# What should I do with this ingot of gold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2000, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804 "2000-12-22T02:43:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/21 "2000-12-22T05:00:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gunslinger \* > \*\*Maybe 60 years ago, but we’re not on the Gold Standard anymore. So that’s a negative, Doc. \*\* I got it! I got it! **Biggirl** , you should melt it down and make a [cross](http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/8/0,5716,28448+1+27999,00.html?kw=cross%20of%20gold%20speech) out of it. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/22 "2000-12-22T05:50:30Z")
They have Gold shows in gold country.California,Georgia etc maybe you could ask someone there. Also the Gold Prospectors Assn of America has a web site and an email address.[http://www.goldprospectors.org/](http://www.goldprospectors.org/) I’ll bet someone there will be able to tell you. Actually I thought it was illegal to posess a large amount of gold. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/23 "2000-12-22T14:40:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gunslinger \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Dr. Lao \* > > \*\*I always thought you could turn the gold over to the federal reserve and they would give you green-backs for it. After a cursory web search, however, I was unable to confirm this. I take it, **Anthracite** , this isn’t possible? \*\* > > Maybe 60 years ago, but we’re not on the Gold Standard anymore. So that’s a negative, Doc. \*\* You’ve raised an interesting point. When we had the gold standard, you could take gold that you had mined, or ‘found’, or whatever, to your nearest U.S. Mint, where they would process it into coins and give those coins, less a processing fee, back to you. Theoretically at least, although I presume they had stocks of coins on hand which they could give you immediately rather than having you wait until _your_ gold was minted. But now the Treasury does produce gold bullion coins, so one would think they need to buy the gold for this somewhere. So maybe they do have a buying window. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/24 "2000-12-22T15:51:46Z")
I sell metals a lot. First of all, if it’s a real ingot on the top it would have some marks or stamps, what are they? Second before you sell it, call a store & ask for the spread. The spread is the price they would buy it & the price they would sell it. Go with the smallest spread of course. I take mine to a guy who charges 60 cents per oz. but gives the daily market rate. So if Au is 2.00, he would give me 1.40, but often gives more. As I said, it must have a stamp on the top. If it says 1 lb of pure Au, it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2000, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/25 "2000-12-22T22:27:54Z")
Have you considered doing a water displacement test to determine if the ingot is actually gold? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/26 "2000-12-23T00:33:15Z")
Far as I know Au is not sold by the pound, but by the troy oz, in increments of : 1 oz, 5 oz, 10 oz ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/27 "2000-12-23T02:52:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by justwannano \* > \*\* > Actually I thought it was illegal to posess a large amount of gold. \*\* There were very severe restrictions on gold ownership by individuals in the U.S. from 1934 until 1975. Those days are gone. I don’t know how common it is to sell ingots by the troy ounce any more. It was my understanding that the common sizes are now in metric units: 100, 500, and 1,000 grams. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/28 "2000-12-23T03:52:25Z")
99% of all the gold bars we sell in our coin store are 1 ounce. We do carry smaller bars which are mainly used for jewelry, which come in denominations such as 1 gram, 2.5 grams 5 grams, etc. But people who come in to buy gold as an investment usually purchase the one ounce size as it is bought and sold at a fairly low markup, not to mention the ease of figuring the price per unit they just paid. This is just me speaking for dealing in gold in the US. YMMV. **handy** said > [@](#): > > I take mine to a guy who charges 60 cents per oz. but gives the daily market rate. So if Au is 2.00, he would give me 1.40, but often gives more. you lost me there. ---
**Author:** ![Homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/29 "2000-12-23T07:13:50Z")
Sell it as “Old Gold” to Auric Enterprises. I hear he pays well. Props to whoever catches the ref. –Tim ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/30 "2000-12-23T07:14:40Z")
Jeez, **Homer** , you’re no **Bricker** , but we still love ya, anyway. _Goldfinger_. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/31 "2000-12-23T12:15:16Z")
But, one who dispenses gold ingots…lucky **Biggirl**! ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/32 "2000-12-23T15:13:26Z")
samclem, you should know what a spread is. That was a spread, buy at $1.40, sell at $2.60… If you really want to get the market price, you can find in big cities Metal purifying comp’s that pay closer to market price. I forgot exactly what they are called since it’s been years since I looked for one. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/33 "2000-12-23T19:47:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*samclem, you should know what a spread is. That was a spread, buy at $1.40, sell at $2.60… > \*\* You lost us when you appear to give as your example gold costing $2 per ounce. The current price of gold is about $275 per troy ounce. Gold has never cost less than $20 per troy ounce, over the entire history of the U.S. dollar. When you pick an example it should be one that approximates reality. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/34 "2000-12-24T00:32:06Z")
“Are they going to ask me where I got it from?” No, but you’ll have to produce a drivers license for ID. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/35 "2000-12-24T00:35:30Z")
**Biggirl** if you live on Manhattan, take it downtown to someone like MTB(Manfra, Tordella, Brooks). Or call a few diff. coin dealers from the yellow pages. Describe how the ingot is marked, and ask them their buy(making sure you get all quotes on the same day). If spot gold is $275/ounce on the COMEX, you should get quoted no worse than $265/ounce. This is fair. They might even pay more. Let us know what happens. **handy** Assuming spot gold is $275/ounce, I doubt that anyone, even a refinery, will pay you $274.40/ounce and sell back to you at $275.60/ounce. They just don’t work that cheap. Certainly not on a measly one pound bar. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/36 "2000-12-24T01:22:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\ ***Biggirl** If spot gold is $275/ounce on the COMEX, you should get quoted no worse than $265/ounce. This is fair. They might even pay more. Let us know what happens. > \*\* sam, I really don’t have an ingot of gold. And I am still in possesion of all my limbs. A group of friends and I were discussing what we would do if we found a big suitcase full of money and the conversation wandered into finding other things of value. Cajun Man, as my answer I almost put “I fixed Sqrl up with Ed Asner” but I was afraid my little joke would be misconstrued. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/37 "2000-12-24T03:29:27Z")
So, while we’re on the subject: I have a little bit of gold jewelry that I don’t want. I have a few single earrings and gold chains with broken clasps, etc. I’m sure it’s not worth anything as jewelry, but it is solid gold. I feel a bit embarrassed walking in anyplace trying to sell it, since it is such a small amount. What would be the best way to get cash for my stash? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/38 "2000-12-24T03:36:39Z")
A coin dealer. The larger the dealer, the better they will pay you. You should get about $5-6/pennyweight for 14K gold and $4 or so for 10K gold. We pay $8/pennyweight for 18K gold. In a small town, you may not get this. Call a few coin dealers from your yellow pages and ask what they pay for 10K, 14K, and 18K gold scrap. Pawn dealers, _in general_ will not pay as much. This is not meant to disparage pawn shop owners. I wouldn’t want their bizness. A hard life. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/39 "2000-12-24T04:02:28Z")
This is a bit off of the subject, but it remined me of an old ‘fact’ I had heard a while ago. Is it true that in Arabian countries they sell gold jewlery by the weight, with no regard for the quality of the craftsmanship? ---
**Author:** ![Danielinthewolvesden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804/40 "2000-12-24T10:56:30Z")
Well, I have been to many wholesale gem shows, and many indian/paki jewelry dealers sell used silver jewelry by the gram- irregardless of the workmanship. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-this-ingot-of-gold/46804.md?page=3)