Guides for selling gold and silver by post

UK gold price at the start of September 2026: the month the Fed decides

A dated record of the UK gold market at the start of September 2026. Gold rose roughly 9% in dollars through August, eased about 2% in the first session of September, and sat near £3,200 per troy ounce, on 1 September. The Federal Reserve meets on 15–16 September with markets split between a hike and a hold.

Hallmarks reference

Foreign gold hallmarks: a UK buyer’s reference guide

Gold bought abroad rarely carries a UK Assay Office mark, and that panics sellers who assume it must be fake. It usually is not. This is the working reference we use in-house when parcels arrive from Turkey, Dubai, Italy, India and older Soviet stock.

Postage & safety

How to send jewellery and valuables in the post in the UK

Before posting jewellery, confirm the service and cover, protect each item against movement and impact, and keep proof of postage. This guide explains the practical steps and the limits of a compensation claim, including what to check with GoldPaid before using a prepaid label.

Testing & identification

How to test silver at home: the hallmark, magnet, ice and acid tests

Start with clear photographs of the marks and the whole item. A complete hallmark is stronger evidence than a lone 925 stamp. Magnet and ice checks cannot prove solid silver, and acid can damage it. Professional testing combines the marks, construction and surface XRF readings; uncertain interiors may need further checks.

Legal & practical

Who owns the engagement ring under UK law?

When an engagement ends, the ring becomes the argument. In England and Wales the default is settled by a single sentence of statute from 1970: the ring is presumed to be an absolute gift, and the recipient keeps it unless the giver can prove a condition was attached. Scotland handles it differently.

Antique gold

15ct and 12ct gold: the old British 625 and 500 standards, and what they pay

15ct gold is 62.5% pure and 12ct gold is 50% pure, marked 15 or .625 and 12 or .5 on British pieces. Both were legal UK gold standards from 1854 until 1932, when 14ct replaced them. They are real gold and pay at scrap on their gold content, but a signed Victorian or Edwardian piece can be worth more whole.

Practical selling

Selling gold discreetly in the UK: what is possible, and what is not

Divorce settlements, private savings, an inheritance you would rather not discuss at the family dinner. There are honest reasons to want a quiet sale. Here is what a legitimate UK gold buyer can actually offer, and where the legal line is.

Gold chain repair cost vs scrap value: the honest maths

A broken chain sitting in the drawer costs the same whether you wear it or sell it. Here is what UK jewellers actually charge to repair, what a chain pays at scrap, and the weight at which one clearly beats the other.

Hallmarks reference

UK makers’ marks on gold and silver: how to identify them and what they are worth

Every British hallmark carries a small punch with a maker’s or sponsor’s initials. Some are ordinary. A few command a real premium. Here is how to read the mark, where to check it, and how to avoid mistaking a lookalike for the real thing.

Testing & identification

Gold acid testing kits: what they tell you, what they miss, and when to skip straight to XRF

A £15 acid kit will tell you whether the ring you paid £2 for at a car boot is gold at all. It will not tell you whether the chain in your parcel is 9ct or 14ct with enough accuracy to price it. This is what a home acid kit actually does, where it fails, and how to use one without hurting yourself or the piece.

Hallmarks reference

How to get an item hallmarked in the UK: the sponsor rule and the four assay offices

You cannot simply hand a piece in yourself. A UK assay office only marks items submitted under a registered sponsor’s mark, so most private owners pay a jeweller who is a registered sponsor to send the piece to London, Birmingham, Sheffield or Edinburgh. Hallmarking is compulsory for items sold as gold in trade above 1 gram.

Coins & bullion

Sovereign value by year: honest 2026 bands for full British sovereigns

Every full modern British sovereign weighs 7.988 g and holds 7.322 g of fine gold, whichever year is on the reverse. That baseline metal value is the number every sovereign carries. Some years, a handful of monarchs, mint marks and low-mintage dates, clear it by a wide margin. Most do not. Here is an honest, band-by-band read of which sovereigns are near-melt and which deserve a second opinion before you send them for scrap.

