Gold Melt Value Calculator
Work out what the pure gold in a ring, chain, coin or bar is worth at the current spot price. Enter a weight, a karat and the spot price, and the estimate appears below.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, by appointment
Estimate the gold in your piece
Weigh the gold, choose the karat stamped on it, and enter a current spot price. The result is the value of the pure gold alone.
The spot price changes throughout the trading day. Please enter the figure currently quoted for gold.
Estimated melt value
Enter a weight and a spot price, then press Calculate.
This is an estimate of metal content, not an offer. A purchase offer depends on testing, confirmed purity and weight, market conditions, the buyer's margin, and any collector value.
How the melt value math works
Three multiplications, each easy to check by hand.
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Turn the weight into troy ounces
Gold is quoted by the troy ounce. Divide grams by 31.1035, divide pennyweight by 20, or multiply kitchen-scale ounces by 0.9115.
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Keep only the gold
Multiply by the gold share for the karat: 0.4167 for 10K, 0.5833 for 14K, 0.75 for 18K, 0.9167 for 22K and 0.999 for 24K.
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Multiply by spot
Troy ounces of pure gold times the spot price per troy ounce gives the melt value, before any costs of testing, refining or buying.
A worked example
Take a 14K chain that weighs ten grams. Ten grams is 0.3215 troy ounce, and 58.33% of that is 0.1875 troy ounce of pure gold.
Ten grams of 14K at a spot price of two thousand dollars an ounce comes to about three hundred seventy-five dollars of gold.
Choosing the right unit of weight
Gold uses troy weight. A kitchen scale does not, and mixing the two is the most common reason a home estimate runs high.
| Unit | Equals | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Troy ounce (ozt) | 31.1035 grams, or 20 pennyweight | Gold coins, bars and the spot quote itself |
| Pennyweight (dwt) | 1.5552 grams | Jewelers and scrap gold buyers |
| Gram (g) | 0.0322 troy ounce | Most pocket and digital scales, small bars |
| Ounce, kitchen (oz) | 28.3495 grams, or 0.9115 troy ounce | Kitchen, postal and bathroom scales |
Kitchen ounces are lighter
An ounce on a kitchen or postal scale is 28.35 grams. A troy ounce is 31.10 grams, close to a tenth heavier. If your scale reads ounces, choose the kitchen option so the estimate does not overstate the gold.
The gold share behind each karat
The calculator uses these figures. The last column shows how much pure gold sits in ten grams of each.
| Karat | Gold share | Pure gold in 10 g |
|---|---|---|
| 10K | 41.67% | 4.17 g |
| 14K | 58.33% | 5.83 g |
| 18K | 75% | 7.50 g |
| 22K | 91.67% | 9.17 g |
| 24K | 99.9% | 9.99 g |
When a stamp needs a second look
- GF, RGP or HGE. These mean gold-filled, rolled gold plate or plated. A thin gold layer covers another metal, so the karat list does not fit them.
- No stamp at all. Old, repaired or foreign pieces often lack one. Until the karat is known, any figure here is a guess.
- Mixed metals. Steel clasps, springs and solder weigh something but hold no gold, which is one more reason to read the result as a ceiling.
Stamps and their European number marks are explained on our gold jewelry page.
Gold coins: no need for a scale
Bullion and older U.S. gold coins were struck to a fixed standard, so their gold content is already known. Multiply the last column by spot.
| Coin | Weight | Fineness | Troy oz of gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Gold Eagle, 1 oz | 33.931 g | 22K | 1.0000 |
| American Gold Buffalo, 1 oz | 31.108 g | .9999 | 1.0000 |
| South African Krugerrand, 1 oz | 33.93 g | 22K | 1.0000 |
| U.S. Double Eagle, twenty dollars (before 1933) | 33.436 g | 90% | 0.9675 |
| U.S. Eagle, ten dollars (1838 to 1933) | 16.718 g | 90% | 0.4838 |
| U.S. Half Eagle, five dollars (1839 to 1929) | 8.359 g | 90% | 0.2419 |
For some coins, melt is only part of the value
U.S. gold dated before 1933 can be worth more than its metal because of the date, the mint letter or the grade. Read about that on our gold coins page, and about bars and rounds on the bullion page.
What a melt estimate leaves out
A calculator knows only what you type in. A purchase offer also rests on the points below.
- The real karat. A stamp can be worn thin, wrong or missing.
- The true weight. Stones, clasps and other non-gold parts taken out of the figure.
- The market that hour. Spot at the time of the sale, not the time you checked.
- The buyer's margin. Refining, assay and running a shop all come out of the metal figure.
- Collector value. Some coins and signed or antique pieces are worth more than their gold.
Everything we buy, and how a visit works, is on our page about selling gold.
Would you like an offer for your gold?
Call or send a request to arrange a time. We look at the pieces with you and explain how we arrive at the offer before you decide.
Questions about the gold calculator
Why would an offer come in under this estimate?
The estimate values pure gold at spot and nothing else. An offer also has to account for whether the karat and weight hold up, what refining scrap costs, and the margin a buyer needs. Coins can go the other way when collectors want them.
Should I weigh a ring with the stone in it?
You can, but diamonds and other stones add weight that holds no gold, so the estimate will run high. Treat that result as a ceiling for the piece.
What is a pennyweight?
One twentieth of a troy ounce, or 1.5552 grams. Many U.S. jewelers and refiners weigh gold this way, and you will see it written as dwt.
Is anything I enter here sent to you?
No. Nothing you enter in the calculator is sent to us. If you would like us to look at the gold, the evaluation request is at the foot of the page.
Visit us in Lowell
- Address
- 107 S Lincoln St A, Lowell, AR 72745
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, by appointment
- Where we meet
- At our Lowell shop, your home or a secure location such as your bank
- Bring
- A photo ID and the items you want us to look at
A purchase evaluation is not a formal written appraisal for insurance, probate or tax purposes.
Tell us about your items
If you would rather speak with us, please call (479) 250-1954. Or share a few details here, and we will call you during business hours to arrange a time.