Gold, silver, platinum, palladium and other metals are all selling for certain trading prices that can change day by day. If you have a Troy Ounce of gold, for example, you can check on our home page and see that you should be able to sell it for $1809.20.

Sometimes a customer will call us up and ask how we can recycle items that are relatively simple and straightforward to process. If you have a platinum engagement or wedding ring, for example, you can send it to us so we can test it and retrieve the precious metal it contains.

You have probably heard it said that now that there is war in the Ukraine, the flow of precious metals mined there will be shut off. Some people have even been saying that when that happens, the prices of platinum and other metals that are mined in Ukraine will rise exponentially.

At Specialty Metals and Refiners, we can recover silver from a number of different liquids, including these:

• Paints

• Printing inks

• Chemicals that were used to process photographic and x-ray films

• Chemicals that were used in a number of industrial processes

• Used electrolytic chemicals that were used in electroplating processes

Conspiracy theories seem to crop up about topics and celebrities that people find fascinating.

• JFK? He didn’t really die . . . and conspiracy theorists know he is coming back.

• The walk on the moon? . . . it never really happened.

• The world’s money supply? . . . it’s all controlled by a secret society that’s headquartered in Switzerland or under the Great Pyramid.

Okay, you can doubtless add more conspiracy theories to that ridiculous list. But we want to add some others of our own to it. They are all conspiracy theories, or at least crazy theories, about gold.

As we are writing today’s post, a reputable auction company is preparing to hold an auction of jewelry, including rare watches and other items of highly collectible, valuable jewelry.

So today, we would like to answer this question . . .

Is it a good idea to sell items at auction that are made of gold, platinum, silver and other precious metals?

We have already written on this post about taking steps to protect your precious metals from theft. We’ve recommended keeping your gold scrap, silver scrap and platinum scrap in bank safety deposit boxes. We have also recommended keeping an inventory of your holdings and taking out insurance to protect their value in case they are stolen.

Now Open in the Paramus, NJ Jewelry Exchange on Route 4 West

For more than 40 years, Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners of Fairfield, Connecticut has been testing, recycling, and refining gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals for individual and corporate clients. Now, after serving customers nationwide, Specialty Metals is opening its first retail store. Customers can make an appointment to stop by their booth at The Jewelry Exchange, (located next to Chuck E. Cheese) at 275 Rte 4 West, Paramus, NJ 07652 (when you walk in turn right and they are the first booth along the wall) for expert advice, advanced testing and refining services, or to sell precious metals, jewelry, or fine watches.

Have you ever seen a video of sharks that are feeding? It’s not nice to watch, because sharks get into a “feeding frenzy.” They’re not asking other sharks whether what they are eating is tasty or a healthy choice. They’re just going wild, trying to satisfy their instinctual desire to eat.

Although people who invest in precious metals are a lot smarter than sharks, they sometimes engage in similar behavior. When they get the idea that they can make a lot of money by making a certain investment, they get into a kind of frenzy and can make investments that are unwise.

Have you ever seen a stack of squashed, pancaked old cars piled in the corner of an automotive recycling yard, just waiting to be hauled away to a metal scrap yard?

It’s a sad sight. But even sadder is the fact that each of those squashed cars probably contains small quantities of gold that nobody bothered to pull out. And that problem is about to become even bigger because with every passing year, more and more electronics are getting shoehorned into modern cars. Within a few years, cars – especially electric and hybrids – are going to contain bigger and bigger quantities of gold. Remember, every printed circuit board that is found in a car contains small amounts of gold that can be extracted and recycled.

After Hanukah and Christmas, most people have tons of stuff to toss out and recycle. Whether you live in a residential neighborhood or an apartment building, you know the scene. Recyclable wrapping paper, ribbons and other “stuff” get hauled to the curb or put in receptacles.

We don’t know exactly how much gold and silver are contained in a Tickle Me Elmo, but we are certain some can be found in the little guy’s printed circuit board. What about a Cabbage Patch Doll? We don’t think so.

But the fact is, all the electronic items that you and your family members got at the holidays in years past do contain silver and gold – as well as small quantities of copper and other non-precious metals. You could let those old gifts gather in your house and clutter up your closet. Or you could gather them up and send them to Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners to be recycled.

Okay, You think you know all there is to know about precious metal scrap, here’s a question for you . . .

What precious metals are found in a regular old gas-powered automobile?

Chances are you can answer that question without thinking too hard about it. A gas or diesel-powered car contains gold (in the printed circuit boards that are onboard), some silver in them too, and a small quantity of platinum in its catalytic converter.

Falling Prices and Better Technology Make this a Great Time to Upgrade Your Prospecting Drone

We have written about drones before on this blog. They could be the greatest devices ever invented to look for precious metals.

What is the most unusual thing about gold? If you think about that question for a minute, chances are your answer to it will be, “Gold is beautiful.”

Of course, that answer is right. Gold really is beautiful, which explains why it has been the most sought-after metal on earth for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians and Assyrians loved it, as did the Vikings, the Incas, the king and queens of Europe, and everyone else through the ages. Chances are your grandparents and parents had gold wedding rings and if you are married, chances are you and your spouse have them too. And if pure 24K gold weren’t beautiful enough on its own, it can be made into rose gold, white gold, and even green and pink gold by adding other metals.

Silver is used more in industrial and manufacturing processes than any other precious metal. That means that silver is, and will remain, a great metal to invest in.

In today’s post, we will explore how silver is used in a variety of manufacturing processes. But before we do, we should state that silver is used in two different ways in manufacturing:

A man in Delaware emailed us recently to ask, “Are there any scrap gold buyers near me?” He explained that there were plenty of companies in his area that would be happy to buy gold jewelry, bullion, and coins from him if he walked through their front doors. But nobody in his area was in the business of buying the kind of gold scrap he wanted to sell – a bunch of old circuit boards and used sputtering targets that contained gold.

Many precious metal investors believe that they will make a lot of money if they look for “one big win” in their investing. They will find one batch of gold scrap, platinum scrap or even silver scrap, make a lot of money from it, and then they will be set for life.

Of course, that does happen. (We could tell you stories about times when it has.) But looking for one big high-paying batch of metal is not the most effective way to spend years investing and ending up with a large sum of money from investments.

If you’ve been following current events, you know that legislation could soon be passed by Congress that will result in improvements in our country’s infrastructure from coast to coast. Bridges will be built and rebuilt, roadways will be improved, internet access will be improved in underserved areas, and many more improvements are planned.

If you’ve been following current events, you know that legislation could soon be passed by Congress that will result in improvements in our country’s infrastructure from coast to coast. Bridges will be built and rebuilt, roadways will be improved, internet access will be improved in underserved areas, and many more improvements are planned.

Lots of debris is created when older buildings are renovated, demolished or replaced. That debris, which is usually carted away and discarded, can contain precious metals in the following forms . . .