Coins & bullion

Pre-1947 British silver coins: what the tin in the loft is actually worth

Two dates settle almost every question about old British silver. Before 1920, coins were 92.5 % sterling silver. From 1920 to 1946, they were reduced to 50 % silver alloy. From 1947 onward, the "silver" in your change was cupro-nickel with no silver at all. Here is what that means for the tin of florins, shillings and sixpences in your loft, and when a coin is worth showing to a numismatist before it goes for scrap.

How to sell gold safely by post in the UK (2026 guide)

A plain-English walkthrough of the whole process, from the first WhatsApp message to the money arriving in your account, plus exactly what makes a postal sale safe and how to read the small print before you part with anything.

What a no-obligation gold valuation means in the UK

The phrase sits on almost every postal gold buyer’s homepage, and it has no legal definition in the UK. It means whatever that buyer’s terms say it means. Here is how to check whether a no-obligation valuation is genuinely free to walk away from, before anything leaves your house.

What fees does a postal gold buyer charge, and where do deductions hide?

Most postal gold buyers make their money in the margin rather than in fees, which is fine. The problem is that a margin is invisible and a deduction can be disguised as one. Here are the eight places money comes off a figure, and the five questions that surface all of them.

Was my gold offer fair? How to check any buyer’s offer

You can check any gold offer, from any buyer in the country, in about two minutes with a set of scales and one dated market number. Here is the method, a worked example, the percentage bands to read it against, and the cases where a low offer is genuinely the correct one.

Why is my offer different from the online calculator estimate?

A calculator works from what you typed. An offer works from what was measured. Four things sit between the two: the weight, the purity, the parts that are not gold, and the date. Here is each one with the arithmetic, a worked example where a 34-gram kitchen-scale estimate came back as an offer worth 43 per cent of it, and what an honest breakdown has to show you.

Sell gold versus pawnbroker: the honest maths

These are different businesses, not interchangeable ones. A pawnbroker is in the loan business; a scrap buyer is in the buying business; a postal specialist is the same business with less overhead. Here is what each typically pays as a share of metal value, the worked example on a 30g 9ct chain, and which one is right when.

What to do if something goes wrong when you sell gold by post

A lost parcel, a disputed offer, items that have not come back. Each has a different first move and some have a hard deadline. This is the escalation route in order, with the time limits, the evidence that actually decides claims, and an honest account of which consumer laws help a seller and which do not.

How to sell inherited gold jewellery safely in the UK

Inherited jewellery rarely arrives with a manual. Here is how to handle it, how to value it, and how to sell what the family has decided to let go of, calmly, by post, on your own time.

Is it legal to sell dental gold in the UK?

A gold crown you have kept is a manufactured article, not a body part, and nothing in UK law stops you selling it. Here is the position in plain terms, who owns a removed restoration, and what practices and laboratories have to do differently.

Do I pay tax when I sell gold jewellery in the UK?

Most household jewellery sales fall outside Capital Gains Tax because of the chattel exemption. The bigger and rarer the piece, the more this can matter. Here is how to think about it.

Why UK gold coins are CGT-free and gold bars are not

A sovereign and a one-ounce bar can hold almost the same gold and be taxed completely differently. The reason has nothing to do with the metal and everything to do with whether the thing in your hand counts as money.

Do executors pay Capital Gains Tax on estate jewellery?

Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax are two different taxes doing two different jobs, and an executor selling jewellery can meet both. Here is how the estate is treated, what allowances it has, and the timing decision that quietly matters most.

Is selling scrap gold taxable in the UK?

For someone clearing out a jewellery box the answer is almost always no. It is worth understanding exactly why, because the same reasoning shows you where the line sits and what would put you on the other side of it.

Can I weigh my gold on kitchen scales?

Yes, for a rough estimate, and it is a sensible thing to do before posting anything. Here is what a whole-gram reading is actually worth in pounds, the grams to troy ounces to pennyweights conversions, nine ways to get closer at home with the scales you already own, and why the weight taken after assay is the one that decides the payment.

How to photograph jewellery for a remote valuation

A postal sale usually starts with photographs, and the quality of the first answer you get depends almost entirely on them. Four shots, taken near a window, will tell a buyer more than twenty taken under a kitchen light. Here is how to take them, and what a photograph honestly cannot settle.

