Gold Melt Value Explained

What melt value means, how it's calculated, and why knowing the number matters when selling gold.

Gold melt value is the worth of the pure gold content in an item, based on its weight, karat purity, and the current spot price. It's the baseline for what gold is worth as raw material — not as jewelry, not as a collectible, and not what a buyer will necessarily pay you.

Formula: Weight (grams) × Purity Fraction × Spot Price Per Gram

Gold Spot $5,019.18/oz

$161.37/g · $250.96/dwt

Updated Mar 15, 2026, 5:57 PM UTC

If you're trying to figure out what your gold is worth, melt value is the place to start. It tells you the value of the pure gold content in an item — the amount you'd recover if you melted it down, refined it, and sold the resulting pure gold at today's market price.

That number isn't what a buyer will pay you, and it isn't what the piece would cost to replace. But it's the foundation for almost every gold transaction. Dealers use it to set offers. Sellers use it to evaluate those offers. And understanding it means you can walk into a sale knowing whether an offer is fair or whether you're being lowballed.

This guide covers the formula, how to apply it, what it leaves out, and when melt value isn't the right framework.

The Melt Value Formula

The calculation is straightforward. You need three numbers:

Melt Value = Weight × Purity Fraction × Spot Price Per Gram

Weight is the mass of the gold item in grams. If you're weighing at home, a digital kitchen scale accurate to 0.1 grams works. Jewelers and gold buyers use more precise scales (0.01g). If the piece has gemstones, the stone weight needs to be subtracted — you want the weight of the metal only.

Purity fraction is the proportion of the item that's actually gold, expressed as a decimal. Gold jewelry is almost never pure — it's alloyed with other metals for strength and durability. The karat system tells you the ratio:

Karat	Gold Content	Purity Fraction	Hallmark
24K	99.9%	0.999	999
22K	91.67%	0.9167	916
18K	75.0%	0.750	750
14K	58.33%	0.5833	585
10K	41.67%	0.4167	417
9K	37.5%	0.375	375

Not sure what karat your gold is? Use our Gold Hallmark & Purity Lookup to decode the stamp on your piece.

Spot price per gram is the current market price of one gram of pure (24K) gold. Gold is traded globally in troy ounces, so you'll often see the spot price quoted as a per-ounce figure. To convert: divide the per-ounce price by 31.1035 (the number of grams in a troy ounce). You can see current gold prices per gram for every karat on our reference page.

How It Works in Practice

Here are two worked examples using the current posted spot price of $5,019.18 per troy ounce ($161.37 per gram of pure gold), updated Mar 15, 2026, 5:57 PM UTC.

Example: A 14K gold ring weighing 5 grams

Weight: 5 grams
Purity fraction (14K): 14 ÷ 24 = 0.5833
Pure gold content: 5g × 0.5833 = 2.92 grams
Melt value: 2.92g × $161.37 = $470.66

Example: A 10K gold chain weighing 15 grams

Weight: 15 grams
Purity fraction (10K): 10 ÷ 24 = 0.4167
Pure gold content: 15g × 0.4167 = 6.25 grams
Melt value: 6.25g × $161.37 = $1,008.56

The numbers change every day as the spot price moves, but the formula stays the same. To calculate the melt value of your own gold with today's posted spot price, use our Gold Calculator — enter the weight and karat, and it does the math instantly.

How Karat Changes the Number

One of the most common surprises for people calculating melt value for the first time is how much the karat matters. Here's the same 5-gram piece at four common purities, using the current posted spot price:

Karat	Pure Gold	Melt Value
10K	2.08g	$336.19
14K	2.92g	$470.66
18K	3.75g	$605.14
24K	5.00g	$806.04

Values based on the posted spot price of $5,019.18/troy oz, updated Mar 15, 2026, 5:57 PM UTC. See today's gold price per gram for current figures across all karats.

A 10K piece and an 18K piece of the same weight differ in melt value by about 80%. If someone offers you the same amount for both, one of those offers is badly wrong. Knowing the karat before you sell is the most basic thing you can do to avoid a bad deal.

For a deeper look at how different karats compare in purity, durability, and price, see our guides on 14K vs 18K gold and 10K vs 14K gold.

Melt Value vs. What You'll Actually Get Paid

This is the distinction that trips people up most. Melt value is a calculation — it tells you the theoretical worth of the pure gold in your item. It is not an offer, and no buyer will pay you the full melt value.

When you sell gold, the buyer has to refine it — extract the pure gold from the alloy — which costs money. They also have overhead (staff, rent, equipment, insurance) and need a margin. All of that comes out of the melt value, which is why every offer you receive will be some percentage below it.

