🪙 Scrap Gold Calculator: Find the Melt Value of Your Gold
By ToolNimba Editorial Team · Reviewed by ToolNimba Review Team, precious metals and personal finance content · Updated 2026-06-20
This tool gives an estimate of melt value only and is not an appraisal, an offer to buy, or financial advice. Actual payouts depend on the live market, dealer fees, and assay results, so verify before you sell.
Please enter a valid weight, purity, and spot price.
Pure gold content is what a refiner pays for. Spot is the live market price; dealers pay a percentage of melt to cover refining and profit.
A scrap gold calculator turns three numbers, the weight, the karat, and the current spot price, into the melt value of your gold. That melt value is the worth of the pure gold inside an item, before any dealer markup or refining fee, and it is the figure every reputable buyer starts from. Enter your details below to see the value of old jewelry, dental gold, coins, or broken chains in seconds.
What is the Scrap Gold Calculator?
The math behind scrap gold is short but easy to get wrong. The value of any gold item is its pure gold content multiplied by the price of gold. To find the pure content you take the total weight and multiply by the purity fraction for its karat: 14K gold is 14 parts gold out of 24, or about 58.3% pure, so a 10 gram 14K chain holds roughly 5.83 grams of actual gold. The rest is alloy metals like copper, silver, and zinc that give jewelry its color and strength but have little scrap value.
The second piece is the spot price, the live global market price of gold. Spot is almost always quoted per troy ounce, a unit of 31.1035 grams that is heavier than the everyday ounce on a kitchen scale (28.35 grams). To value scrap by the gram you divide the per-ounce spot price by 31.1035. Mixing up troy ounces and standard ounces, or grams and pennyweights, is the single most common reason a hand calculation comes out wrong, so this tool lets you pick the exact unit your scale or quote uses.
Put the two together and the melt value formula is simply weight in grams, times purity fraction, times price per gram of pure gold. A jeweler or refiner will then pay you a percentage of that melt value, not the full amount, because they need to cover assaying, refining, and profit. Payouts of 70% to 90% of melt are common for jewelry, and a little higher for recognized coins or bullion. The payout field in the calculator lets you model that haircut so you know roughly what to expect before you walk in.
Keep in mind that melt value treats your item purely as raw metal. Antique pieces, designer jewelry, collectible coins, or anything with gemstones can be worth considerably more intact than melted, and gemstones are never included in a scrap weight. Weigh and value only the gold, and get a second opinion before scrapping anything that might carry collector or sentimental value.
When to use it
- Valuing old or broken jewelry, single earrings, and tangled chains before selling them for scrap.
- Checking a pawnshop or cash-for-gold offer against the true melt value so you are not underpaid.
- Estimating the gold content and worth of dental crowns, gold-filled items, or inherited pieces.
- Comparing several items of different karats quickly to decide which are worth selling now.
How to use the Scrap Gold Calculator
- Weigh your gold on an accurate scale and enter the weight, choosing the matching unit (grams, pennyweight, or troy ounce).
- Select the karat stamped on the item, such as 10K, 14K, or 18K, or enter a custom purity if it is marked in fineness.
- Enter the current spot price of gold from a live source and set whether that price is per troy ounce or per gram.
- Read the melt value, and optionally set a dealer payout percentage to estimate what a buyer would actually pay you.
Formula & method
Worked examples
You have a 10 gram 14K gold chain and gold spot is $2,350 per troy ounce. What is the melt value?
- Purity of 14K = 14 / 24 = 0.583, so pure gold = 10 g x 0.583 = 5.83 g
- Convert spot to per gram = 2,350 / 31.1035 = $75.55 per gram
- Melt value = 5.83 g x 75.55 = about $440.46
- At a 80% dealer payout = 440.46 x 0.80 = about $352.37
Result: Melt value about $440.46, estimated payout about $352.37 at 80%.
You weighed an 18K bracelet at 12 pennyweight (dwt) with spot at $2,300 per troy ounce.
- Convert weight to grams = 12 dwt x 1.55517 = 18.66 g
- Purity of 18K = 18 / 24 = 0.75, so pure gold = 18.66 x 0.75 = 14.00 g
- Convert spot to per gram = 2,300 / 31.1035 = $73.95 per gram
- Melt value = 14.00 g x 73.95 = about $1,035.30
Result: Melt value about $1,035.30 before any dealer fee.
