Unexpected Professions That Are Paid in Gold

Gold used to be a common form of currency among many different countries.  From buying groceries to paying someone for work, gold coins and other form of gold was used over paper money.  However it has been over a century since the US was on the gold standard, and now ALL monetary transactions, payments and salaries are paid in cash–with the exception of a few situations where gold is in the picture.

The Lawyer Paid in Gold Jewelry
Most lawyers do not accept payment in the form of gold.  However, this one lawyer in NY had a client who was not able to afford the rest of his services because of the horrible economy.  As a form of payment, the guy offered his lawyer to pay in the form of gold jewelry.  The lawyer remarked “I’m not a New York Gold Buyer or anything, what do I know about gold?” Problem was, the client was recently laid off, and his case was completed. With no time to do any research the lawyer had to make a quick decision. It was either take the chance that this particular individual would in fact find a job in a horrible economy, and hopefully pay him in the future, or with the price of gold rising through the roof, take a chance with the jewelry as payment.

Fishing Gold Out of the Toilet
Most plumbers have a pretty uneventful day at work fixing drains, unclogging toilets and so forth.  It’s a job that requires hard work and getting your hands dirty.  However, some lucky plumbers are able to discover a treasure that they had never anticipated finding on the job.  This one plumber, while unclogging sink drain, discovered a ring that someone had dropped down the drain many years ago.  It looked cruddy and worthless but he decided to take it to a Cash for Gold location just to see if he had found anything valuable.  Turns out the ring was 14k gold.  Stories like this is not uncommon in the plumbing trade.

Scrapping for Gold
Being a scrapper means finding things and selling them for money.  Most scrappers look for big items such as refrigerators, steel beams and metal cabinets, but sometimes it is the small items found inside those cabinets that is what is most valuable. One scrapper tells his story of clearing out a foreclosed house. While taking apart the old oil burner, he noticed a shiny object on the floor.  It turned out to be 2 Morgan silver dollars. While driving he noticed a gold 4 cash sign out front of a store and decided to inquire within about the silver coins. Turns out one of the coins was only worth its weight in silver, but the other coin had numismatic value to it based on the coins year and condition. The happy scrapper walked out of the store with $125 for the one coin all on its own.

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The Value of Gold Yesterday & Today

The value of gold today has increased drastically in comparison to the value of gold back in the 1920s.  Customers who are interested in selling gold at cash for gold stores always have the same question” why is it that such a small amount of gold is worth so much?”.  There is a historical and economical reason why gold is so valuable today.

The Gold Standard

In the 1920s, America operated on The Gold Standard.  This prevented the Federal Reserve from from expanding the money supply needed to stimulate the economy, fund insolvent banks and fund government deficits necessary to “prime the pump” for an expansion. Once the US went off the gold standard, our economy had free to generate money as we wish. The gold standard limited the flexibility of the central bank’s’ monetary policy by limiting their ability to expand the money supply, and thus their ability to lower interest rates. In the US, the Federal Reserve was required by law to back 40% of the Federal Reserve demand notes in gold.  This prevented the expansion of money supply beyond what was allowed by the gold reserves held in their vaults.

Gold Buying & Selling Inflation

This is an unfortunate case of history repeating itself resulting in the inflation or decrease in value of the dollar. The Federal Reserve is operating in a way where our dollar is becoming more and more inflated. They’re monetizing the debt, specifically our national debt by printing more than $600 billion. Now, if we were on the gold standard and we just struck $600 million gold mine, then our money would be backed up by the gold itself.  We would have the amount of money we claimed to have. But since we didn’t hit a gold mine and we are not backing it up with gold, the value of the dollar decreases as we print out more money.  The $600 billion dollars printed might as well be “Monopoly money”; more paper floating around, driving down the value of cash money in your pocket.

In 1879 you could have gone to a store and spent a $20 dollar coin on a high quality dress suit.  Nowadays you can’t even buy a decent pair of socks for $20 bucks.  While the value of gold may be increasing, without a doubt, the value of our dollar is decreasing.  The best gold buyers anticipate more gold investors to sell their gold when gold prices are high.

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Gold & Gold Jewelry Among Different Cultures

Gold, in its purist form is vibrant yellow in color and extremely soft. Pure gold is so soft that it cannot be used unless combined with other metal alloys.  The amount of pure gold in the alloy is measured in Carats as indicated by “k”. Usually the following carats are used: 24 Carats-(pure gold), 22k, 18k, 14k and 10k. The higher the carat, the more gold content it contains. The lower the carat, the more metal base alloy content it contains. Mostly copper is used but silver and other metals are also used to make gold alloys.