Red flags: how to tell a postal gold buyer is not worth using

Most UK postal gold buyers are ordinary businesses doing an ordinary job. A minority run a model that depends on you accepting whatever lands rather than going through the trouble of a return. The differences are visible from the outside, before you post anything, if you know where to look.

UK gold price in July 2026: dollar gold up, sterling gold down

A dated record of the UK gold market in July 2026. The UK gold price closed the month at £2,999.03 per troy ounce, about 1.4% below where it opened, even though the dollar price finished slightly higher. The gap was sterling. Here is the plain reading, with every figure sourced.

UK gold price in early August 2026: a sharp start to the month

A dated record of the UK gold market in early August 2026. Gold entered the month quietly, then rose about 4% in two sessions after weak US labour data. On 6 August the UK price sat near £3,163 per troy ounce. Every figure is dated and sourced.

What was gold worth in 1980, 1990 and 2000? UK historical gold prices

Gold averaged roughly £264 a troy ounce in 1980, £215 in 1990 and £184 in 2000. On 6 August 2026 it was about £3,163. Here is the long record in pounds, the 1980 spike and the 1999 low explained, the same figures adjusted for inflation, and a plain answer to why the number your family remembers never matches today.

Do you need probate or a death certificate to sell inherited jewellery?

Whether you need probate or a death certificate to sell inherited jewellery in England and Wales, what a buyer will and will not ask you for, and where the real risk sits.

Valuing jewellery for the estate return: IHT400 and schedule IHT407

The form is short and the wording is precise, which is why executors get stuck on it. Here is exactly what HMRC asks for on schedule IHT407, what open market value means for a jewellery box, and when a registered valuer is the safer route.

Dividing inherited jewellery fairly between beneficiaries

Jewellery causes more family friction than any other part of an estate, and almost never because of what it is worth. Four methods that work, when to bring a valuation into it, and what to do with the pieces nobody wants.

How to help an elderly parent sell gold safely

You are probably worried about two things at once. You want your mum or dad to get a fair figure. And you do not want to take the decision away from them. This page covers both. Who decides. Whose bank account the money goes into. What to keep, and what to write down. And what changes if you hold power of attorney. It is a checklist, not a sales page.

Is cash for gold a scam? An honest answer from inside the industry

No, but the scepticism is well-earned. The postal gold model has a documented history of lowball operators, including a regulatory case against five named UK firms. Here is where the reputation came from, what separates a legitimate buyer from a bad one, and the checks you should run on any buyer, including us.

Common gold selling scams in the UK: the seven patterns

Most UK gold buyers are ordinary businesses doing an ordinary job. The bad ones are not clever. They use the same seven tricks, over and over. Each trick needs you to do one thing, or to miss one thing. And each has one simple defence that stops it. Here are all seven, written so you can spot the pattern before it costs you anything.

Are gold buyers regulated in the UK? The honest legal answer

There is no dedicated regulator for gold buyers and no licence is needed to start buying gold from the public. That is worth knowing before you post anything to anyone, including us. Here is what the law actually does cover, which official bodies have real teeth, and what protection a seller genuinely has.

What questions should I ask a gold buyer before sending anything?

Ten questions, ready to copy and paste, that separate a postal gold buyer worth using from one to avoid, with what a good answer sounds like and what should make you stop. Asking costs nothing, and a buyer who is irritated by being asked has already answered the most important question of all.

Do gold buyers report sales to HMRC? And can you sell gold anonymously?

Two questions that usually arrive together, and both deserve a straight answer. No UK rule makes a gold buyer report an ordinary purchase to HMRC. That is not the same as the sale being invisible, and it is not the same as being able to sell anonymously. Here is what is actually recorded, by whom, and why the genuinely anonymous route is the one worth avoiding.

Can a church sell its old silver? Faculty jurisdiction and charity law explained

Church silver is not the parish’s to sell on a show of hands at a PCC meeting. In the Church of England it takes a faculty from the diocesan consistory court, and the court starts from a presumption against. Here is who has to say yes, denomination by denomination, what the court actually weighs, and what a lawful sale looks like once permission is in hand.

