Scrap Gold Calculator

Estimate what your gold jewelry, coins, or scrap is worth. Enter the item's weight, karat purity, and the current gold spot price to get the melt value and an estimated dealer payout.

Quick Facts

Formula
Melt value = weight (g) × (karat ÷ 24) × spot price ÷ 31.1035
31.1034768 grams per troy ounce converts the quoted spot price into a price per gram.
Karat purity
24K = 100%, 18K = 75%, 14K = 58.3%, 10K = 41.7%
Karat divided by 24 gives the fraction of pure gold in the alloy.

Your Results

Calculated
Melt value
-
Pure gold content at spot price
Estimated payout
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Melt value × dealer payout %
Price per gram (24K)
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Spot price converted to grams
Price per gram (your item)
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24K price × your purity fraction

Ready

Enter item weight, purity, spot price, and payout percentage, then press Calculate.

How the Scrap Gold Calculator works

Scrap gold is worth its melt value: the weight of pure gold it contains, priced at the current market rate. Jewelry and coins are almost never 100% gold — they're alloyed with other metals for strength and color — so the calculation has to account for purity as well as weight and price. This tool uses the same karat-purity method that jewelers and refiners use to estimate melt value before applying a buyer's payout percentage.

The formula

First convert the item's weight to grams (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 g; 1 pennyweight = 1.55517384 g). Then apply:

Melt value = weight (g) × (karat ÷ 24) × [spot price ($/troy oz) ÷ 31.1034768]

Karat divided by 24 is the purity fraction — 24 karat is defined as pure gold, so an 18K item is 18/24 = 75% gold by weight, and a 10K item is 10/24 ≈ 41.7% gold by weight. Multiplying weight by that fraction gives the grams of pure gold actually inside the item; multiplying that by the price per gram gives melt value.

Worked example

A 10-gram, 14-karat ring with gold trading at $2,400 per troy ounce: purity fraction is 14 ÷ 24 ≈ 0.5833, price per gram is $2,400 ÷ 31.1034768 ≈ $77.16. Melt value is 10 × 0.5833 × $77.16 ≈ $450. If a buyer offers 80% of melt value, the estimated payout is about $360.

Why payout is less than melt value

  • Refining and assay costs: the buyer has to verify purity and separate the gold from other metals, which costs money.
  • Business margin: pawn shops, jewelers, and refiners all build in a profit margin, commonly landing the payout somewhere between 70% and 90% of melt value.
  • Volume and channel: refiners who buy in bulk directly often pay a higher percentage than a walk-in retail counter.

Getting accurate results

  • Weigh the item on a scale that reports grams, or convert carefully — troy ounces and pennyweight are not the same as the everyday (avoirdupois) ounce used for food and mail.
  • Use the karat stamp on the item if present (e.g., "14K" or "585" for 14K); if unstamped, purity should be verified by acid test or electronic tester before relying on the number.
  • Use a current spot price — gold trades continuously and can move meaningfully within a single day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is scrap gold value calculated?
Melt value equals the item's weight in grams multiplied by its purity (karat divided by 24) multiplied by the price of gold per gram. Price per gram is the quoted troy-ounce spot price divided by 31.1034768, the number of grams in a troy ounce. A buyer then typically pays a percentage of that melt value to cover assaying, refining loss, and profit margin.
Why do karat and purity matter?
Pure gold is 24 karat. Jewelry alloys mix gold with other metals for strength and color, so 18K gold is 18/24 = 75% pure, 14K is 14/24 which is about 58.3% pure, and 10K is 10/24 which is about 41.7% pure. Only the pure-gold share of the item's weight carries melt value; the remaining weight is other metal worth little or nothing as scrap.
Why is the payout lower than melt value?
Scrap gold buyers usually pay a percentage of melt value, commonly somewhere between 70% and 90%, to cover refining costs, testing, and their margin. The percentage varies by buyer, so it is worth comparing offers rather than assuming melt value is what you will receive in hand.
Does the weight unit matter?
Yes. Jewelry and scrap gold are commonly weighed in grams, troy ounces (31.1034768 grams), or pennyweight (1.55517384 grams, one twentieth of a troy ounce). Converting everything to grams first keeps the melt-value formula consistent no matter which unit your scale reports.

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