# Selling dental gold **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940 "2008-10-28T14:48:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/1 "2008-10-28T14:48:31Z")
I have a couple of crowns to sell and figured that I’d stop at the next coin shop I see on my travels. Just looking for some way to check what it’s worth so I don’t get taken. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/2 "2008-10-28T15:42:46Z")
Will a coin shop buy dental gold? I assume it’s not pure gold but mixed with some other materials that make it harder… ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/3 "2008-10-28T15:48:58Z")
The value is so low that it isn’t worth their time to screw you. [Dental gold alloys vary in their gold percentage.](http://jdr.iadrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/48/6/1284) (pdf file). You’ll get paid for the weight of gold only. How much money you get will depend on the price of gold at the moment. A quick check of a metals site shows gold at $738 dollars per ounce right now. Your couple crowns don’t weigh an ounce total and aren’t pure gold, so you’re looking at a fraction of that figure. Sell them and enjoy your couple hundred dollars. Jewelers and some pawn shops buy gold and will assay it for you on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/4 "2008-10-28T17:19:38Z")
Look for the term “scrap gold”. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/5 "2008-10-28T22:48:47Z")
We were buying yellow dental gold today for about $16/pennyweight. There are 20 pennyweight in an ounce. A crown can weigh anywhere from 1-3 pennyweight in my experience. Many are pretty light. If it’s white in color, it ain’t gold and I doubt you can get a buyer. In my experience, jewelry stores are buyers at half of what coin dealers are, but of course coin dealers aren’t all the same. We probably are in the top 5% nationally on what we pay. Pawn dealers, again in general, aren’t strong buyers. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/6 "2008-10-28T22:57:19Z")
I’ve been meaning to try this place. [http://www.midwestrefineries.com/](http://www.midwestrefineries.com/) They state that they buy gold (even dental) from the public. [http://www.midwestrefineries.com/golddentalpicture.htm](http://www.midwestrefineries.com/golddentalpicture.htm) Not that I have a truck load! Why oh why are hyperlinks not working for me? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/7 "2008-10-30T14:50:13Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > We were buying yellow dental gold today for about $16/pennyweight. There are 20 pennyweight in an ounce. A crown can weigh anywhere from 1-3 pennyweight in my experience. Many are pretty light. > > If it’s white in color, it ain’t gold and I doubt you can get a buyer. > > In my experience, jewelry stores are buyers at half of what coin dealers are, but of course coin dealers aren’t all the same. We probably are in the top 5% nationally on what we pay. Pawn dealers, again in general, aren’t strong buyers. Sounds like a coin dealer is the way to go and the rate you were paying a few days ago was the equivalent of $320 an ounce. Dental gold is 10k right… does that mean it is 10/24 pure relative to 24K? Any other comments/suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/8 "2008-10-30T15:06:10Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Sounds like a coin dealer is the way to go and the rate you were paying a few days ago was the equivalent of $320 an ounce. > > Dental gold is 10k right… does that mean it is 10/24 pure relative to 24K? > > Any other comments/suggestions? [Yep.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carat_(purity)). As opposed to a [carat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carat_(mass)) used as mass, which is .2 grams or 3.086 grains. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/9 "2008-10-30T23:46:44Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Sounds like a coin dealer is the way to go and the rate you were paying a few days ago was the equivalent of $320 an ounce. > > Dental gold is 10k right… does that mean it is 10/24 pure relative to 24K? > > Any other comments/suggestions? Dental gold, the yellow kind is figured as 16K. Some of the 50-100 year old stuff was 18K. But, the problem, is you never know. 10K dental gold wouldn’t work long term. Too much copper, not enough gold. Too reactive. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/10 "2008-11-28T16:27:22Z")
Thanks again. So 16/24 pure selling for $320 would be the equivalent of a $480 spot price. Right? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/11 "2008-11-29T00:46:50Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Thanks again. > > So 16/24 pure selling for $320 would be the equivalent of a $480 spot price. > > Right? That’s about right. I think we were paying about $20/pennyweight today with gold at $820 US. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/13 "2013-03-22T16:42:44Z")
I have sent a number of old crowns to [Garfield Refining](http://www.garfieldrefining.com/) in Philadelphia, who were recommended by my dentist. They’re a well established company with a good reputation. I got a fair price with quick turnaround. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/14 "2013-03-22T16:58:01Z")
