Frequently Asked Questions
Should I clean my coins?
Absolutely not! Cleaning coins greatly decreases their value.
What's the difference between 10K, 14K, and 18K gold?
These values are the purity of the gold, relative to 24K, which is
100% pure gold. 10K would be 0.41666 pure (10/24), 14K would
be 0.583333 (14/24), and 18K would be 0.75 (18/24). Just
because a piece is stamped 14K, it may only be 13K. Items
stamped 14KP means 14K plumb, which is exactly 14K.
What's the difference between sterling and coin silver?
Sterling is 0.925 fine silver and coin silver is 0.900 fine.
Coin silver was used in early American flatware and generally was
not marked. Other countries have used .835 (Scandinavian) and
.800 fine silver in their products. Items that are sterling
are usually marked "sterling", ".925", or are
hallmarked with a lion passant (British sterling)
What kind of gold filled stuff do you buy?
Anything that is marked such as "gf", "gold
filled", "1/20 12K GF", "1/10 10K",
etc. Typically jewelry and pocket watches are gold
filled. Gold filled pocket watches are labeled on the cases as
"Warranteed 20 years".
What kind of silver plated stuff do you buy?
Anything marked "silver plated", "epns",
"community plate", "wm rogers", "a1",
"silver on copper", etc
I have forks and knives that have Wm Rogers on the
handle. Is this worth anything?
Unless the item is marked sterling, it is generally not (there are a
few exceptions for early pieces). Wm Rogers made a lot of
flatware that was plated with silver. Silver plate isn't worth
the cost of refining to extract the silver. Other
manufacturers have stampings like A1, Community, IS, etc.
These are all plated wares. Note: select refiners are now
taking plated silver so WE ARE BUYING PLATED SILVER as long as it's
marked.
My gold ring is marked 18K H.G.E. Is this gold?
No. H.G.E. stands for Heavy Gold Embossed, which is a type of
gold plating. We do not buy any jewelry that is plated.
We do buy gold-filled items (generally marked 1/20 12K, etc), but
you need over a troy ounce.