How far below depends on who's buying:

Buyer Type	Typical Payout	Why
Pawn shops	30–60%	High overhead, small volume, reselling to refiners
Local jewelers	40–65%	Small-lot buyers, often middlemen
Online gold buyers	70–90%	Lower overhead, competitive market, larger volume
Refiners (direct)	90–98%	No middleman, but often require minimum quantities

These are broad ranges to illustrate the spectrum. Actual offers vary by market, location, quantity, and individual buyer. Always get multiple quotes.

The gap can be significant. On a piece with a melt value of $500, a pawn shop might offer $200–300, while an online buyer might offer $350–450. Getting multiple quotes is the easiest way to close that gap.

Use our Gold Calculator to see the melt value and an illustrative buyer payout range for your specific item.

Melt Value vs. Other Kinds of Value

Melt value is one way to value gold, but it's not the only one — and for some items, it's not even the most relevant.

Type of Value	What It Means	vs. Melt Value
Melt value	Worth of the pure gold content	The baseline
Resale / scrap value	What a buyer actually pays you	30–98% of melt value
Retail value	What a jeweler charges for a new piece	2–7× melt value
Insurance / appraisal	Cost to replace the item from a retailer	3–10× melt value
Numismatic / collector	Rarity, condition, and demand-driven pricing	Melt value to many multiples

Retail value is the number that surprises people most. A 14K gold ring that retails for $1,200 at a jeweler might have a melt value of $300–400. The rest is design, labor, brand, overhead, and margin. If you're selling that ring, the $1,200 is irrelevant — nobody buying secondhand gold pays retail prices for the materials.

Insurance appraisals are even further from melt value. An appraisal tells your insurance company what it would cost to replace the piece from a retailer. It's the highest number you'll see associated with a piece of gold jewelry, and it has almost no relationship to what anyone will pay you for it.

When Melt Value Is the Wrong Way to Value Your Gold

Melt value is the right starting point for plain gold jewelry, broken pieces, and anything you're selling primarily for its gold content. But some items are worth considerably more intact than they'd be worth melted down:

Designer jewelry from brands like Tiffany, Cartier, or David Yurman often commands resale prices well above gold content value. An 18K Cartier bracelet might contain $2,000 worth of gold but sell for $8,000+ on the secondary market. Melting designer pieces destroys value that can't be recovered.
Antique and vintage pieces with historical significance or distinctive craftsmanship can be worth many times their melt value. A Victorian gold brooch worth $300 in gold content might sell for several thousand dollars to a collector or auction house.
Numismatic coins. A common-date American Gold Eagle trades close to melt value plus a modest premium (3–8%). But a rare-date coin in excellent condition can be worth many multiples of its gold content. Always have gold coins assessed by a coin dealer before selling them for melt.
Jewelry with significant gemstones. If a ring has a quality diamond, sapphire, or emerald, the stone may be worth more than the gold setting. A buyer who only values the gold content is ignoring what might be the most valuable part of the piece.

If your item falls into any of these categories, get it appraised by a specialist — not a scrap gold buyer — before deciding to sell for melt value.

Items That Complicate the Calculation

The melt-value formula assumes you're working with solid gold of a known karat and a clean weight. Several common situations make things less straightforward:

Gold-plated items have a microscopically thin gold layer (typically under 0.5 microns) over a base metal core. The gold content is negligible — far too little to recover from a single piece. If your item is stamped GP, GEP, HGE, or RGP, the melt-value formula doesn't meaningfully apply. Read more about gold filled vs gold plated.

Gold-filled items have a thicker gold layer and must contain at least 5% gold by weight (per FTC guidelines). They do have some melt value, but it's a fraction of what solid gold of the same weight would be worth. A 20-gram gold-filled bracelet stamped 1/20 14K GF contains about 1 gram of 14K gold.

Hollow pieces are solid gold of the stated karat — the formula works perfectly — but they weigh far less than they appear. A hollow bangle that looks substantial might weigh a fraction of what a solid one would. The melt value per gram is the same; there are just fewer grams than you might expect.

Stone-set jewelry requires you to subtract the weight of any gemstones before calculating. Stones have zero gold melt value but contribute to the total weight on the scale. If you can't easily weigh the metal alone, a jeweler can help. For pieces with significant stones, get the stones appraised separately — they may be worth more than the gold.

Not sure if your piece is solid gold, gold filled, or gold plated? Check for hallmark stamps and wear patterns. Our guide on how to tell if gold is real walks through practical tests you can do at home, and when to get professional testing.

