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Experts offer advice to those looking to cash in on gold rush
Photo
Tom Bartholomew of TeleGold Jewelers in Boardman looks through a magnifier to see the karat marking on a piece of jewelry.
By Ashley Luthern
aluthern@vindy.com
YOUNGSTOWN
Although the gold rush of late summer carried until fall, the payoff has dwindled.
But that doesn’t mean people have stopped selling jewelry and coins.
The Vindicator this week visited two jewelry stores and a traveling coin and jewelry show that has set up shop in an Austintown hotel. At each location, people were selling jewelry or coins.
We also shopped jewelry — two 10-karat gold rings and five pieces of 14-karat gold-chain jewelry — at each of three locations to see which offered the highest price.
Johnny Dubic at Boardman Coin at 5700 Market St. offered the most for the collection at $342, and Tom Bartholomew at TeleGold Jewelers, 8051 Market St., offered about the same amount, $340.
Bob Macher, show manager of the International Coin Collectors Association (ICCA), which is at Country Inn & Suites on Interstate Boulevard in Austintown until Saturday, offered $220.88. A scratch-off prize card also was given to sellers that offered 5 percent, 10 percent or 20 percent or $20 added onto the price as prizes. Our scratch-off card revealed a 5 percent addition, bringing the possible payout up to $231.92.
The reporter did not identify herself when first collecting price quotes Wednesday morning. Returning Wednesday afternoon, she did identify herself as a reporter.
The price of gold was just lower than $1,600 per troy ounce Wednesday morning and closer to $1,615 per troy ounce by closing time that day. One troy ounce is equal to about 1.1 ounces.
In the last six months, the price of gold peaked to $1,900.30 per troy ounce Sept. 12 before plunging to its lowest point of $1,529.40 on Dec. 29, according to Kitco Metals Inc., a worldwide retailer of precious metals.
Macher said that when he quotes prices, it’s based on what his company, ICCA, a subdivision of THR & Associates, authorizes him to offer. THR & Associates is a national buyer of precious metals, coins and antiquities. The dollar figures are calculated using what gold is trading at during the day, and that number fluctuates, much like the stock market itself, he added.
And Macher said he leaves room for negotiation.
“On the two rings, I could have probably given another $50 to $75, but gold was down [Wednesday], and it’s come back up [Thursday],” he said. “I try to leave a little room for negotiation, and we do negotiate.”
Bartholomew said there can be a large difference in what places will pay for gold and precious metals, which is why he encourages people to do research before selling.
“People come in because gold’s been hot in the news, but they don’t have a frame of reference. I get people shopping around, and I don’t mind,” said Bartholomew, who has been at TeleGold since 1980 and in the coin business since 1972.
Dubic at Boardman Coin, which has been in business for more than 35 years, advised gold-sellers to look for a “reputable business.”
He also encouraged those interested in selling to shop around and watch that “the price does fluctuate daily.”
“Look for someone who doesn’t throw everything into a lump and [instead] separates it out by karat,” he added.
AVOIDING FRAUD
As the price of gold soared, more and more people brought items and some sellers had less-than-honest intentions.
Macher said the karat should be marked on each piece of jewelry, but if it’s not or he suspects the number may have been added or altered, he conducts a test.
“We can use an acid test for 10-, 14- and 18-karat gold,” he said, demonstrating by scratching a gold-plated chain on an abrasive surface, leaving a mark, and then placing a drop of acid on the mark.
“If the mark disappears, it’s not real,” Macher said.
He also said it’s “buyer beware” when it comes to purchasing coins, particularly those sold on TV.
“Watch for the word ‘copy’ placed on the coin. It should have the metal name on it,” Macher said, adding he recently told a young couple that the gold coins that they had purchased from a TV advertisement were actually fake.
Another concern among gold buyers is that those selling don’t own the pieces.
“We copy the seller’s [driver’s] license and make a copy of what we bought from them for the sheriff and local police. Normally, we mail it or drop off the paperwork before we leave, in case we bought something stolen,” Macher said.
Bartholomew said that at TeleGold, employees photocopy the seller’s driver’s license and pay by check to ensure an accurate record in case someone thinks his or her property was sold to TeleGold without permission.
Dubic said Boardman Coin does the same things, except it will pay in cash if a person prefers.
Detective Ben Switka of the Boardman police said that sometimes items stolen during burglaries or thefts from cars, for example, can end up in jewelry or pawn shops. But it’s difficult to find the jewelry or other items unless they have identifying marks, such as those on a class ring, he added.
Switka said many of the jewelry stores in Boardman have good reputations and “several will call me up and say something doesn’t seem right” about a seller.
He also cautioned people against selling gold or other metals at check-cashing and pay-day lending locations, an increasing trend.
“Look for a reputable business, ask if they are licensed precious-metal dealers and shop around two or three places to price-check,” Switka said.