Gold price per tola in the UK, and baht gold explained

Two weight units that appear on overseas receipts, price lists and shop paperwork, and confuse almost everyone: the South Asian tola and the Thai baht weight. Here is what each one is in grams, what 965 gold is in UK carats, and how a UK buyer turns either into a figure in pounds.

Do gold buyers melt your gold before you accept the offer?

A reputable buyer does not. Purity is tested with a non-destructive XRF assay, the items are held intact, and nothing goes near a furnace until you have accepted a written offer. But a minority of buyers write themselves permission to process items on receipt, and once metal has been melted no return is possible. Here is how to check any buyer’s position before you post.

I found gold with a metal detector: can I legally sell it?

Some detecting finds are yours to sell the week you dig them. Others are treasure, and selling one before a coroner has finished with it is a criminal offence. The dividing line is drawn by the Treasure Act 1996, and it is narrower than most people assume.

I found a gold ring: can I keep it or sell it?

Picking a gold ring up off the pavement is not a crime. Deciding to keep it without a thought for whoever lost it can be, and the offence is ordinary theft rather than anything gentler. What separates the two is a short list of reasonable steps, and most people can finish that list in an afternoon.

Selling gold before you emigrate, or taking it with you

Almost everyone planning a move abroad worries about the wrong rule. The cash declaration thresholds barely touch a jewellery box. What actually bites is the import regime of the country you are moving to, your insurance wording, and which tax year the sale falls in. Here is the position, with every figure dated and sourced.

Is one small ring worth posting? Minimum amounts explained

If you are holding one ring and wondering whether it is even worth our time, here is the arithmetic, the point at which we will tell you not to bother, and why the answer is completely different for gold and for silver.

Can I change my mind after accepting a gold offer?

Before you accept, you can walk away for any reason and get everything back. After you accept, you have sold, and no statutory cooling-off period applies, because the 14-day cancellation right in UK law belongs to consumers who buy from traders rather than consumers who sell to them. There is a short practical window at a reputable buyer, and it closes for good the moment metal reaches a furnace. Here is exactly how it works, and what to do if you have already said yes.

What Does 925 Mean on Silver? Sterling Explained

925 is the mark you will find on most British and imported silver. Here is what the number actually certifies, why plenty of genuine sterling carries no hallmark at all, and how the figure is worked out when you sell it by weight.

What does 958 mean on silver? Britannia silver, 95.8% pure

958 on silver means Britannia silver: 958.4 parts in every 1,000 are pure silver, about 95.8%. It is the higher British standard, compulsory for wrought plate from 1697 to 1720 and optional ever since, and it holds about 3.6% more silver per gram than sterling. On a Britannia bullion coin from 1997 to 2012, .958 is the coin’s own fineness.

What do 800 and 830 mean on silver? Continental silver standards

800 and 830 on silver are continental European fineness marks: 800 parts per 1,000 pure silver, or 80%, and 830, or 83%, with copper making up the rest. 800 is the German, Italian and Austrian standard; 830 is the Danish and Norwegian one. Both are solid silver, holding less silver per gram than British sterling at 925.

What does EPNS mean on silver? Plate, not solid silver

EPNS stands for electroplated nickel silver: a thin layer of silver deposited over nickel silver, an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that contains no silver at all. EP means electroplated and A1 is a plating grade, not a hallmark. None of them is solid silver, so plated cutlery has no meaningful per-gram silver price.

Selling gold online versus a local jeweller

A jeweller and a postal buyer are not competing for the same job. One values a piece as jewellery, the other values it as metal. Here is how to tell which question applies to your item, and where the local shop genuinely wins.

Selling gold on eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace versus a postal buyer

Marketplace selling has changed. UK private sellers no longer pay eBay final value fees, which removes the usual argument against it. What remains is a genuine trade-off between reaching a retail buyer and dealing with strangers, disputes and authentication.

Selling gold at auction versus to a postal buyer

Auction is the right answer more often than a gold buyer’s website will usually admit. It is also slower, less certain and not free. Here is the split, with a UK jewellery specialist’s published seller charges as the worked reference.

Pop-up gold buying events: what to check before you sell

Hotel function rooms, village halls, garden centres and shopping-centre stands. One-day gold buying events solve a real problem for people who cannot travel, and they carry one structural feature worth understanding: the decision is final, on the day, with no cooling-off right.

