Sell your 24K gold online with clarity

These are two ways of writing the same idea. 24K is the karat system at its top: 24 parts out of 24, meaning no deliberate alloy. 999 and 999.9 are millesimal fineness, stating purity as parts per thousand, so 999 is 99.9% gold and 999.9 is 99.99%. In practice nothing is perfectly pure, and normal trade tolerances allow small variation. That is one reason a mark is a starting point rather than proof, and verification confirms what the stamp claims.

The formula is net weight, times the verified fineness, times the spot price per gram at a stated date and time. For 999 material the fineness factor is 0.999, so a gram of it holds very nearly a gram of pure gold. What no page can give you is the price itself, because gold moves continuously through the trading day and a figure without a time stamp cannot be checked. Weigh the item, photograph the marks, and take an estimate that shows both the price and the moment it was taken. You can run the same numbers yourself with our gold calculator.

No, and no honest buyer will promise a set percentage of it either. Spot is the price for large, standardized, immediately deliverable metal traded between institutions. Getting your item to that state involves verification, sometimes refining, the cost of carrying the position while the market moves, and the spread any dealer works on. 

How close an offer sits to spot depends on what you have, since a recognized bar in its assay card needs less work than an unmarked piece. Also be sure to ask for the deductions itemized and compare net proceeds after fees.

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The method follows the form. Bars and coins are usually checked non-destructively first: XRF for surface composition, plus dimensions, weight and specific gravity, since a counterfeit that matches the look rarely matches the density. Ultrasound can also detect a tungsten core without opening anything. Jewelry and unmarked pieces may also need a touchstone and acid streak taken from an inconspicuous point. XRF alone reads the surface, so by itself it cannot rule out plating, which is why more than one check is normal.

No. Leave it sealed. An intact assay card ties the bar to its serial number and refinery, and breaking it removes part of what makes the item straightforward to verify and resell. It costs nothing to keep it closed and can cost real value to open it. That said, packaging is not proof in itself, since cards and seals can be reproduced. It supports identification rather than replacing it, and the bar is still verified on its own merits. More on how we buy gold bars.

Sometimes, and it is worth finding out before treating it as metal. Mint, year of issue, mintage numbers, condition and any third-party certification can all put a coin above its gold content, particularly for scarcer issues. Common bullion coins usually trade close to their metal with a modest allowance for form. The only way to know which you have is to have it identified properly. Photograph both faces, the edge and any certification slab, and do not clean it. Here is how we handle gold coins.

Expect same-day payment and a valuation built for speed. A pawn shop or local buyer can settle immediately, which matters, especially if that is your situation. The questions worth asking are more so about: what test they used, whether they will show weight and fineness separately, what fee comes off the top, and whether they recognize the specific bar or coin you brought. 

Generic gold pricing and specialist pricing diverge most on exactly this kind of item, so a second estimate is usually worth the delay.

With Unvault you ship on a free prepaid FedEx label, insured in transit and fully tracked, and the item is authenticated on camera when it arrives. 

You are under no obligation to accept the final offer, and if you decline, it ships back to you free. High value consignments are where limits matter most.

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