Dear Reader,
Gold and Silver coins and bars are timeless pieces of value and when prices are up and rising – as they currently have been doing since the beginning of 2016 – you are going to find a few trying to rip off members of the Great British public.
Yesterday I received a flyer through my door from a man walking up the road where I live. The flyer said; “WANTED FOR CASH – GOLD AND SILVER: Top London Cash Prices Paid.” This little advertising leaflet proceeded to tell me that for “one day only” I could visit my local Age Concern centre – which the company had no doubt hired – to hand in my gold and silver jewellery, or Gold Sovereigns and Krugerrands. The flyer for this non-local, travelling company says; “We believe we can offer the best deal in town.” I’ve rarely heard the word “believe” used to shirk one’s social responsibility so – usually it’s a word we use in the Martin Luther King sense of the term; inspirational and value-based.
But the use in this advertising flyer is somewhat akin to its Word-Nemesis – “Oh, sorry we heavily underpaid you, but at least we “believed” we weren’t ripping you off.”
Except they will. The flyer gives the maximum price they will pay per troy ounce; for 22 carat gold up to £526 troy ounce.
But let’s do a quick sum using a Gold Sovereign coin, because that coin is struck in 22 carat and all the following figures are true for sovereigns from 1817 up to the present day. A Gold Sovereign weighs 7.988 grams. It’s fineness is 916.7, which means assuming the weight of 7.988 grams the actual gold content is 7.3224 grams, or 0.2354 of a troy ounce.
So, if I went along with my Gold Sovereign, the absolute maximum cash this company would give me in exchange for my Gold Sovereign is: 0.2354 x £526 = £123.82. That’s what I call a bad trade.
An established Bullion Company – like ourselves – should be paying you between 96% – 98% of the value of the gold content, dependent on condition and wear of the coin, which means a figure on today’s prices of Gold is around £235 – almost double what this flyer-through-the-door company would pay you!
So, now I hope it is clear to our readers how nefarious the “we believe we can offer the best deal in town” sales pitch appeared to me as soon as I glanced the prices offered.
I am clearly writing this to warn every single one of our readers to be careful and do your research. There is a reason these “companies” stay in town for “one day only.” If you are thinking of selling any of your Gold and Silver coins or bars, please research and only use an established bullion company. Call us, we’re happy to help, even for your most formative questions ahead of taking any action.
