# 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:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/22 "2013-03-23T23:16:55Z")
Back to dental gold - we sold some that had been passed down in the family line a few years ago. I suggest you shop around and get several estimates. We found the best prices at a jewelry store in our area, but your mileage may vary. I’d avoid anyone who advertises heavily on TV or radio, and be extremely cautious about mailing/shipping your gold anywhere. The guy we finally sold to performed an assay in front of us (analyzed the gold to determine composition) and paid us at 80% of market value for the weight of the gold, which was the highest percentage anyone quoted us. Be careful, there are scam artists out there and people who will take you to the cleaners if they think they can. You’re not going to get a lot in absolute dollars for a couple crowns but hey, something is better than nothing. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/23 "2013-03-24T02:34:56Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > 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. when I had my own dental practice, Garfield is where I sent my scrap. They would also send me envelopes for my patients to use. I assume they have info on their website, but it used to be they assayed your scrap and sent you the spot price minus 5%. You could take a check or bullion. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/24 "2013-08-12T15:14:51Z")
Two questions - is it worth sending a crown w/ dental silver in to Garfield? And dental gold would be yellow gold, que no? ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/25 "2013-08-12T16:12:47Z")
Yes I think it is worth it. you can get info from their website. Dental gold has different degrees of gold and therefore different colors of yellow. The lowest grades of gold for crowns may look almost silver in color with just a hint of yellow. you can also send them any other metal you have, old jewelery etc. Using a refiner you eliminate the “we buy scrap gold” middleman and get more in return. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/26 "2013-08-12T16:58:44Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Yes I think it is worth it. you can get info from their website. Dental gold has different degrees of gold and therefore different colors of yellow. The lowest grades of gold for crowns may look almost silver in color with just a hint of yellow. > > you can also send them any other metal you have, old jewelery etc. Using a refiner you eliminate the “we buy scrap gold” middleman and get more in return. I didn’t realize that, thank you! Worth a shot, this 23 year old crown’s not doing me any good sitting in a specimen envelope. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/27 "2013-08-12T23:57:48Z")
> [@Nawth\_Chucka](#): > > Two questions - is it worth sending a crown w/ dental silver in to Garfield? And dental gold would be yellow gold, que no? If your crown is essentially silver colored, then there is little to no gold. Probably an amalgam of silver with some palladium and potentially a little platinum. Don’t expect much. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940/28 "2013-08-13T00:16:29Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > If your crown is essentially silver colored, then there is little to no gold. Probably an amalgam of silver with some palladium and potentially a little platinum. Don’t expect much. I don’t expect much; my dentist handed it to me and said, “You might get a Big Mac w/ what this is worth. But not a meal.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-dental-gold/469940.md?page=1)