A gold melt value calculator for scrap jewellery and coins
The melt value of a piece is what its precious metal alone is worth at today’s spot price: the weight, times the share of pure metal, times the price. This gold melt value calculator does that for scrap gold of any karat, sterling and coin silver, platinum and palladium — and for common bullion and junk-silver coins, whose metal content it already knows. Add several items (a 14K chain, an 18K ring, a handful of pre-1965 quarters) and it totals them.
Weights can be in grams, pennyweight (dwt), troy ounces, grains, ordinary ounces, tola or kilograms, and the spot price per troy ounce, gram, 10 grams, kilogram or tola, in dollars, rupees, pounds or any other currency. Because buyers never pay the full melt value, it also shows what an offer of 70–95% would be, so you can compare refiners, pawnshops and dealers.
How to use the Gold & Silver Melt Value Calculator
- Choose Gold, Silver, Platinum or Palladium and your currency.
- Type today’s spot price and whether it is per troy ounce, gram, 10 g, kg or tola.
- For each item, choose its purity (or a coin) and enter the weight and unit — or the number of coins.
- Use Add an item for more pieces; pick Other fineness… for a tested purity such as 583.
- Set the percentage a buyer pays, then read the melt value, pure metal content and offers.
Gold & Silver Melt Value Calculator features
Any karat or fineness
24K to 9K gold (nominal and hallmark), sterling, Britannia and coin silver, platinum and palladium grades, or a custom fineness.
Coins built in
Pre-1965 US dimes, quarters and halves, 40% Kennedy halves, war nickels, Morgan dollars, Silver and Gold Eagles, Buffalo, Krugerrand, sovereign and Double Eagle.
Every weight unit
Grams, pennyweight, troy and avoirdupois ounces, grains, tola and kilograms.
Mixed lots
Up to ten items of different purity, totalled with an overall purity.
Dealer offers
What 70%, 80%, 85%, 90% or 95% of melt would pay you.
Melt value formula
Melt value = weight in grams × fineness × spot price per gram, where the price per gram is the price per troy ounce ÷ 31.1034768. Karat gold is K ÷ 24 pure: 14K is 58.33%, 18K 75%, 22K 91.67% (hallmarked as 585, 750 and 916). One pennyweight is 1.555 g and 20 dwt make a troy ounce.
Worked example: 10 g of 14K and 5 g of 18K gold contain 5.833 + 3.75 = 9.583 g of pure gold. At an example spot price of $4,000 a troy ounce ($128.60 a gram) the melt value is $1,232.45; a buyer paying 85% would offer about $1,047.58. Ten pre-1965 US quarters (6.25 g each, 90% silver) hold 56.25 g — 1.809 troy ounces — of silver, worth $90.42 at $50 an ounce.
Coin metal content
Weights and fineness are the mints’ published specifications; worn coins weigh a little less. For a new jewellery purchase with making charges and GST, use the gold rate calculator; to convert karats, the gold purity calculator.
| Coin | Weight | Fineness | Pure metal |
|---|---|---|---|
| US dime, 1964 and earlier | 2.50 g | 90% silver | 0.0723 ozt |
| US quarter, 1964 and earlier | 6.25 g | 90% silver | 0.1808 ozt |
| US half dollar, 1964 and earlier | 12.50 g | 90% silver | 0.3617 ozt |
| Kennedy half, 1965–1970 | 11.50 g | 40% silver | 0.1479 ozt |
| Morgan / Peace dollar | 26.73 g | 90% silver | 0.7735 ozt |
| American Gold Eagle, 1 oz | 33.931 g | 91.67% gold | 1.0000 ozt |
| British sovereign | 7.988 g | 91.67% gold | 0.2354 ozt |
Gold & Silver Melt Value Calculator FAQ
How do you calculate the melt value of gold?
Multiply the weight in grams by the purity (14K = 0.5833) and by the spot price per gram (the price per troy ounce ÷ 31.1035). The gold melt value calculator does it for several items at once.
What is 14K gold worth per gram?
14 ÷ 24 = 58.33% of the pure-gold price per gram. At $4,000 a troy ounce, pure gold is $128.60 a gram, so 14K is about $75.02 a gram before the buyer’s margin.
How much silver is in a pre-1964 quarter?
6.25 g × 90% = 5.625 g, or 0.1808 troy ounces of pure silver.
Why do buyers pay less than melt value?
They pay for testing, refining, handling and profit. Refiners may pay 90–98% for large lots; pawnshops and mail-in buyers often much less. Compare the percentage, not just the total.
Is melt value the same as what my coin is worth?
Not always. Rare dates, mint marks and good condition can make a coin worth far more than its metal. Check collector value before selling for melt.
Does the calculator use live prices?
No. Type the current spot price from a source you trust; the result is an estimate, not investment advice.