How to Calculate Scrap Gold Melt Value

What Exactly is Gold Melt Value?

Melt value is the absolute, intrinsic cash value of the pure gold physically contained within an item, completely disregarding its aesthetic design, craftsmanship, brand name, or embedded gemstones.

When you approach Pawn Shops or wholesale Scrap Dealers to liquidate used jewelry, they are entirely indifferent to the item's beauty. Their sole intent is to ship the piece to a refinery, where it will be aggressively melted down to separate the pure gold from the base alloy metals (like copper, zinc, and nickel). Therefore, the payout you receive is exclusively based on this raw melt value, minus the dealer's profit margin.

The Universal Melt Value Mathematical Formula

To accurately calculate this intrinsic worth, you require three essential variables: the item's physical weight in grams, its karat purity percentage (fineness), and the live 24k global Spot Price.

Step 1: Identify the Purity Fineness

Examine the Hallmark Stamp physically engraved on the jewelry to verify its karat, then convert it to its mathematical fineness percentage.

• 24k (Stamp 999): 99.9%
• 22k (Stamp 916): 91.6% (0.916)
• 21k (Stamp 875): 87.5% (0.875)
• 18k (Stamp 750): 75.0% (0.75)
• 14k (Stamp 585): 58.3% (0.583)

Step 2: Correct Weighing (Grams vs Pennyweights)

Utilize a highly calibrated digital jewelry scale. If your scale or local pawn shop uses the archaic Pennyweight (dwt) system common in the US, remember that 1 dwt strictly equals 1.555 grams.

Step 3: The Live Spot Price

Global spot prices are almost universally quoted in USD per Troy Ounce. To extract the price per gram, you must divide that spot ounce price by exactly 31.1034768.

A Practical Calculation Example

Use Our Automated Tools

To save time and eliminate the risk of manual mathematical errors, use our pre-programmed calculators directly connected to live LBMA feeds:

• Comprehensive Spot Rates for All Karats
• Dedicated 14k Gold Melt Value Calculator