Receive an unexpected inheritance of silver coins or flatware? Looking to supplement your income by selling gold jewellery? No matter what form your precious metals take or why you’re looking to sell, there’s a few universals at play: you don’t want to be deceived; you want to be treated with courtesy and respect; and you want the best prices for your goods.
Below, you’ll find four of the most essential qualities for any trusted buyer of gold and silver, like Muzeum, for example (to highlight a veteran and highly rated company). Think of this as a beginner’s checklist to get you started and steer you in the right direction.
They’ll Provide Free Evaluations
You might not believe it, but countless buyers of collectibles — like baseball cards, for example — will charge a fee to pore through your goods (and ‘grade’ your cards, in this case). At the end of their perusal, they might say your goods are too commonplace to garner a good deal or even forgeries of the real thing. Which means you’ve paid to know you have nothing of value!
Likewise, an appraiser can help determine the worth of your gold and silver for insurance purposes, but they’ll also charge you a fee for this service.
The best buyers of gold and silver will evaluate for free and with pleasure. Don’t settle for less.
They Know How to Determine Purity and Authenticity
Assessing the purity and legitimacy of different valuables — from coins to jewellery, gold bars and ingots to pocket watches and silver flatware — takes specialized industry expertise. Doing it properly also means access to advanced technology, including x-ray fluorescence (XRF) instruments to ascertain the precious metal content of any item in discussion.
Just take coins, for example. Professional establishments will employ on-site numismatists: people who assess a coin’s authenticity — determined by its exact precious metal content, size and weight — using a mixture of science and extensive knowledge. These pros can “grade” coins properly: in other words, they’ll evaluate its appearance across a range of characteristics, like its luster and coloration, on a nine-stage scale from ‘poor’ to ‘almost uncirculated.’ Numismatists will often help archeologists, historians, archivists and museum staff sniff out fakes and counterfeits to ensure they hold real history in their hands.
Decades of experience in the industry means specialized, highly sought-after knowledge. You wouldn’t have your roof fixed by a plumber, and you wouldn’t have a tooth pulled by a mechanic, so don’t leave the verification process to someone with a magnifying glass in a pawn shop.
They Provide Transparent, Up-to-Date Pricing
There’s only one fair way to price gold and silver. And that’s by referring to and abiding by accurate market prices. The most well-respected buyers in the industry will have a list of prices for gold and silver bars, coins, and jewellery, and they’ll even have software on their websites that updates these prices in real-time. This takes all the guessing out of the exchange and ensures honesty and transparency at all stages of the sales process.
They’ll Help You Find a Buyer Even if They Decline
Busy buyers of silver and gold are inundated with coins, tea sets, flatware, and every type of jewellery imaginable. Even if your piece is worth money, it may be the case that the buyer doesn’t have the room to take it on.
Instead of leaving you disappointed, a professional buyer can call upon an extensive database of buyers, built up over years of service, to find someone who is interested. These collectors might even pay more than the precious metal content of your antique, depending on what they’re trying to acquire.
There are more indicators of professional, top-tier services, of course. But we hope this piece gives you some of the tools you need to find the best buyers of gold and silver in the business. Again: don’t settle for less — you simply don’t have to!