Gold has a strong presence across many different cultures, starting with the ancient Egyptians to modern day Asia.  In many cultures and ethnicity, gold is considered to symbolize wealth, beauty and overall splendor.  Throughout history, gold was often adorned by kings, affluent people and used for decorating churches.  Though many cultures use gold, gold has the strongest presence in the following 3 cultures:

Gold In India:

In India, gold symbolizes wealth and is a literal translation of how well off your family may be. In Indian weddings the bride is donned in gold to display her family’s status, wealth and serves as the dowry given to bride. It is believed that when a bride wears 24k gold on their wedding day, the couple will have luck and happiness throughout their married life.  Selling gold for cash is frowned upon, unless it is done to support the family.  To give you an idea of how much gold is valued, one bride’s gold bracelet had a gold value of $16,000.

Gold In Egypt:

Egyptian women and men have loved gold since the beginning of time. Egyptians are surrounded by gold as early as the first day of being born.  When a baby girl is born, family and friends buy gold earrings, bangles, pendants and even tiny rings for the newborn. This is seen as a good gift because the parent can keep it or get cash for gold if they wish to sell. When a young woman is getting married, there’s the Shabka. It’s a traditional jewelry set that serves a wedding gift to the bride from the groom.  It is also common in Egyptian culture for the child to receive gold bars on their birthdays.

Gold In Italy:

Italy has the reputation of being the number one producer of fine gold jewelry products in Europe. Nearly 500 tons of fine gold are processed and used each year throughout different parts of Italy.  Gold is in such high demand that the Italian gold industry employs more than 40,000 people.  Mostly 18 carat gold is used although it’s possible to find  higher carats of gold for jewelry.

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Recovered Gold Jewelry Treasures from the Titanic – 100th Anniversary

The Titanic departed Southampton, England on April 10th, 1912 and was set to dock in New York on April 15th, 1912. Unfortunately, the supposedly unsinkable Great Titanic was short lived.  It met its final resting place after colliding with an iceburg in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 14th, 1912.

It wasn’t until 1985, 73 years later, that the Titanic was rediscovered. Since then, many scientists and historians have devoted their entire life to unearth the mystery of the Titanic and why it sank.  Thanks to their devotion and dedication, we have gained great insight and knowledge on the actual event.  The movie “Titanic” is just one of many ways people used the new found information in hopes of uncovering the great tragedy.

One of the most exciting parts of this discovery was re-piecing the event with the items, treasures and artifacts that were discovered on board.  Of course, there is no shortage of fictional ‘treasures’ aboard the Titanic. Most people are aware of the giant blue diamond in James Cameron’s Titanic to the contraband gold bullion smuggled in by Robert Serling’s Something’s Alive on the Titanic, among others. But they are just that…fiction. However, that is not to say there weren’t many valuable artifacts found on the seafloor near the crash of the Titanic.  Below are just a few of the jewelry items that have been recovered and are on display around the world at different museums:

Gold Necklace
This gold necklace was believed to be worn by wealthy Briton Eleanor Widener. The Widener family was reported as one of the wealthiest on the Titanic‘s maiden voyage.  Gold buyers have marveled at the beauty and craftsmanship of this piece–it’s simply stunning!

Diamond Ring
This diamond ring was recovered from inside a leather bag, likely belonging to one of the women in first class. The three diamonds feature an old European cut and has a setting made of platinum.  Weighing at around 2.4 grams, it is truly a handcrafted beauty.   Anyone in the diamond industry-diamond jewelers, diamond pawn shop owners and diamond enthusiasts describe it as an absolutely lovely vintage piece, still in good condition after being submerged in the ocean for so long.

Pocket Watch
The pocket watch was retrieved from an unknown victim of the disaster. It is stopped at 02:28, a few minutes after the sinking and after its owner went into the water.

Bracelet
Recovered in 1987, this 15 karat rose gold and silver bracelet displays the name Amy in diamonds. There were at least two women named Amy among the 2,228 people on board, although one was a member of the crew.

Gold Mesh Purse
A gold mesh purse is seen among artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck site at a press preview of a Titanic artifact auction at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on January 5, 2012 in New York City. On April 11, 2012, the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

Gold Chandelier
Part of a gold chandelier was found amid the Titanic wreckage.