Karat to purity reference (fineness and percentage of pure gold)
| Karat | Fineness | Purity fraction | Pure gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10K | 417 | 0.417 | 41.7% |
| 12K | 500 | 0.500 | 50.0% |
| 14K | 583 | 0.583 | 58.3% |
| 18K | 750 | 0.750 | 75.0% |
| 22K | 917 | 0.917 | 91.7% |
| 24K | 999 | 0.999 | 99.9% |
Common weight units used for gold (grams per unit)
| Unit | Abbreviation | Grams |
|---|---|---|
| Gram | g | 1.000 |
| Pennyweight | dwt | 1.555 |
| Troy ounce | ozt | 31.103 |
| Ounce (avoirdupois) | oz | 28.350 |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Confusing troy ounces with regular ounces. Gold is priced per troy ounce (31.1035 g), which is about 10% heavier than the standard ounce (28.35 g) on a kitchen scale. Using the wrong ounce throws off the per-gram price and the final value.
- Valuing the full weight instead of the pure gold. Only the pure gold in an item has scrap value. A 14K piece is just 58.3% gold, so multiplying the total weight by the spot price overstates the value by a large margin. Always apply the karat purity fraction first.
- Including gemstones, clasps, or non-gold parts in the weight. Stones, spring rings, and steel pins add weight but no gold value, and buyers will not pay for them. Where possible, remove or estimate and subtract their weight before calculating.
- Expecting to receive the full melt value. Melt value is the raw metal worth, not the offer. Dealers pay a percentage of melt, often 70% to 90% for jewelry, to cover refining and profit. Set a realistic payout percentage to see what you will actually get.
Glossary
- Melt value
- The worth of the pure gold content in an item, calculated from weight, purity, and spot price, before any dealer fee.
- Karat
- A measure of gold purity out of 24 parts. 24K is pure gold, 14K is 14 parts gold to 10 parts alloy (about 58.3% pure).
- Spot price
- The live global market price of gold, usually quoted per troy ounce, that scrap value is based on.
- Troy ounce
- The standard unit for weighing precious metals, equal to 31.1035 grams, heavier than the everyday avoirdupois ounce.
- Pennyweight (dwt)
- A traditional jewelry weight unit equal to 1.55517 grams, with 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce.
- Fineness
- Purity expressed in parts per thousand. A fineness of 750 means 75.0% pure gold, the same as 18K.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the value of scrap gold?
Multiply the weight in grams by the karat purity fraction to get the pure gold content, then multiply by the price of gold per gram. For example, 10 g of 14K (0.583 pure) at $75.55 per gram is 10 x 0.583 x 75.55, or about $440. This tool does the unit conversions and math for you.
How much is 14K gold worth per gram?
A gram of 14K gold is worth its purity (58.3%) times the per-gram spot price. If gold is $2,350 per troy ounce, that is $75.55 per gram, so 14K is about $44.05 per gram of melt value. Dealers then pay a percentage of that figure.
Will a dealer pay me the full melt value?
No. Melt value is the raw worth of the pure gold. Buyers deduct a margin for assaying, refining, and profit, so jewelry payouts are commonly 70% to 90% of melt, sometimes lower for small amounts. Use the payout field to estimate a realistic offer.
What is the difference between a troy ounce and a regular ounce?
Gold is measured in troy ounces, which are 31.1035 grams, while the standard (avoirdupois) ounce on a household scale is 28.35 grams. A troy ounce is about 10% heavier, so always confirm which unit your scale and spot price use before calculating.
Do gemstones count toward the scrap gold value?
No. Diamonds and other stones are never part of the gold weight and have no melt value, though they may have separate worth. Weigh only the gold, or subtract an estimate for stones and settings, so you do not overvalue the piece.
Should I melt down antique or designer gold jewelry?
Often not. Collectible coins, antique pieces, and designer or hallmarked jewelry can be worth much more intact than as scrap. Get an appraisal first; melt value sets a floor, but the resale or collector value may be far higher.
Sources
- Karat (gold purity) , Wikipedia
- Troy weight , Wikipedia