Gold Melt Value Calculator
Curious what the gold in a chain, ring, coin or bar is worth at today's spot price? Enter the weight and karat, add a spot price, and the calculator shows the value of the pure gold inside.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, by appointment
Live spot prices
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Spot is the going market rate for a troy ounce of pure metal. Treat it as a yardstick, not an offer.
Run the numbers on your gold
You need three things: the weight, the karat stamped on the piece, and a current spot price. The result is the pure gold only.
The spot price changes throughout the trading day. Please enter the figure currently quoted for gold.
Your melt estimate
Add a weight and a spot price, then press Work out melt value.
This figure covers the metal only and is not an offer. A real offer also reflects testing, the confirmed weight and fineness, the market that day, the buyer's margin and any collector premium.
Before you weigh: know your ounce
The single most common slip in a home estimate is treating a kitchen ounce as a troy ounce. This table shows how the units relate.
| Unit | Equals | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| Troy ounce (ozt) | 31.1035 grams, or 20 pennyweight | Gold coins, bars and spot price quotes |
| Pennyweight (dwt) | 1.5552 grams | Jewelers and scrap gold buyers |
| Gram (g) | 0.0322 troy ounce | Pocket digital scales and small bars |
| Ounce, kitchen (oz) | 28.3495 grams, or 0.9115 troy ounce | Kitchen, postal and bathroom scales |
Your kitchen scale reads light ounces
A household ounce is 28.35 grams, while a troy ounce is 31.10 grams, close to ten percent more. If your scale reads in ounces, choose the kitchen ounce option so the estimate does not run high.
Three steps the calculator takes for you
Nothing hidden here. You can check every result with a pencil.
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Get the weight into troy ounces
The gold market quotes prices per troy ounce. Divide grams by 31.1035, divide pennyweight by 20, or multiply kitchen ounces by 0.9115.
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Keep only the gold share
Multiply by the fraction 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 the spot price
Pure troy ounces times spot per troy ounce gives melt value. Testing, refining and dealer costs have not come out yet.
A ring, worked by hand
Picture an 18K ring that weighs six grams. That is 0.1929 troy ounce on the scale, and three quarters of it, 0.1447 troy ounce, is gold.
With spot gold at twenty-five hundred dollars an ounce, the gold in that ring would come to roughly three hundred sixty dollars.
Karat stamps, translated
These are the gold fractions the calculator applies. The last column shows how much pure gold sits in ten grams of each karat.
| 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 the stamp is not the whole story
- GF, RGP or HGE. Gold-filled, rolled gold plate and electroplate mean a thin gold layer over another metal. The karat table does not fit these.
- A blank inside the band. Older, resized and imported pieces may carry no mark at all. Until the karat is tested, treat the result as a guess.
- Parts that are not gold. Steel springs, clasps and solder add weight, which pushes the estimate up.
European number stamps such as 585 and 750 are explained on our gold jewelry page.
Questions people ask about gold melt value
Why is an offer usually lower than the calculator result?
The calculator values pure gold at spot and nothing else. A buyer also has to confirm the karat and weight, pay to refine scrap, and run a business. Some collectible coins go the other way and are worth more than their gold.
My ring has a stone in it. Does that matter?
Yes. The stone adds weight but no gold, so weighing the ring whole makes the result too high. Read it as a ceiling, not an estimate.
What is a pennyweight?
One twentieth of a troy ounce, or 1.5552 grams, usually written dwt. Jewelers and refiners in the U.S. often weigh gold this way.
Is what I type sent anywhere?
No. All of the math happens in your browser, and we never see your numbers. If you want us to look at the gold itself, the request form is near the bottom of this page.
Which spot price should I enter?
Use the live gold figure shown near the top of this page, or any current quote per troy ounce. Spot moves through the day, so the result is a snapshot.
Gold coins with a known gold content
These coins were struck to a fixed standard, so there is nothing to weigh. Multiply the last column by the spot price.
| 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 |
Older U.S. gold can beat melt
A pre-1933 coin with a scarce date, mint mark or strong condition may be worth more than the gold in it. Our gold coins page explains why, and the bullion page covers bars and rounds.
Things a calculator cannot know
It works only from what you type. A real offer also accounts for the points on this list.
- The tested karat. Stamps wear off, get misapplied, or were never there.
- The weight of the gold alone. Stones, clasps and other metals are subtracted.
- Spot on the day you sell. The price moves, and the day of sale is the one that counts.
- Refining and business costs. These come out of the metal value for any buyer.
- Collector interest. Certain coins, and some antique or signed jewelry, are worth more than their gold.
To see what we buy and how an appointment in McKinney works, read our page on selling gold.
Ready for an actual number?
Call or send a request to book a weekday appointment in McKinney. We weigh each piece with you watching and walk you through the offer before you decide.
Set up your appointment
- Based in
- McKinney, TX, serving Collin County
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, by appointment
- Where we meet
- At our private McKinney office, your home or a secure location such as your bank
- Have ready
- Your photo ID and the pieces you plan to sell
Our office address stays off the web for everyone's safety. We give it to you by phone once a time is booked.
You receive an offer to buy, which is different from a written appraisal prepared for insurance, probate or tax purposes.
Request a quote
Takes under a minute. We ring you back on a weekday, or you can call (469) 249-8420 now.