Selling gold to a friend or family member

Sometimes the best home for a piece is someone you know. It is also the sale with the fewest safety nets, and the one where an under-priced deal can create a tax position and a family problem at the same time. Here is how to do it properly.

Should I sell my gold or keep it?

The comparison nobody writes, because there is no commission in it. Holding is a real option with real merits, and a gold buyer telling you otherwise is not a reliable narrator. Here is a framework rather than a nudge.

Why gold recycling prices differ between buyers

Three buyers can quote three different figures for the same broken chain without any of them being dishonest. Most of the spread is structural. Here is what actually drives it, and how to hold two quotes up against each other.

How often does the scrap gold price change?

Three different clocks are running at once: the wholesale market, the twice-daily London benchmark, and the rate a UK buyer publishes on a page. They do not tick at the same speed, and confusing them is where most disappointment comes from.

What happens to your gold after you sell it

Sellers are told their jewellery is recycled and left to imagine the rest. Here is the actual route, from the sorting tray to a refined bar, including the two chemical processes that do the work and the point at which the decision becomes irreversible.

Market context

Recycled gold vs mined gold: the environmental case, honestly

Recycled gold is routinely marketed as the green choice. The published numbers on mining are stark and worth knowing. The claim that buying recycled reduces mining is weaker than the industry usually admits. Both halves of that are true.

417, 333, 583, 585 and 875 on gold: what each stamp means

417 is 10 carat gold, 333 is 8 carat, 583 is the old Soviet 14 carat standard, 585 is modern 14 carat and 875 is 21 carat. Only 585 is also a UK hallmark standard; the other four are foreign marks, but they are still real gold. One catch: 875 was also a Soviet silver standard, so check the colour before assuming gold.

Hallmark date letters explained: how to read the year on a UK hallmark

A hallmark date letter records the year a piece was assayed, but the letter alone is not a date. You read it with its case, typeface and shield shape, and before 1975 with the town mark as well. This guide explains the method, what changed in 1975 and 2025, and works through a real mark from start to finish.

Why high-street gold buyers tend to pay less

It is not a moral failing of shop owners. It is the economics of a shopfront, plus a quiet psychological dynamic at the counter. Both are real, both come out of your offer, and both are avoidable.

How we calculate the per-gram price at GoldPaid

There is no proprietary formula and no mystery. Three measured facts, one live market rate, and a written breakdown you see before you decide.

What happens if Royal Mail loses your gold parcel

Special Delivery is tracked and signed for, and knowing the process before you post turns "what if" anxiety into a five-step plan.

Market context

Is now a good time to sell gold? A 2026 perspective

The answer is that nobody knows. The useful answer is to understand the levers that move the price, so you can decide on the facts rather than the headlines.

What determines the gold price: seven key factors

A short, plain-English tour of the seven things that move the world gold price, and which of them matter most to a UK seller in any given week.

Selling gold coins vs gold jewellery: what is different

Both hold gold, but a coin can be worth more to a collector than its metal, and a handful of UK coins are also exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Here is what differs between the two.

How to sell dental gold in the UK (crowns, bridges, fillings)

Dental gold is an alloy with real value, even with porcelain or tooth material attached. You do not need to clean or take anything apart. Here is exactly how the postal sale works.

How to sell silver by post in the UK (2026 guide)

Silver value is weight-driven. A canteen of cutlery is often worth meaningfully more than a single chain. Here is how to send it well, what to expect on arrival, and what counts as solid silver versus plated.

How gold is weighed: grams, troy ounces and pennyweights

Three units, one piece of metal. Knowing which is which avoids a common cause of confusion when comparing offers, and tells you what the buyer is actually doing.

9ct vs 14ct vs 18ct vs 22ct gold: the difference in value per gram

The carat system in one place. What each number actually means in pure-gold terms, where each one tends to come from, the maths worked through on a 30g chain at every carat, and why 9ct dominates UK jewellery boxes while 22ct dominates South Asian wedding gold.

How to read a gold hallmark in 60 seconds

Three numbers and three shapes are enough to identify almost any UK gold or silver item. Here is the one-minute reading method.