Common Mistakes When Estimating Melt Value

Confusing troy ounces with regular ounces. Gold is priced in troy ounces (31.1035 grams), not the avoirdupois ounces (28.35 grams) used for food and packages. Using the wrong unit means your calculation is off by about 10%. If you see a price "per ounce," it always means per troy ounce.
Forgetting to account for karat. A 10K piece is only 41.67% gold. If you multiply the full weight by the pure-gold spot price, you'll overestimate the melt value by more than double.
Including stone weight. Gemstones add weight but contain no gold. Failing to subtract them inflates the calculation.
Treating melt value as what you'll get paid. Every buyer pays less than melt value — sometimes substantially less. Melt value tells you what the gold is worth; it doesn't tell you what someone will offer.
Using the retail price as a benchmark. Retail gold jewelry is typically priced at 2 to 7 times the value of the gold it contains. A ring that cost $1,500 may contain $300 worth of gold. Expecting anything close to the purchase price when selling sets you up for disappointment.
Accepting the first offer without comparing. The difference between what a pawn shop and a competitive online buyer will pay for the same gold can be hundreds of dollars. Getting at least two or three quotes is one of the most valuable things you can do.

How to Use Melt Value Before You Sell

If you know the melt value before you walk into a buyer's shop, you're not guessing — and you're not dependent on the buyer's number being honest.

Identify the karat. Check the stamp on your piece. Use our Gold Hallmark & Purity Lookup if you're not sure what a stamp means.
Weigh the item. Use a digital scale accurate to at least 0.1 grams. Subtract the weight of any stones if you can.
Calculate the melt value. Enter the weight and karat into the Gold Calculator for a single item, or the Scrap Gold Calculator for multiple pieces.
Get multiple offers. Visit or contact at least two or three buyers. Compare each offer against your calculated melt value to see what percentage they're paying.
Evaluate. Compare each offer as a percentage of melt. Higher is better — but what counts as a good offer depends on the buyer type, lot size, and your local market. If an offer seems unusually low relative to the others, keep looking.

This process takes a few minutes. On a piece worth $500 in gold, the difference between a 50% offer and an 80% offer is $150.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is melt value the same as scrap value?

Not quite. Melt value is the theoretical worth of the pure gold in an item based on the posted spot price — it's a calculation, not an offer. Scrap value is what a buyer actually pays you, which is typically less than melt value because buyers must cover refining costs, overhead, and margin. Think of melt value as the baseline for scrap-style valuation — what you measure offers against. Items with designer, antique, or collectible value may sell for more than melt.

How do I find the karat of my gold?

Check for a hallmark stamp — look inside ring bands, near clasps, on earring posts, and on the back of pendants. U.S. pieces are typically stamped 10K, 14K, 18K, or 24K. European pieces use fineness numbers: 375 (9K), 585 (14K), 750 (18K), 916 (22K), or 999 (24K). Use our Gold Hallmark & Purity Lookup to decode any stamp. If there's no stamp, a jeweler can test the karat in minutes.

Does broken or damaged gold have the same melt value as intact gold?

Yes. Melt value depends only on weight, purity, and spot price — not on condition, appearance, or whether the piece is wearable. A broken 14K chain has exactly the same melt value per gram as an intact one. Damage matters for resale or collector value, but not for melt value.

Is gold-plated jewelry worth anything for its gold content?

Essentially no. Gold plating is typically less than 0.5 microns thick — far too thin to recover meaningful gold from a single piece. Gold-filled items have more gold (at least 5% by weight) and may have modest scrap value, but it's still a fraction of what solid gold is worth. Learn more about the differences between gold filled and gold plated.

Which calculator should I use — Gold Calculator or Scrap Gold Calculator?

Use the Gold Calculator to value a single item — enter its weight and karat, and you'll see the melt value instantly. Use the Scrap Gold Calculator when you have multiple pieces to value at once — it lets you add items one by one and see both individual and combined totals.

Why does the same weight of gold have such different melt values at different karats?

Because karat determines how much of the item is actually gold. A 5-gram 10K ring contains only 2.08 grams of pure gold (41.67%), while a 5-gram 18K ring contains 3.75 grams (75%). The melt value of the 18K ring is about 80% higher — not because it weighs more, but because a much larger fraction of it is gold.

Should I melt down my own gold jewelry?

In most cases, no. Melting and refining gold requires specialized equipment, chemicals, and expertise. You'd also lose any value the piece has beyond its gold content — designer premiums, craftsmanship, gemstones, or collector interest. Instead, sell to a buyer who handles the refining. Use the Gold Calculator to know your melt value before you negotiate, so you can evaluate offers intelligently.

Transparent Formula

Every calculation uses the standard melt value formula. No hidden fees or markups.

Data Source

Spot-price data is provided via metals.dev. Last updated Mar 15, 2026, 5:57 PM UTC. Methodology

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