Gold Carpathia Medal Key
Carpathia was the doctor on board, and his story of how he helped Mrs. Astor was featured in the archives of The Titanic Historical Society by Gottlieb Rencher, the senior assistant to Carpahtia.  Rencher donated his key to Carpathias’ dispensary and a rare gold medal presented to Carpathia by one of the first class survivors, Molly Tobin Brown.  Bronze medals were tive to the crew, while gold medals were given to the officers.  Of the 300 medals found, only 14 were gold.

 

***Pictures courtesy of Titanic Historical Society, Inc.

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Should I Sell My Gold Now or Wait for the Price of Gold to Rise?

It can be a very stressful for a person when it comes to deciding the best time to sell gold jewelry for cash. What you need to know before you plan on selling gold is that gold trades on the open market, just like stocks. So what does this mean for you?  It simply means that one day the price of gold may go up and the next day it may go down. The best advice for anyone wishing to make some extra cash by selling their gold jewelry is to do your own research.  After that, it’s a matter of following your guts to determine the most profitable time to part with your old jewelry.

If you’re unsure where to start, just ask yourself: Do I need the money now? If you are in a financial crunch, then now is as great as anytime to sell your gold. Of course you run the risk of the price of gold not being the highest possible, but if you need instant cash, it may be better in your situation to sell it even if the markets aren’t the best.

The Best Time To Sell

On the other hand, if you don’t need the money at this very moment, you should keep up with the gold market, map out the trends and wait to sell your gold.  However, even if the price of gold rises or falls by $20 an ounce, it really isn’t going to make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things (that is unless you have pounds of gold, which most people don’t).

What’s comforting is that the price of gold has never been this high (2011-2012).  Even if you do sell your gold when gold prices are low, you can still rest assured that you are getting more money than you would have been a couple years ago.

Lessons From Gold Buyers

Here’s a true story often heard in the gold buying and gold selling industry:
A woman had the intent of selling her gold.  She shopped around a few different NY gold buyers and finally came upon a store that gave her a very good payout for her gold.  Despite the store offering her one of the highest payouts within New York, she debated with herself and ended up not selling–thinking that the price would rise soon.

Just 2 days later, the gold market dropped about $200/ounce, which is a substantial amount even for scrap gold and scrap jewelry.  Upon hearing the sudden drop in the market, she ran back to the same Long Island gold buyer and asked for the same price she was offered two days ago.  Unfortunately, gold buyers do not operate like that.

She walked out disheartened and in regret that she didn’t sell earlier.  The gold buyer mentioned that it was possible for the price to rise back up again. She took his advice and waited it out. It was a good thing she did because 1 week later, the price of gold rose back up to the level it was when she originally came in to the store.

Long story short. Timing is everything. When your gut reaction tells you to sell, you should follow suit.

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Platinum’s Presence Throughout History

Platinum became rather prominent and grew in popularity after the discovery of the largest platinum mine in South Africa, around the mid 1920s.  A couple years after the discovery of the mine, platinum became all the rage in Hollywood.  In both movies and in real life, platinum was a symbol of high society, adornment for the rich and famous.

A couple of years later, platinum became a metal more “for the masses”, after De Beers featured the use of platinum to accompany their magnificent diamonds.  This was the time when they started to sell platinum rings in the form of diamond wedding rings.  During this time, diamonds were more affordable.  With the introduction of platinum and the lower price of diamonds, many people bought platinum diamond rings for their loved ones, without actually knowing how valuable their platinum was.

Elvis Presley was the first major figure to bring popularity to platinum.  He proposed to his fiance with a platinum engagement ring.  After Elvis and Priscilla exchanged platinum bands, the popularity of platinum increased drastically.  Since then, platinum has been one of the most popular and most treasured fine precious metal.

Nowadays, people are either buying platinum or selling platinum for a profit.  NYC gold buyers have noted just how much of an investment it is to sell platinum jewelry that has been made in the 20th century.  Whether you are planning to buy platinum or sell platinum, you can be sure that you will be making a good investment.

Rising Popularity in Platinum Rings

The popularity of platinum has been on a rise in the past decade or so.  Despite the fact that platinum is often referred to as “the new metal”, it has been a naturally occurring metal dating back billions of years ago.  Throughout history, platinum has been toyed around with by different cultures and societies, however its magnificence and beauty started gaining attention in the late 20th century.

For many brides and grooms, platinum is the first choice for both womens and mens wedding rings.  The reason?  Platinum looks clean and gives off a nice silver, white sheen.  But besides the beautiful color of platinum, platinum is favored for being durable.  Platinum is a great choice for eternity rings as well because it is a symbol of everlasting love.