Welcome back Zombie thread! The days when gold was only $738 an ounce were not so long ago; I should have put my retirement fund there when I had the chance. Since this is a zombie I’ll tack on another question. Why doesn’t anyone buy gold plate? Can’t they melt it down and separate the gold out of it? I would think that gold would have a lower melting point than most of the base metals and would just flow off it (or the opposite). I mean, they already buy alloyed gold (10, 12, 14 a8 and 22 caret), so why not gold plated jewelery? How high would gold have to go before it became practical to do so? Because I’d like to know if I should start buying the gold plated stuff for pennies now and cash out later. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/15 "2013-03-22T17:08:37Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Welcome back Zombie thread! The days when gold was only $738 an ounce were not so long ago; I should have put my retirement fund there when I had the chance. Since this is a zombie I’ll tack on another question. > > Why doesn’t anyone buy gold plate? Can’t they melt it down and separate the gold out of it? I would think that gold would have a lower melting point than most of the base metals and would just flow off it (or the opposite). I mean, they already buy alloyed gold (10, 12, 14 a8 and 22 caret), so why not gold plated jewelery? How high would gold have to go before it became practical to do so? Because I’d like to know if I should start buying the gold plated stuff for pennies now and cash out later. It’s doable. It just takes a lot to make real money. Not so much _gold plated_ things, but rather _gold filled_. It can be worth $10-30/ounce. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/16 "2013-03-22T17:48:42Z")
I recall reading during the Reagan era that the residual value of Nixon-era computers – once worth millions as supercomputers – was mainly their gold content. :smack: With the present price of gold, are old computers being taken out of museums and scrap heaps to be stripped for their gold-plated connections? ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/17 "2013-03-23T18:26:24Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I recall reading during the Reagan era that the residual value of Nixon-era computers – once worth millions as supercomputers – was mainly their gold content. :smack: > > With the present price of gold, are old computers being taken out of museums and scrap heaps to be stripped for their gold-plated connections? I remember reading an article about 15 years ago that mentioned how a typical personal computer contained several hundred dollars worth of silver but the cost of extracting the silver from a discarded computer exceeded its value. Of course gold is worth a lot more than silver. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/18 "2013-03-23T19:19:52Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I recall reading during the Reagan era that the residual value of Nixon-era computers – once worth millions as supercomputers – was mainly their gold content. :smack: I remember reading the same sometime in the early 80s. Except it was 50s era SAGE computers (used for radar systems – DEW Line etc.) that were being scrapped. I can’t remember for sure, but I think they were getting something like $250,000 of gold per computer. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/19 "2013-03-23T19:45:32Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > I remember reading an article about 15 years ago that mentioned how a typical personal computer contained several hundred dollars worth of silver but the cost of extracting the silver from a discarded computer exceeded its value. Of course gold is worth a lot more than silver. That’s total crap. Silver is used in only the most minuscule amounts in modern electronics, mostly for certain switch contacts and connectors. The amount of gold in a modern PC is probably a few milligrams, worth a dollar or two. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/20 "2013-03-23T20:00:29Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > That’s total crap. > Silver is used in only the most minuscule amounts in modern electronics, mostly for certain switch contacts and connectors. The amount of gold in a modern PC is probably a few milligrams, worth a dollar or two. Yeah, a quick Google search seems to confirm this. In hindsight I’m not sure why that didn’t set off my BS alarm, although my brain has been crammed with a lot of info since then - maybe what I remember as being from an article was actually something I learned from some idiot sitting on the bar stool next to me. ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/21 "2013-03-23T20:39:53Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > That’s total crap. > Silver is used in only the most minuscule amounts in modern electronics, mostly for certain switch contacts and connectors. The amount of gold in a modern PC is probably a few milligrams, worth a dollar or two. The same is also true of gold; one source says 80 computers contain one gram of gold (about $51 at current prices); those shiny gold contacts on connectors are a thin plating of gold a few microns thick. It is possible though, as demonstrated [here](http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/550-gold-motherboard-chemistry.html) (they extracted 2-3 dollars worth of gold from that pile of motherboards; additional gold may be present on the traces or in the chips, but many now use aluminum wires or solder bumps for internal connections). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940.md?page=2)