At Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, we are all about recycling gold scrap, silver scrap, and platinum scrap too.

But for our post today, we are stepping a bit out of our zone and writing about non-precious metals that you can recycle for money. (Certainly not as much money as you will get when you recycle gold, silver, and platinum but hey, money is money.)

“I am about to build a new mixed-use building in a suburb of a major city,” a real estate developer asked us recently. “But before I build, I have to knock down an older wooden Victorian house on the site. Should I knock the house down and then sift through the rubble looking for hidden treasure and valuables, or would it be better to look through the house while it is still standing? Which approach makes it easier to find any treasures that previous owners might have hidden or left behind?”

Are you trying to figure out how much gold, silver, platinum, or other metal is contained in a small metal item you have found – a button, a little pyramid, or maybe a charm or a religious medal?

In most cases, getting a bead on how much precious metal you have is simple. You just weigh it!

What was your preferred way of selling precious metal items and precious metal scrap a few years ago – before the pandemic struck?

Some people took their gold, silver and (in some instances) platinum items to one of those “we buy gold” stores that were doing business in their towns and on nearby highways. Other people took items to jewelry stores and sold small pieces of jewelry to them. Still other people went to pawn shops. And of course there were people who called us up at 800-426-2344 and sent their scrap to us for testing and recycling.

As you have noticed, spring has sprung. That means that it is the official time of year to clean your house – and to clean out all kinds of unwanted stuff you have accumulated since, well, last spring!

And we have a suggestion for a way to not only clean out your home, but to make some money doing it and possibly do some good in your community . . .

“You shouldn’t just toss your old iPhone,” a friend tells you, “it contains a lot of gold.”

Your friend isn’t kidding you, because your iPhone does contain gold. But he or she is stretching the truth, because although your old iPhone does contain gold that can be reclaimed, it doesn’t contain a lot of gold. It only contains a little.

So how much? In today’s post we will answer that question, along with others that are probably on your mind. Let’s dive right in.

People think about more than corned beef and cabbage on Saint Patrick’s Day. Many communities hold parades. People think about wearing green clothing. They think about the fact that Saint Patrick, according to legend, drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Some people even think about Leprechauns, but only occasionally, because they are too busy eating corned beef and cabbage. Many people think about pots of gold that can be found at the point where rainbows touch Earth.

You can’t hit a homerun or score a touchdown if you are sitting on the sidelines. You have to get in the game.

The same can be said for making money by investing in precious metals. You will never make money as an investor if you never stand up and get started. Also, you will never make a sizable return on your investment if you only make small investments that never take you a little bit outside your comfort level.

So at the risk of asking you a personal question in today’s blog post, may we ask . . .

For some reason we don’t quite understand, some people who invest in precious metals think it is smart to hide them where no one will ever find them.

The question is, why is it smart to hide precious metals and conceal all the clues to where they are? If you do that, you are only inviting a lot of problems. If you pass away or become incapacitated, your heirs:

April 15th coming up soon and it is time to start thinking about taxes.

By the way, the deadline for filing our federal taxes in 2021 is April 15th. You might remember that in 2020, the filing deadline was extended until July 15th, because of Covid-19. But this year the filing deadline is again April 15th unless (of course) you file for an extension.

In January 2021, a gold coin that bore the image of Oliver Cromwell sold at a British auction for about $650,000.00. How much gold did it contain? We are not certain, but chances are the gold in the coin was worth only a fraction of what the coin sold for.

Why did that coin command such a high price? There are reasons . . .

“I recently bought a three-story mixed-use commercial building in my home town. The building is about 50 years old. There had been a coffee bar on the ground floor. A CPA and a title company had occupied the two upper floors. I’m about to renovate and I’m wondering if you can tell me someplace I might not know about where I should look for gold scrap, platinum scrap and silver. Thanks for opening my eyes to possibilities I might not know about.”

It’s a good idea to collect large quantities of little smartphones that were made in the last five years – batches of 50, 100 or more – and send them to us to be recycled. The same is true for remotes. But let’s face realities. In order to make a good return on having us recycle them for you, you need a lot of them.

We don’t enjoy seeing any businesses fail, even companies that are competing with us. When business is good for one company, it is good for all of us. So we certainly haven’t been enjoying the fact that a number of small businesses have suffered, and sometimes closed, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Let’s say you have a gold wedding ring that you would like to sell or recycle. Let’s also say it weighs 10 grams, which is pretty typical. So how much gold is in it, and what is it worth?

The first question to answer is, how much pure, 24K gold does it contain? (The 24K designation means pure gold.) Here things get a little complicated and require some calculation. But here’s what you need to know . . .

The year 2020 was not a very good year in a lot of ways. But it was quite a good year for people who invest in precious metals and precious metal scrap, because trading prices for precious metals have remained strong or have risen. Also, a growing number of investors have discovered that precious metals offer a type of investment that is sound, even in difficult economic times.

If you look in your fridge at this time of year, chances are you will find some leftovers. Maybe there is a little wad of stuffing in a plastic storage box that’s left over from Thanksgiving, or a few slices of a roast from a big meal you served at Chanukah or Christmas. Well, it’s time to toss them.

But what about leftovers from the precious metal scrap you have collected and recycled over the last year? Don’t toss them! If you have been collecting and investing in precious metals, you just might have enough leftover materials to profit from.

We hope you made a lot of money in 2020 by having us test and recycle your silver, gold and even platinum scrap. But as you have noticed, a new year is dawning, so we would like to remind you that there is money to be made – sometimes a great deal of money – by investing in these additional forms of precious metal scrap.

People often call us and ask for advice on how to package and ship precious metals to us for testing and recycling. When they call us, we tell them what to do, based on our years of experience. They follow our advice, nothing goes wrong, and their gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap or other precious materials arrive safely at our facility.

It won’t be long until we get a new president. Will the change cause the trading prices of gold scrap, silver scrap, platinum scrap and other precious metals to rise or fall? Will those metal refineries, “we buy gold” stores near you and pawnshops be paying more for that old piece of jewelry you want to sell, or paying you less?