Are you considering taking advantage of the recent bull market in gold to sell some of your holdings? Before you approach a dealer, you will need to check the current gold price per ounce so you have a reasonable estimate of what your jewelry, bullion coins, and other valuables are worth. It is important to remember that precious metals trade in a market that is open around the clock and the gold price per ounce is constantly changing. The chart included on this page provides live gold prices that will update throughout the day.
There are several things you should know before you attempt to sell your metals. When you are researching the current value of precious metals, the number you will see is called the spot price. In theory, this is the value the market is currently placing on one “troy ounce” of pure gold. A “troy ounce” is simply a unit of imperial measure that originated from the ancient Roman monetary system. Today it is used as a designation for exactly 31.1034768 grams of gold. Considering the high price of gold in recent years, it is easy to understand why a carefully assigned standard of weight must be used.
To get a rough estimate of how much you can expect for your items, take the most recent gold price per ounce and divide it by 31.103 to get the current gold price per gram. Since 24 karat gold is considered to be almost pure, divide the karat fineness of your gold by 24. If you have one item that is 10K and another than is 18K, you will need to run separate calculations for each one. If you know the karat fineness of your items ahead of time, you can save some time by classifying them and grouping your 10K, 14K, and 18K pieces together. For example, if you have a 14 karat gold necklace, you can calculate the approximate value by using the following equation:
Spot Price Per Ounce/31.103 = Price Per Gram
14K/24K = 0.5833
Price Per Gram X Weight in Grams X 0.5883 = Value of Your Item
Here is a sample calculation for a 14 karat gold necklace weighing 8 grams and using a spot price of $1600 per ounce:
1600/31.103 = $51.44 Per Gram
$51.44 X 8 X 0.5883 = $242 (approximate value)