8 common mistakes people make when selling gold online

Eight things that genuinely cost UK sellers money or stress when selling gold online, and the cheap, simple ways to avoid each one.

Is selling a broken gold chain worth it?

Almost always yes: a broken chain holds exactly the same gold as it did when whole, and reputable buyers do not deduct for the damage.

UK gold price in early June 2026: why the spring peak pulled back

A dated record of the UK gold market in early June 2026. Spot gold opened the month around £3,360 per troy ounce, off the February peak of £3,697 and the March monthly average of £3,640. Here is what was moving it, in plain English.

Silver Q2 2026 update: what UK sellers should know

Silver opened June 2026 at about £56 per troy ounce, well off the January peak of £84. Here is the plain reading of why, and what it means for sterling and Britannia sellers.

Sterling, the dollar and your gold: June 2026

Gold and silver are priced in US dollars globally, so the £/$ rate moves the GBP price every day, often by more than the underlying metal does. Here is how to read it as a UK seller.

Can you sell gold without a hallmark? What unmarked gold means and how it is tested

Yes. Gold without a UK hallmark can still be sold, and it is valued the same way as marked gold: on its tested purity and its weight. Plenty of genuine pieces carry no British mark, including items under the 1 gram exemption, older pieces and jewellery bought abroad. An XRF test reads the metal itself, so the stamp is not needed.

Guides

How to Identify Real Gold at Home

Seven checks you can do at home before posting an item for XRF testing, most of them non-destructive. None of these tests is a substitute for XRF. They are an orientation, not a verdict.

Guides

Gold plated vs solid gold: how to tell the difference in five checks

Check the stamp first. Solid gold carries a fineness mark such as 375, 585, 750 or 916, while plated pieces are often marked GP, GEP or HGE, or carry no mark at all. Then compare the weight, try a magnet and look at wear points for base metal. An XRF test settles it. GoldPaid does not buy plated or gold-filled pieces as precious metal.

Rolled gold vs solid gold: the RG and fraction marks, weight and value

Solid gold is gold all the way through and carries a standard mark such as 375, 750 or 916. Rolled gold is a layer of carat gold bonded to a base-metal core, usually marked RG, rolled gold or a fraction such as 1/10 12ct, and that mark is not a hallmark. GoldPaid does not buy rolled gold as precious metal.

Gold-Filled vs Gold-Plated vs Vermeil

Three labels that get used as though they mean the same thing. The layers are nothing alike, and neither are the valuations. Here is what each one is, how to identify it, and how postal scrap pricing treats it.

White gold vs platinum: how to tell by hallmark, weight and colour

Check the hallmark first: platinum is usually marked 950, PT950 or PLAT, while white gold carries a gold mark such as 375, 585 or 750. Platinum is much denser, so a platinum ring feels heavier than a white gold ring of the same shape. White gold is usually rhodium plated, and worn spots look slightly yellow; platinum stays grey.

Rose Gold vs Red Gold vs Pink Gold

The three names describe the same alloy family with different amounts of copper. The hallmark does not change with colour. Here is what each shade actually is, and why the colour does not change what a postal buyer pays.

Sheffield Assay Office marks: the crown and the rose

The Sheffield Assay Office opened in 1773 and used a crown as its town mark on silver. When it was allowed to assay gold in 1904, it used a rose on gold and kept the crown for silver. Since 1975 the rose has been Sheffield’s mark on every precious metal. This page covers that history and how to read each mark.

Edinburgh Assay Office marks: the castle, the thistle and the lion rampant

The Edinburgh Assay Office is Scotland’s only assay office today, based at Goldsmiths’ Hall on Broughton Street in Edinburgh. Its town mark is a three-towered castle, struck on gold, silver, platinum and palladium, and its hallmarking history runs back to the Act of 1457. This guide shows how to read the castle and date an Edinburgh piece.

What does 375 mean on gold? 9ct gold, 37.5% pure

375 on gold means 9 carat: 375 parts in every 1,000 are pure gold, and the other 625 are alloy metals such as silver, copper or zinc. It is the lowest gold standard a UK assay office will hallmark and the most common carat in British jewellery, from wedding bands and signet rings to chains and charm bracelets.

