Make Extra Cash for the Holidays. Here's What to Sell

Holidays are the best time of year. Unfortunately, they can also be the most expensive time of year.  Buying gifts for your friends, your loved ones, and your co-workers...that can get expensive.

But the gifts don't have to break the bank. Here is a list of some things you may have to sell. Who knows, you may even have enough left over to buy yourself something nice. 

• GOLD- Sell those gold earrings, gold rings, gold chains or anything marked 10k or above that you don't wear anymore. Just open your jewelry chest and you could have a gold mine. 

• STERLING SILVER: Sterling flatware and other items marked 925 may not be gold, but the more you have the more money you can get. 

• DIAMONDS:  Have any diamond rings, loose diamonds, cushion cut, marquis cut, round, pear shaped, diamond pendants or diamond watches?  If you don't wear the piece of jewelry any more than your diamond can fetch a lot of money. Of course it depends on the size, color, quality and cut of the stone, but diamonds are valuable. 

• COINS: Gold, Silver, platinum and palladium coins can hold very high values. Whether its a Silver Dollar (made 1964 or earlier) or a $50 1 oz gold coin there is cash to be made. 
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For more information on the value of your treasures, visit our website, www.atlantagoldsilver.com

Have a gift-filled Holiday Season, 

From your Friends at Atlanta Gold & Silver

Is Your Gold Fake?

Many times people will bring in heavy gold chains, usually marked 14K, to sell at Atlanta Gold and Silver. Even with a mark, we always test the metals in one or two ways to ensure its authenticity.  First, we do a scratch test with acids for the various Karats.  However, sometimes this may not be fool-proof method, especially when their is heavy metal plating involved. Second, we put the jewelry in our x-ray machine and it gives us a full report of the metal composition.

Here's the bad news...sometimes a chain or piece of jewelry that someone has purchased is not what it appears to be.  Just like counterfeit Louis Vuitton or Gucci handbags, jewelry counterfeiting with hallmarks is a serious problem.  We always feel badly when we have to tell our customer that we can't buy the piece from them, especially when they tell us how much they originally paid for the item.

So, we always try to tell our clients to be very wary before purchasing jewelry (precious jewelry such as gold, silver and diamonds) from an unauthorized source or person via eBay, craigslist or even a flea market.  Many times if a deal is too good to be true, it generally is.  Not to say that you won't find some hidden treasures around town, but when you are investing in something like gold to resell, make sure to look for a few factors. 

- Is it magnetic?  Magnets, unlike acid testing, are an easy thing to bring around with you.  They are also the easiest way to rule out fake metals (ones that are not pure gold or sterling).  If the piece is drawn to the magnet (and it says 14k or even 18k), it is fake. 

-The hallmark: Look closely at the Hallmark on the item and where it is placed. If it looks like the mark is cut off or says something else, that is also a tell tale sign to walk away. 

It's fake!  How do we know?  The acid test created a green color. 

-Another easy way to spot a fake is to look closely at the metal. This is especially true when it comes to used jewelry such as pendants and rings that are marked 14k. If closely and see peeling of any sort, like the gold is fading off, then it is not correctly marked. 

In this industry sometimes, taking risks can end up making you a fortune, but beware because there are a lot of counterfeit pieces of jewelry floating around. 

How much is your silver and gold worth?

`We often get calls from people, who want us to quote them a price over the phone for their various pieces of jewelry. Unfortunately, we are not able to do this because there are many factors that determine the actual value of your gold and silver. These factors include the purity (10kt, 14kt, 18kt, 22kt), the weight, the weight of stones in the jewelry as well as the spot price of gold and silver. We always recommend people just bring in what we have so that we can give them an accurate offer. But, if you are trying to decide a ballpark figure of the value of your unwanted jewelry, we have a tool that may help you get a better idea of what you have.

Gold Calculator:

These are not accurate by any means but if you do know the carat purity of your gold or it is marked sterling silver, and you have an exact weight, there are metal calculators that will bring up an estimate for you.

**Beware, however: These prices fluctuate by the hour and there is no guarantee that the actual items will generate you the money in the calculator. 

REMEMBER: THESE CALCULATORS ARE NOT CONCRETE AND DO NOT REFLECT THE PRICE THAT ATLANTA GOLD AND SILVER OFFERS.

**Here are a few sites where you can check out theses tools:
http://www.goldintomoney.com/calculator
http://coinapps.com/silver/coin/calculator/ - This is a great option if you have a lot of silver coins in your coin collection.  Basically, it gives you an estimate, based on the type and number of coins you have.

Not sure of the weight?  Try searching the Internet for a similar item. Generally if it is listed for sale somewhere, they will include the total weight of the item. Then you can insert that weight into the calculator for a better picture of what you have.

For some sample prices, and to get a general idea, click here.

Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Still Sell Your Gold and Silver

Even though gold prices have dropped, that does not mean you should not sell your unwanted jewelry and gold.  Here are 3 top reasons why it's still okay to cash in your silver gold and platinum when the prices are low.

1. SPRING CLEANING. If you have items that are gold or silver or old diamonds just sitting and collecting dust, why not sell? 
2. YOU STILL MAKE MONEY. Just because the prices of the metals are not sky high, does not mean you can't make money. In fact, there is still a lot of money to be made from your unwanted scrap metals.




3. BUY NEW and trade old. Buy that new piece of jewelry you deserve.  Out with the old and in with the new.


To find out more about how to sell your silver and gold, click here.

How to Sell Your Gold

At Atlanta Gold & Silver, we get calls or customers that have never sold gold before. This is not uncommon. For some, the process may even seem intimidating or confusing.  It is actually very simple.  Here is what you can expect when you sell your gold silver or diamonds to Atlanta Gold & Silver.

• Go through your jewelry box and find unwanted gold or silver that you don't want.
• Bring your jewelry into our safe location in the heart of Midtown Atlanta.
• One of our employees will then go through and test your items with you. There are a few ways we do this to determine the purity of the metal.

1. Scratch test: For gold, we may scratch the item on a touchstone. Then based on the mark on your jewelry, we will begin the acid test. To learn more about the acid test, click here to get a better understanding on how the scratch test work.  In fact, you can even buy your own kit to test your metals at home.

This is an example of an assay machine. Ours is a different model. 

2. Assay Machine:  Generally we will use our assay machine to determine the makeup and purity of metal in your jewelry. Basically, this is an x-ray machine that tells us what components make up the jewelry.  We are one of the few locations that use this high tech machine because of its high cost.

• Once we know what you have (for example, 14k gold), we weigh the items.
• Using the price of gold, which can change by the hour, we input the weight and purity into our computer and Voilia...the value of your jewelry and unwanted metals is determined.
• To show you the breakdown, we will hand give you the printout, showing the price of individual items.
• Next, we ask to make a copy of your ID (sorry, its the law), assuming you decide to sell.
• Finally, we hand you a check.

To find out more, visit our website at www.atlantagoldsilver.com