Charity shops in Middlesbrough: donated gold and silver bought by post.

Middlesbrough donations and the Teesside finds recording service

Durham County Council says County Durham, Darlington and Teesside have a full-time Finds Liaison Officer, and asks people to make contact before coming to the office. The officer records finds of all kinds, usually more than 200 years old, and the council explains that the scheme records all objects made before about 1700 and is selective about more modern ones.

Two parts of that guidance suit a Middlesbrough sorting room. The officer generally borrows finds for a time to research and record them, and issues a receipt while they are in the council's care. The council also states that finds will not be taken away from their owner, since the aim is to record information. A shop can therefore have an old object identified without losing it, as long as the loan is logged.

Gold or silver objects and coin hoards may fall under the Treasure Act 1996, which carries a legal obligation to report, and the officer can help with the paperwork.

Middlesbrough specifics for charity shops

How it works for a charity shop in Middlesbrough

GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service. The charity service is open to Middlesbrough charity shops, head offices in Tees Valley, and charity-retail teams across the wider TS-postcode area, and it runs entirely by post. There is no Middlesbrough shopfront to travel to, and no cash changes hands at the shop. Donated gold, silver, watches, coins, mixed jewellery, costume jewellery in bulk and hallmarked silverware are all valued in writing before anything is sold, and the charity’s registered bank account receives a Faster Payment once the offer is accepted. (Named-maker pottery, porcelain and vintage cameras are out of GoldPaid’s scope; the referral to auction routes is in the named-maker pottery guide and the vintage cameras guide.)

Posting from Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough grew on Victorian ironworking. Royal Mail Special Delivery covers all TS postcodes next working day.

None of this commits the shop. A Middlesbrough shop can ask a question, send photos, or even post a parcel and still decline the written offer, with no fee and a free tracked return.

The process every charity shop runs

1. Ask before you post. WhatsApp a photo of any donated item the shop is uncertain about to 07944 014111. Rocco Clayfield (GoldPaid founder) answers, gives a rough estimate, and tells the shop whether the parcel is worth posting.
2. Free prepaid Royal Mail label. If the shop wants to proceed, we send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, digital on WhatsApp, printable PDF by email, or a paper label by post if the shop doesn’t have a printer.
3. Box it, drop at any Post Office. Pack the items securely. Hand the parcel over at any Post Office counter, keep the Special Delivery receipt, and the shop gets a tracking link by WhatsApp.
4. Written XRF valuation. Every parcel is itemised on arrival. Precious metals are XRF-tested and priced against the live precious-metal market on the day. Watches and antiques are assessed individually, and each one is listed with its own figure on the written offer. Send a photo of any coins on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before the shop posts anything.
5. Accept or decline. Accept and the charity’s registered bank account is paid by Faster Payments; we aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance. Decline and the items come back free of charge by tracked, signed-for post. There is no restocking fee, and nobody rings to push for a yes.

What GoldPaid buys from Middlesbrough charity shops

We take the donation pile as it arrives at the shop. Gold of any carat (including broken chains, single earrings, dental gold, sovereigns and Krugerrands). Silver (sterling 925, hallmarked solid silverware, tea sets, cutlery canteens, candelabra, salvers, bullion). Platinum and palladium (jewellery and bullion). Costume jewellery in bulk by the kilo, no sorting required. Watches of every kind, vintage, designer, modern, broken, pocket, movement-only, parts. Coins (sovereigns, Krugerrands, Britannias, pre-1947 UK silver). Medals and militaria. (Named-maker pottery, porcelain and vintage cameras are out of GoldPaid’s scope; send a photo and we will identify them free and point you at the auction route.) The full list is on what we buy, but if a piece is not on the list, the shop should send a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you straight.

How the process supports your reporting

Every payment goes to the charity’s registered bank account by Faster Payments. Never to a personal account, a shop till, a suspense account, or a volunteer. English and Welsh charities are verified at onboarding through the Charity Commission for England and Wales register. The account of record cannot be changed without a written request from the head-office contact, using the registered charity email domain. Every parcel produces a unique reference, an itemised valuation, the offer made, the offer acceptance confirmation, and the Faster Payment transaction reference. That is a clean audit trail for the finance team.

The valuation method is designed to be auditable by someone with no specialist knowledge. Precious metals are XRF-tested and priced against the live precious-metal market on the day of valuation, with both the reading and the market price shown on the report. Watches and antiques are assessed individually, and each one is listed with its own figure on the written offer. How we value gold and XRF testing explained set the method out in full. The trustee briefing is written for trustees and retail directors.

Multi-shop charities with shops in Middlesbrough

If a charity runs more than one shop in Middlesbrough or across the wider Tees Valley estate, we suggest a pilot: five shops, thirty days. Pick five shops across different postcode profiles, give each manager the WhatsApp number, and run for a month. At the end of thirty days the retail director and finance director review the monthly roll-up report and decide on rollout. No contract, no setup fee, no minimum volume, no exclusivity. For multi-shop charities walks through the pathway.

Free jewellery training for Middlesbrough charity shops

GoldPaid runs a free monthly online training session for charity retail teams, and it is open to every shop and volunteer in Middlesbrough. The session covers how to spot donated gold, silver, watches and hallmarks before they are underpriced. It is part of the Charity Jewellery Recovery Programme, which brings the free training and this online-and-postal valuation route together. See the free training page to register your team.

Charity shops in other cities and towns

Because it all happens by post, the same service is open to a charity shop anywhere in the UK. There are pages for Sunderland, Newcastle upon Tyne and York. Other England charity-shop pages on the identical postal-first process: Milton Keynes, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth and Preston. The full list is on charity gold buying across the UK, the directory of every town GoldPaid covers.

If the charity decides not to sell

There is never any obligation to accept. If the offer is not right for the charity, decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post, along with payment for anything the charity did accept from the same parcel. No restocking fee, no follow-up pressure calls. What happens if I decline the offer spells the return process out.

Indicative figures vs the firm offer

Reading a town mark on Middlesbrough donations

Newcastle had its own assay office until 1884, striking three separate castles. Any piece carrying that town mark was assayed at Newcastle before 1884, so the mark alone puts an age on it. Newcastle is easily confused with Edinburgh: Edinburgh strikes one castle with three towers, Newcastle struck three castles arranged in a shield. If a Middlesbrough volunteer cannot place a picture-punch, photograph it close up and send it on WhatsApp: reading it costs nothing. The full set is on UK assay office marks, and how to date a hallmark by its letter explains the year letters.

Who stands behind the offer

• Owner-run, with founder Rocco Clayfield personally accountable for the service
• Every item XRF-assayed, the result shown to you in writing
• Free tracked postage both ways, so a valuation carries no obligation
• Honest about its limits, including when a specialist would suit you better
• No fabricated reviews and no invented numbers, anywhere on the site

Sources

1. Portable Antiquities Scheme, Durham County Council, checked 24 September 2026

Common questions