insured.