Selling gold - how, why, where

[ozboy]

are gifts taxed?

 

[Craig west]

Gold price is close to $100 gram.
I want $95 cash in person x how ever many grams you want

It don't work like that!!!
Remember 100 a gram spot is based on 99.99 pure bullion , that ain't what u have. U have impure gold nuggets by time you refine you will lose at least 10 to 12 percent.... so many people dint take this into account... you'll be lucky to get more than 80 to 85 per gram for what u have from any gold buyer

 

[Moneybox]

Selling on Ebay can be interesting. We've made dozens of sales when the price was around $80 we often got better than $100 per gram and some ridiculous over the top prices as well. However the Ebay charges are high so you need a good price to cover your costs. Sometimes we did well bunching a few little ones together so that they totalled 1g. We very rarely got less than spot price and always sold at auction.

 

[Greg_wilson]

It don't work like that!!!
Remember 100 a gram spot is based on 99.99 pure bullion , that ain't what u have. U have impure gold nuggets by time you refine you will lose at least 10 to 12 percent.... so many people dint take this into account... you'll be lucky to get more than 80 to 85 per gram for what u have from any gold buyer

Commercial gold buyer yes, private sales are different. He’s selling nuggets not bullion. I sell 99% of my gold to private buyers and usually $95+ per gram.

Even many commercial buyers will give you a premium for larger or jewellery suitable pieces.

 

[mbasko]

It don't work like that!!!
Remember 100 a gram spot is based on 99.99 pure bullion , that ain't what u have. U have impure gold nuggets by time you refine you will lose at least 10 to 12 percent.... so many people dint take this into account... you'll be lucky to get more than 80 to 85 per gram for what u have from any gold buyer

For large parcels selling to a refiner is in most cases quicker & easier but for small parcels or individual pieces private sales can get higher per gram prices up to & even over spot.
That being said I usually sell small parcels of smaller bits about $10-15 under spot so it sells quicker. My current sale works out around $86/gram with post. Larger, clean bits at the moment I wouldn't sell for under $95/gram (more if a nice piece) & they do sell.

Sold some nice looking speccis on eBay awhile ago for well over spot thinking the buyers would all be collectors. One buyer messaged me a couple of weeks later & let me know how much gold he got after crushing
He was quite happy about how much gold he got out & I was happy with what he paid.

 

[Hawkear]

are gifts taxed?

Depends what you are giving. Property, shares and some other assets may attract capital gains tax at the time of gifting or transfer. If you are in receipt of a pension there are also limits on how much you can gift per year without consequence to your asset test So would depend on personal circumstances.
If you are giving nuggets though it is not likely there would be any consequences unless the value of the nuggets is large and you are giving to someone who receives a welfare payment which is reliant on an asset test.

 

[ozboy]

Depends what you are giving. Property, shares and some other assets may attract capital gains tax at the time of gifting or transfer. If you are in receipt of a pension there are also limits on how much you can gift per year without consequence to your asset test So would depend on personal circumstances.
If you are giving nuggets though it is not likely there would be any consequences unless the value of the nuggets is large and you are giving to someone who receives a welfare payment which is reliant on an asset test.

Thanks mate. that was very helpful. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

 

[zedman]

I generally sell to the Perth mint refinery. The amount of impurities is irrelevant - you get paid for the amount of fine gold in the button and at their official gold price per ounce for 'scrap gold'. It is slightly less than the official gold price at the time. You also get paid for the fine silver content. You have to pay refining costs though. I have attached an edited memorandum of outturn so you can see what I mean
https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/doc/member-docs/7745/1643968797_editted_outturn.pdf

Hi Stingray, and Happy New Year. So you melt down into buttons and ship off the PMR? How much do you usually ship at a time? How big are the buttons? What's the usual turn-around from shipment to $$ in account? Is there anything special about your steps to ship - or is it just melt & ship?

 

[grubstake]

So you melt down into buttons and ship off the PMR? How much do you usually ship at a time? How big are the buttons? What's the usual turn-around from shipment to $$ in account? Is there anything special about your steps to ship - or is it just melt & ship?

No, that isn't what Stingray meant. He ships rough gold finds to the Perth Mint Refinery, who melt and refine them, pouring them into "buttons" and paying him for the actual refined gold and silver content of the buttons.

 

[zedman]

No, that isn't what Stingray meant. He ships rough gold finds to the Perth Mint Refinery, who melt and refine them, pouring them into "buttons" and paying him for the actual refined gold and silver content of the buttons.

The reason I asked was that i found a post by him (23/11/2023) saying that he's "using a mate's oxy to make bars to sell to the mint", hence the question. Maybe i've misunderstood then?

 

[davsgold]

The reason I asked was that i found a post by him (23/11/2023) saying that he's "using a mate's oxy to make bars to sell to the mint", hence the question. Maybe i've misunderstood then?

you can do it either way, sell to a refinery be it Perth mint or PW Beck, they all take native gold nuggets or fine panning sluiced gold or melted into "Buttons", it makes no difference to them as they refine whatever you send to 9999 pure, and either pay you for the actual gold that they refine out of your parcel or some will send you back the refined gold in 1oz stamped bars, or bigger bars if you want, and yes there are refining fees involved.

 

[grubstake]

The reason I asked was that i found a post by him (23/11/2023) saying that he's "using a mate's oxy to make bars to sell to the mint", hence the question. Maybe i've misunderstood then?

I don't know why he would bother to do that - it isn't how I used to sell our gold finds, or any of my prospecting mates. Best to keep them 'as found' I reckon, in case you run into a collector or jewellery maker who'll happily pay over the odds for selected pieces.

