Thinly Gold-Plated and Gold-Filled Items, Once Inexpensive, Are Worth Investing in Today
Because gold was cheaper in years past, it was commonly used to decorate all kinds of relatively inexpensive items that can be easy to find – and undervalued - today.
Here are some common gold-plated and gold-filled items and forms of gold scrap that are worth snapping up in today’s market.
Costume Jewelry
Forty or 50 years ago, even inexpensive costume jewelry items were sometimes thinly plated with gold. Now that gold prices are rising fast, those old pins, rings, pendants, and charm bracelets can be worth recycling today. So keep your eyes open for them at antique stores, estate sales and garage sales. And when you collect some, give our precious metal consultants a call at 800-426-2344.
Gold-Filled Eyeglass Frames
We’ve written about them before on this blog. Eyeglass frames that were made 40, 50 or more years ago are often gold-filled, not gold-plated. That means they contain enough gold to reclaim. It also means that if you can buy a batch of 20, 30 or more for a low price (think a dollar or two apiece, which is not unheard of), you can quadruple your money or do even better.
Trophies, Plaques and Other Collectibles
Thinly gold-plated awards that were seen as not worth recycling are suddenly attracting more attention now from investors. Why? Again, because even very small quantities of gold are worth a lot more today. So be on the lookout for trophies, plaques, and other awards and when you collect some, give us a call at 800-426-2344.
Religious Medals
We’ve written about them before on this post and have recommended that you be on the lookout for those that are made of karat gold. Now we would like to expand that recommendation and urge you to also be on the lookout for gold-plated items that were once thought of as low-value. Now, anything that is plated with gold is worth testing. Give our precious metal consultants a call to learn more.
Items to look for come from all religions – Saints’ medals as well as Stars of David – the source doesn’t matter. What does matter is how much gold they contain. If you have a lot of these items, give us a call at 800-426-2344 to learn more.
Gold-Plated Household Items
A century ago, it was not unheard of for light fixtures, serving trays, and even shot glasses to be thinly plated with gold. Today, it is sometimes easy to overlook these items and assume that they are only gold-toned. Smart investors today check out these items more carefully by calling us and having them tested. Those inexpensive-looking items can be worth a lot more than you expect.
Don’t Forget Old Radios and Other Small Electronics
We are not talking about decorative items here. We are talking about small electronic devices. Sixty or 70 years ago, just about every teenager in America was carrying a small transistor radio. Those little radios were all the rage, as common as cellphones are today. Each of them contains a small quantity of gold – not much. But if you can collect 50, 60 or more of them, the value of the gold they contain can add up. Again, give our consultants a call at 800-426-2344 and tell us what you have.
A Note about Gold-Toned Items
One issue with the older items we list in today’s post is that some of them are likely to be “gold-toned” instead of gold-filled or gold-plated. “Gold-toned” means that they are made of silver or base metal that has been coated with yellow-tinted varnish to give the look of gold.
Gold-toned items contain no gold and are generally not worth recycling. But how can you tell? The simple answer is, you call us at 800-426-2344 and talk with one of our precious metal recycling experts.
Don’t let gold profits slip through your fingers.