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Mythbuster: Are Diamonds Made from Coal?

Raise your hand if you have heard and/or believe that diamonds are made from coal.  How many times have you heard the following: “if you put enough pressure, you can turn coal into diamonds”?  Let’s jump straight to the truth–DIAMONDS ARE NOT MADE FROM COAL.  The first and major reasoning behind this truth is that diamonds have been dated much further back than coal. Diamonds are older than all of the Earth’s land plants, which is what coal is made of.  The question you should be asking is, how are diamonds really made and why are they so valuable?

There are 4 main methods to how diamonds form.  Only one method is responsible for producing nearly all of the diamonds that we use for jewelry or commercial uses.  The other 3 methods are not significant for producing diamonds.

Formation of Diamonds:
Diamonds are created deep in the Earth, roughly about 100 miles below the surface of the Earth.  As you get closer to the core of the Earth, temperatures start rising.  The combination of high temperatures and high pressure is what is essential for the formation of diamonds.

The diamonds that are available to us are ones that have made its way to the surface of the earth with a little help from deep-seated volcano eruptions.  These eruptions are not frequent, and most occurred during a period of time when the temperature of the Earth was very hot.  The volcanic material containing the diamonds is called Kimberlite.  Diamond mines are areas with a high concentration of Kimberlites.

Essentially, diamonds are composed of carbon.  With the high pressure and the high temperature, the carbon molecules bond to create a crystal structure.
When the diamonds finally make its way to the surface, they are able to cool off rather quickly.  The transition from hot to cold locks the carbon atoms into place, preventing the diamond from turning into graphite.

Why Are Diamonds so Valuable?
Gold buyers, diamond buyers, luxury item collectors all agree diamonds are valuable, but many don’t know why.  Diamonds are valuable because they are rare, very old and there is a limited supply. Most of all the diamonds available to us have been produced over billions of years ago.  Jewelers who sell diamonds for cash will explain in detail what makes one diamond more valuable than another.  Because we do not suspect and we do not hope for another deep seated volcanic eruption, diamonds underground are not able to make its way to the surface via the Kimberlite process.

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How to Pick a Trustworthy Gold Buyer

Selling your gold in today’s economy could be a very smart decision if you have done your research.  There’s usually two sets of people when it comes to selling gold: people who are satisfied and people who aren’t.  Depending on what type of gold buyer you sell your gold at and the location, you could end up getting a great offer for your gold or getting scammed out of your money.

Since early 2011, the value of gold has increased by at around 20%.  In the past few months, the value of gold has been relatively high, even reaching record levels.  This is great incentive for people to sell their scrap gold, gold jewelry and other gold items.  Common places to sell gold include pawn shops, gold buyer locations, mail in gold, traveling gold buyers and gold parties.  In the past 2 years, there have been numerous negative reports for shady gold buying businesses that have cheated customers out of their money–giving them below average value for their gold.  This shouldn’t discourage you from selling your gold; however this should motivate you to sell your gold the smart way:

Picking The Right Cash for Gold Location

• Know that no matter where you sell your gold, you will not receive full price for the gold.  The reason behind that is because the gold buyer has to melt down the gold to re-sell.  Realistically you should be offered around 50% of the full price for your gold.
• Familiarize yourself with the current value of gold.  Keep track of the value of gold the day you plan to sell.
• Determine the weight, measured in karat, of your gold pieces.  Most of the time, gold jewelry and other gold items will not be made of pure 24k gold because pure gold is very soft and malleable.  Common gold items are 10k, 14k, and 18k.  The higher the weight of the gold/the more pure the gold, the more your item is worth.
• Consider getting your items appraised if you believe they are antique, designer items, collectible items or very valuable.  They might you discover how much more valuable your gold items are worth.
• Make sure the gold buyer is giving you a fair estimate based on the karat of your gold.  Some gold buyers will scam you by weighing all your gold together and paying you based on the lowest karat value.  If you had one 10k item mixed in with  18k pieces and they are paying you based on a 10k price for everything, then you aren’t getting your fair share for your 18k items.
• Shop around for at least 3 cash for gold locations.  Compare prices from the different buyers.
• Do some research on the stores, locations and businesses you plan on visiting or selling.  See if there are any complaints and if the business is accredited by the BBB.

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4 Simple Tips to Get the Most Cash for Your Silver Flatware

Owning and maintaining sterling silver flatware used to be extremely desirable.  Every new bride and new homeowner would have killed for a shiny set of silver flatware.  However what most people aren’t aware of is the time and money that needs to be spent on polishing your sterling silver flatware.  In today’s busy world, owning a set of sterling silver flatware is more tedious than desirable.

