PreciousCalc.com User Guide

PreciousCalc.com is designed to help you understand the numbers behind precious-metal value. The calculators can estimate the melt value of gold, silver, platinum, and U.S. constitutional silver and help you compare a transaction price with that estimated value.

Choose the Right Calculator

PreciousCalc.com includes several calculators for different types of precious-metal items:

  • Gold — for gold jewelry and other gold items when you know the item's karat or fineness and weight.
  • Silver — for silver jewelry and other silver items when you know the item's purity and weight.
  • Platinum — for platinum jewelry and other platinum items when you know the item's purity and weight.
  • Constitutional Silver — for supported U.S. silver coin categories using the coin type and the requested quantity or face value.

The Gold, Silver, and Platinum calculators follow the same basic process: select the purity, enter the weight, review the spot price, and compare the estimated melt value with a transaction price. Constitutional Silver works a little differently because the calculator uses known silver-content standards for supported coin categories.

How to Use the Gold, Silver, and Platinum Calculators

1. Select the Purity

Start by determining the purity of the item. Precious metals are often mixed with other metals, so the full weight of an item is not necessarily the weight of the precious metal it contains.

Gold is commonly described by karat, such as 10K, 14K, 18K, or 24K. Gold may also carry a numerical fineness mark. For example:

  • 585 = 14K
  • 750 = 18K
  • 916 = 22K
  • 999 = approximately 24K

Silver and platinum are commonly identified by numerical purity or fineness markings. Select the option in the calculator that corresponds to the purity of your item.

Marks may be very small and can appear on the inside of a ring, on a clasp, on the back of an item, or in another less-visible area. If an item is unmarked, you cannot find the mark, or you are unsure what a marking means, don't guess. A jeweler, precious-metals buyer, or other qualified professional may be able to test the item and determine its purity.

Keep in mind that a mark alone does not guarantee the actual precious-metal content of an item. Plated, filled, or otherwise layered items should not be treated as solid precious metal of the marked purity unless their composition has been properly identified.

2. Enter the Weight

Next, determine how much the item weighs. Grams are commonly used for weighing jewelry and are often the easiest unit to work with when using a small digital or jeweler's scale.

Place the item on the scale and enter the displayed weight into PreciousCalc.com. Be sure the unit selected in the calculator matches the unit shown on your scale.

Precious-metal market prices are commonly quoted by the troy ounce, which is different from the ordinary ounce used for many everyday items. One troy ounce equals approximately 31.1035 grams. You don't need to perform that conversion yourself—PreciousCalc.com handles the calculation for you.

If you don't have a scale, that's okay. A buyer or jeweler may weigh the item as part of determining its value. Ask what the item weighs and what unit of measurement is being used. Enter that number into PreciousCalc.com so you can follow the calculation yourself.

If an item contains stones, fasteners, or other non-precious-metal materials, the total weight of the item may not represent the weight being used to calculate its metal value. Ask how those materials are being accounted for.

3. Review the Spot Price

PreciousCalc automatically fills the spot-price field with an aggregated live market spot price. Spot prices can vary slightly by data source, timing, buyer, seller, or dealer.

You can override the displayed value to match the spot price being used for your transaction. PreciousCalc will use your entered price for the rest of your session.

4. Review the Estimated Melt Value

For the Gold, Silver, and Platinum calculators, PreciousCalc.com combines three basic pieces of information—the weight of the item, its precious-metal purity, and the current market price of that metal—to estimate the melt value.

Why is it called melt value?

Many precious-metal items are not made entirely from one pure metal. For example, 14K gold is approximately 58.5% gold, while the remainder consists of other metals. Sterling silver and many platinum alloys likewise contain a specified proportion of the primary precious metal. When an item is being valued for its metal content, it is the recoverable precious-metal portion that matters—not simply the item's full weight.

The metal can ultimately be refined, separated from other materials, and reused. The melt value is an estimate of what the recoverable precious metal in the item is worth based on the market price being used by the calculator.

That distinction is important. Melt value is not necessarily the amount a buyer will offer you. Buyers have costs and need to make a profit, so an offer may be below the calculated melt value. Conversely, some jewelry, coins, antiques, or collectible items may be worth more than their metal content alone because of their craftsmanship, rarity, collectibility, brand, or historic value.

5. Enter the Transaction Price

If you have a transaction price to evaluate, enter the dollar amount in the Transaction Price field. PreciousCalc.com will compare the transaction price with the estimated melt value and show the percentage it represents.

For example, if the estimated melt value is $1,000 and the transaction prices $700, PreciousCalc.com will show that the offer equals 70% of estimated melt value. You can type the exact offer or use the slider to explore different dollar amounts.

This is a mathematical comparison only. It does not tell you what percentage a buyer should offer or whether a particular offer is fair or recommended. That decision depends on the circumstances of the transaction and is ultimately yours to make.

Using the Constitutional Silver Calculator

The Constitutional Silver calculator is designed for supported U.S. silver coin categories. Unlike the Gold, Silver, and Platinum calculators, you generally do not need to weigh each coin or determine its purity yourself.

Select the appropriate coin category and enter the requested quantity or face value. PreciousCalc.com uses the applicable silver-content standard for that category together with the current silver spot price to estimate the contained silver and its melt value.

Coin condition, rarity, date, mint mark, collectibility, and numismatic value can affect what a coin is worth. The Constitutional Silver calculator estimates metal value; it does not determine whether a particular coin has additional collector value.

Don't Have the Numbers? Ask for Them.

You don't need to arrive at a precious-metals buyer already knowing everything about your item.

  • If you don't know the weight, ask: “How much does it weigh?”
  • If you don't know the purity, ask: “What purity did it test at?” For gold, you can also ask what karat it tested at.
  • If the buyer is using a different market price, ask: “What spot price are you using?”

Then enter those numbers into PreciousCalc.com.

The buyer may be the person with the equipment and experience needed to determine the weight and purity. That's fine. The important part is that you understand the numbers being used to calculate the offer.

PreciousCalc.com gives you a way to follow along rather than simply hearing a final dollar amount. Know the numbers. Make better decisions.

This guide is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, appraisal, or other professional advice.