What does 585 mean on gold? 14ct gold, 58.5% pure

585 on gold means 14 carat: 585 parts in every 1,000 are pure gold, 58.5%. It is a UK hallmark standard but less common here than 9ct and 18ct, and it is the dominant standard in the United States, Germany and much of Europe. A 583 stamp is the older Soviet 14 carat standard, a shade lower.

What does 750 mean on gold? 18ct gold, 75% pure

750 on gold means 18 carat: 750 parts in every 1,000 are pure gold, exactly 75%. The other 250 parts are alloy metals such as silver, copper or palladium, which set the colour and hardness. 18ct is the usual standard for fine jewellery, engagement rings and quality watches, and it is softer than 9ct, so it shows wear sooner.

What does 916 mean on gold? 22ct gold, 91.7% pure

916 on gold means 22 carat: the UK standard is 916.6 parts in every 1,000, about 91.7% pure gold. It is the usual standard for Indian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern and many other Asian jewellery traditions, and the British gold sovereign is struck in 22 carat. The metal is soft and deep yellow, and it holds more gold per gram than 9ct, 14ct or 18ct.

What does 999 or 999.9 mean on gold? 24ct fine gold explained

999 on gold means 24 carat fine gold: 999 parts in every 1,000 are pure gold. 999.9, known as four nines and sometimes written 9999, is purer still at 99.99%, and it is also 24 carat. Both are standard for investment bars and most modern bullion coins, and both are too soft for jewellery that is worn every day.

Gold Price Per Gram UK by Carat Explained

What does a "price per gram" really mean for 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, 22ct and 24ct? Here is the maths, the inputs, and why no honest UK buyer should be quoting a single fixed-£ figure from memory.

Spot Price vs Scrap Price Explained

Why is the price you see on a gold ticker different from the price a UK scrap buyer offers per gram? The answer is mostly arithmetic, not conspiracy. Here are the components.

Probate jewellery valuation in the UK (2026 guide for executors)

If you are sorting out an estate, you need two numbers, not one. The first is what the jewellery was worth on the day the person died. That is the figure HMRC wants. The second is what it will actually sell for now. The two are rarely the same. This page explains the difference in plain terms, says when you need a qualified valuer, and says when a written, itemised test of the metal is enough on its own. Take it slowly. There is no rush on any of this.

Locations

Sell gold in London: a borough-by-borough guide

There is no GoldPaid branch in any London borough. There is no GoldPaid branch anywhere. Here is how the postal service works for residents of each borough, and where to read the detail.

Can you sell inherited gold before probate is granted?

Probate has an order to it, and selling comes late in that order. This page sets out where a postal buyer fits, where it does not, and what you should have in place before anything is sold. If you are unsure whether you are allowed to sell yet, the short answer depends on who you are, and waiting for the grant before selling is the safe default. The longer answer is below.

Charity division guides

Ten free, practical guides for charity shops and warehouses on finding, sorting and turning donated gold, silver, watches and broken jewellery into funds for your cause.

The Hidden Gold in Your Donation Bags

How to spot real value in donation bags before it ever reaches the rail – and stop money walking out the door.

The Jewellery Drawer Audit

Turn the 'unsellable' jewellery box every shop has into a clean, recorded bank transfer for your cause.

Broken, Tangled and Single Earrings

Why the damaged jewellery pile your shop can’t display is often worth more than your best cabinet.

Watches in the Donation Pile

How to tell a scrap watch from a treasure – old or new, working or broken – before it’s priced at a pound.

The Warehouse Sorting Hub Playbook

How a multi-shop charity centralises precious-metal value into one controlled, recorded income stream.

Estate, Probate and House-Clearance Donations

Whole-household donations are the highest-value donations a charity receives – and the easiest to process too fast.

Costume vs Real Jewellery

A no-jargon, no-equipment way to sort donated jewellery fast – and never bin the real thing by mistake.

Silver in Disguise

Cutlery, frames, trinkets and candlesticks – the donations charity shops underprice most, and how to stop.

Building a Gold Box System

Turn lucky finds into a permanent, repeatable income line your charity can actually plan around.