If you were given or handed down a set of fine sterling silver flatware, but don’t want to keep it, you should consider selling your silver for cash.  Similar to selling gold for cash, you can make a sizeable profit selling silver for cash.  You’re guaranteed more cash for silver flatware if it is vintage or antique.  You can take the money and buy some useful kitchenware or simply splurge on something for yourself!  Here’s some tips to help get you started:

1. Know Your Silver Flatware:
To get started, you should try to do some background research on your flatware collection.  If your silver flatware has been handed down to you, it should give you more reason to do your homework before selling your silver flatware.  To start, find some books or browse the web for information on sterling silver diningware.  Jot down notes about what factors contribute to the value of a set of silver flatware and how to tell how much your collection may be worth.  Take note of the manufacturer, age of flatware, origin of flatware and the pattern name.

2. Inspect Your Silver Flatware Collection:
Take a close look at your collection by looking for marks on the silver flatware.  Often times, real sterling silver flatware will be stamped to mark its authenticity.  However, depending on when it was made and manufactured, some sterling silver flatware do not have any stamped markings.  There is also the possibility that your sterling silver flatware is only silver dipped and plated.  Most if not all silver buyers will not buy your flatware set if it is only dipped in silver.      Keep track of all your flatware.  Take note of how many pieces you have, what type, any missing pieces, and so forth.

3. Getting an Appraisal:
Before you decide to sell your silver flatware, decide if you want to get the set appraised.  Getting your silver appraised may lead to a more accurate knowledge of your sterling silverware and a higher payout.  Do some research and find a local gold, silver or platinum appraiser.

4. Research Where You Want to Sell:                               
Look at all your options for selling your silver flatware.  You can sell it online or take it to a physical sterling silver flatware buyer near you.  Some companies are private collectors, some are auction sites, some are reputable “We Buy Gold” locations and so forth.  Shop around to find the best place to sell your sterling silver jewelry.

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From Gold Parties to Tea Parties – Host A Springtime Party!

The months of Winter are usually long, cold and dreary.  One of the best ways to celebrate Spring and warmer weather is by having a springtime party and celebration.  Here are some fabulous ideas to spring you into shorts, flip-flops, longer days, blooming flowers and plenty of sunshine!

1. Spring Fever:

Have you been counting down the days till warm weather since the New Year? Time to    take out your spring and summer clothes and put the heavy winter coats away.  Here are some tips on throwing a Spring Fever Party:

• Decorate your house with bright colors
• Make your home into a mini paradise
• Have tropical drinks with umbrellas, virgin or non-virgin
• Enforce a strict spring only dress code

2. Gold Party

Host a gold party, have fun with friends and make money all at once!  Start Spring with a few extra bucks in your wallet by hosting a party:

• Find a trustworthy gold buyer who provides gold party hosting
• Send out personal invites for your gold party
• Decorate your house with gold decor
• Have light refreshments, snacks and drinks
• Tell your friends and family to bring in their unwanted gold jewelry!

3. Earth Day

Celebrate the Earth and celebrate Spring at the same time.  This year Earth day will fall    on April 22, 2012.  Here are some great ideas to celebrating both at the same time:

• Invite friends and family to help plant trees, a garden and flowers at your house
• Serve “green” and earth friendly themed foods and drinks
• Earth cupcakes, green beer, hummus and cheese platters
• Use recycled products for hosting your party
• Incorporate activities that are educational for being more eco-friendly

4. Outdoors Party

The best part about Spring is that you can finally go outside and play.  Take advantage of longer days and warmer weather by hosting an outdoor party…before the heat waves of summer strike.

• Have a grill out in your backyard, by the pool, or at a park
• Not a fan of grilling? Go on a picnic with some of your closest friends
• Plan out some outdoor games such as flag football, go fishing, go hiking, play frisbee, take some photos, fly a kite…the possibilities are endless!

5. Tea and Biscuits

Nothing beats a tea party like a nice breezy Spring day with lilacs blooming in the backyard.  Make either hot tea or cold tea or both depending on the weather.

• Have your guests dress in their Sunday’s best, equipped with gloves and a floppy sun hat
• Serve cucumber sandwiches, tea sandwiches, tea cookies and other baked goods
• Host the party on a patio, outdoors, or living room
• Decorate with Spring blooms and soft pastel colors

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