If you are cleaning out a house, don’t make the mistake of tossing items that contain gold, silver, or other valuable metals. Here’s a checklist of the places you should be sure to look.

While we were working online just the other day, an ad popped up urging us to buy a collectible U.S. coin from a company that was not affiliated with the U.S. Government. A few days later when we were watching TV, a similar ad appeared, also pitching collectible coins that were supposed to increase dramatically in value.

We are not accusing the companies that were behind those products of outright dishonesty. In our country, after all, any company is free to manufacture and sell any products it likes, provided the organization is not engaging in outright fraud. In the end, it is up to the buyer to beware and make an intelligent decision about whether to buy what is being offered.

Canada is the fifth largest producer of mined gold in the world, following behind China, Russia, Australia, and the United States. A trip to Canada to look for gold in streams could be a good idea or, at the very least, a profitable and fun adventure.

Here’s some information that will add to your adventure and possibly your profits too.

When you consider making any kind of investment, you need to balance several important considerations. You might not realize you are balancing these factors, but you are.

Potential ROI (Return on Investment) – If you invest in something that offers high potential ROI, there is a chance that you can double, triple the money you invested, or maybe do even better. If you are investing in something that promises a lower potential ROI, you are willing to accept a lower potential profit from the money you invested.

Don’t Forget to Check Out Pawn Shops!

On this blog, we have often advised our readers to go hunting for jewelry and precious metal scrap at factories, in jewelry stores, and at estate sales. Today, we would like to discuss another source that might not be on your radar . . .

With Hispanic Heritage Month taking place now, it seems like a good time to ask how much gold has been mined in Latin America over the past centuries.

To be sure, there is a long, fabled and strong historical link between gold and Latin America. Back in the 16th Century, Spanish monarchs became obsessed with the idea that there were as many as seven cities in South America that were made of gold. They even believed that there was an emperor named El Dorado, who was clothed with golden garments and ruled these cities. So in 1540, Spain sent an explorer named Francisco Vázquez de Coronado to the New World, where he searched in vain for these golden cities.

At Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, we are in the business of making it as easy as possible for you to determine the value of precious metals and precious metal jewelry, be it karat gold, silver, platinum and even palladium and rhodium. If you send any item made of precious metals to us, our lab technicians can quickly determine what it is made of and tell you its value at current trading prices.

If you’re about to fly across international borders and go through customs when you land, how much gold can you carry with you?

Fake gold bullion bars and coins look like the real things. Because they are covered with real gold, they can pass tests done with gold testing kits, and can fool experts. And according to a growing number of news reports, more and more people are being conned into buying them.

Some recent news . . .

What is the safest and most profitable way to profit from investing in precious metals?

It is to invest in scrap and have us extract the gold, platinum and silver it contains. Why is this the safest and most reliable way to make money in precious metals?

Let’s review some of the reasons . . .

We have written on this blog about recovering gold from sources like printed circuit boards, cell phones, remote-control devices, and digital cameras.

Today, let’s look at other sources of recyclable gold scrap that you might have overlooked.

While you’ve been driving around recently, you have certainly noticed a growing number of electric cars on the road. Yes, Teslas and other electric cars are gaining market share against gas-powered cars. But how soon will it be until gas-powered vehicles disappear?

As precious metal investors, we need to watch this trend, which will shape both the availability and the demand for different precious metals:

We just read a terrific article, “50 Metal Detecting Tips that Find Gold,” on the Discover Detecting blog. It’s jam-packed with great advice on how to use a metal detector to find much more gold on every outing you make.

Whether you’re new to metal detecting or an experienced user, you will want to read this article, which contains advice from experts who really know the ins and outs of using detectors. Here are some of the tips and insights from the post – some of them unusual – that can dramatically improve your experience as a user of a detector.

Where should you turn for advice if you have gold or gold scrap you would like to sell?

Here are some options, with our expert advice on how and when to use them.

Small Pocket-Size Gold Testing Kits

These small, pocketable kits are widely available. They have a small abrasive stone and several small squeeze bottles that contain testing fluid. You rub the piece of gold or scrap you want to test on the stone, squeeze some testing fluid onto it, and get a quick reading on whether the item you are testing contains gold, and in what karat (purity) rating.

Most people own at least one piece of jewelry that has broken. Do you?

I happen to own a watch that is damaged. One of the watch’s four lugs (the little bars where the watch band attaches) has broken off. I contacted the company that made the watch and a customer service representative told me that I could send it in and pay a $75.00 service fee to find out how much it would cost to have the lug soldered back on. But since the watch is not worth much more than $100.00, I just put it away, and there it sits.

What valuable metals can be found in scrapped cars?

If you ask the man in the street that question, chances are he will tell you, “There’s gold in the electronic components and platinum in the catalytic converters.”

And your man in the street friend is telling you the truth because those are two places where gold scrap and platinum scrap can be found and extracted for recycling. But what your friend is not remembering is that other metals and materials can be profitably recycled from cars.

You can find gold, silver and platinum objects in estate sales, in garage and yard sales, in old buildings, in your yard or on the beach – in lots of places. But there are other discoveries you can make when you are hunting for precious metals and precious metal scrap – discoveries that can dramatically increase the amount of money you can make from the objects you find.

Metal detector enthusiasts in the British Empire have been making remarkable discoveries lately. In Kent, England, a pair of treasure hunters found a horde of gold coins dating from the 14th century that are worth about $20,000. And just last week in Suffolk, England a butcher with a metal detector discovered about 750 Roman-age coins buried in a field. Their value? Priceless.

Whether you have bought beef, gasoline, milk, or home appliances lately, you already know that prices are going up. Inflation is very much in the news. But what effect will it have on the trading prices of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and other precious metals?

The law of supply and demand is always exerting a force on the price of gold and other metals. To boil it down to its simplest truth . . .

When the demand for gold remains strong but the supply is limited, the price goes up