Back in the '80's, one of those mates parcelled up about about 15 ounces of sub-10 gram finds and sent them all off to the mint after shopping the gold around all his usual Kalgoorlie buyers. The following day he was introduced to an overseas buyer with deep pockets, who was specifically looking for bulk small nuggets and would have paid a premium for such a sizable collection!

 

[zedman]

you can do it either way, sell to a refinery be it Perth mint or PW Beck, they all take native gold nuggets or fine panning sluiced gold or melted into "Buttons", it makes no difference to them as they refine whatever you send to 9999 pure, and either pay you for the actual gold that they refine out of your parcel or some will send you back the refined gold in 1oz stamped bars, or bigger bars if you want, and yes there are refining fees involved.

Thanks @davsgold . Exactly the info i was after. Cheers. Are there services like Perth mint or PW Beck in NSW?

 

[Stingray]

Hi Stingray, and Happy New Year. So you melt down into buttons and ship off the PMR? How much do you usually ship at a time? How big are the buttons? What's the usual turn-around from shipment to $$ in account? Is there anything special about your steps to ship - or is it just melt & ship?

Hi Zedman, Happy New Year to you too. I always melt my gold before sending it off got PMR. Mostly dollied species and ratty nuggets. I keep the nice ones and will sell nice pendant pieces at a premium when the opportunity arises. Grubstake questioned why I would bother to melt. The reason is because a long time ago I send a parcel of dollied gold to the mint that included heaps of fines including a small amount of black sands. The return I got was dismal and I was gutted. I can't remember the exact details but I weighed up and sent in about 5 oz but the 'official weight' was only about half. It seemed to me they put it through a sieve and only recorded the bigger bits. I had no proof of course, and no comeback. I am pretty sure that sort of thing doesn't happen now, but at least now my received weight and official weights always match. Some people drill a small hole and retain the swarf as 'proof' in case there's a dispute about purity, and to 'keep them on their toes'. Don't bother, that's just a waste of time.

Back to your questions. I generally make buttons/bars of about 1 to 3 oz, and a parcel might be one or a few buttons depending on what I need. The shipment is by registered post and it takes what it takes, depends on where and when you post but generally less than a week. Once lodged directly, or officially received by post, you get the outturn and money deposited in your account in 2-3 days. And nothing special involved in making bars, I just won't send fines, so as long as the gold is in big lumps that are largely free of any crap, I am happy. By the way, if I send it by post, I put it in a larger parcel so it is relatively light for its size, make sure it doesn't rattle, and mark the contents as 'parts' not 'gold'!. You need to include a signed lodgement form too.

 

[Stingray]

Here's an example. I just processed some old sands and got 35 grams of 'gold', the majority being <60 microns. I cleaned it up as best I could within reason but it still had fine black sands in it. I would never send that off like that for the reasons mentioned previously, although I recall that Moneybox did something similar in the past and it seemed to work out very well for him.

Anyway, I melted it down using a MAPP torch and DIY furnace, and it made a button that was just under an ounce. It's rough and has scale and some slag attached etc. I could clean it up or re-pour it to make it all bright and shiny, but what's the point? It's in one lump, I got rid of about 4.5 grams of crap and now it's good enough and ready to go into the next parcel when the time comes.

 

[zedman]

Here's an example. I just processed some old sands and got 35 grams of 'gold', the majority being <60 microns. I cleaned it up as best I could within reason but it still had fine black sands in it. I would never send that off like that for the reasons mentioned previously, although I recall that Moneybox did something similar in the past and it seemed to work out very well for him.

Anyway, I melted it down using a MAPP torch and DIY furnace, and it made a button that was just under an ounce. It's rough and has scale and some slag attached etc. I could clean it up or re-pour it to make it all bright and shiny, but what's the point? It's in one lump, I got rid of about 4.5 grams of crap and now it's good enough and ready to go into the next parcel when the time comes.

Thanks very much for replying to both of my posts. Very useful and interesting information. I really appreciate the detail and the photos. Cheers.

 

[geof_junk]

Hi Zedman, Happy New Year to you too. I always melt my gold before sending it off got PMR. Mostly dollied species and ratty nuggets. I keep the nice ones and will sell nice pendant pieces at a premium when the opportunity arises. Grubstake questioned why I would bother to melt. The reason is because a long time ago I send a parcel of dollied gold to the mint that included heaps of fines including a small amount of black sands. The return I got was dismal and I was gutted. I can't remember the exact details but I weighed up and sent in about 5 oz but the 'official weight' was only about half. .......

I.m go with melting the gold. Sold the 17 odd ounces of specimen gold that I melted with a simple butane gas flame up to about 4 ounce lots.. Got above 96% gold and a bit for the Silver.

Photo

 

[zedman]

I.m go with melting the gold. Sold the 17 odd ounces of specimen gold that I melted with a simple butane gas flame up to about 4 ounce lots.. Got above 96% gold and a bit for the Silver.

Photo

That’s brilliant work. I saw a post on here of a YouTube clip of melting with twin butane in a block of Hebel. Can’t remember who posted it, but it was an elegant solution.

 

[Jennifer]

Selling on Ebay can be interesting. We've made dozens of sales when the price was around $80 we often got better than $100 per gram and some ridiculous over the top prices as well. However the Ebay charges are high so you need a good price to cover your costs. Sometimes we did well bunching a few little ones together so that they totalled 1g. We very rarely got less than spot price and always sold at auction.

Ebay fees have gotten WELL out of control. I just listed an SDC 2300 and they wanted almost $300.00 JUST for the buy it now option, they've totally lost the plot. I've had the best luck selling nuggies on forums like this directly to people who have seen my posts, can trust me and vice versa.

Jen

 

[Qlden]

That’s brilliant work. I saw a post on here of a YouTube clip of melting with twin butane in a block of Hebel. Can’t remember who posted it, but it was an elegant solution.

Davsgold done a vid of hebel block kiln.