The short answer
What the job actually involves
Most executors are not professionals. They are a son, a daughter, a sibling or a friend who agreed to the role years ago and is now sitting at a kitchen table with a jewellery box and very little idea what any of it is. The work splits into four parts: find out what is there, establish what it was worth at the date of death, agree with the beneficiaries what happens to it, then sell whatever is being sold with a clean paper trail behind it. None of it has to happen quickly, and doing the valuation before the family conversation usually makes that conversation easier.
The estate needs two numbers, not one
- Probate value. The open-market value at the date of death. This is the figure HMRC is interested in, normally reported on form IHT407 as part of the IHT400 account.
- Realisation value. What the items actually fetch when sold, priced against the market on the day of the sale.
The two rarely match. Metal prices move daily, and a piece with resale life left in it as jewellery is worth more than the same piece treated as metal, so recording a wearable 18ct ring or a good watch at scrap value understates the estate. For ordinary household jewellery, a written, itemised assay showing each item’s confirmed purity, weight, the rate used and the date is generally accepted as supporting evidence. Where an estate sits near the inheritance-tax threshold, where a single piece is individually valuable, or where a figure might be challenged, a SoFA or RICS-qualified valuer is the safer route and the estate solicitor should make that call. See probate jewellery valuation and valuing jewellery for IHT400 and IHT407.
Working out what is actually precious metal
- Gold: 375 (9ct), 585 (14ct), 750 (18ct), 916 (22ct), 999 (24ct). Older British pieces may read 9CT or 18CT.
- Silver: 925 sterling, 958 Britannia, and 800 on much of the Continental silver found in older households.
- Platinum: 950, 900 or PLAT. Heavier than it looks, and often mistaken for white gold.
- Plated giveaways: EPNS, EP, A1, copper showing at worn edges, and marks such as 1/20 12K GF, GP or RGP, meaning gold-filled, plated or rolled gold rather than solid.
- No mark at all: common on imported, antique, repaired and dental items. An absent hallmark says nothing about whether a piece is solid.
Do not scratch, file or acid-test anything to find out. Damaging a piece can cost the estate money on an item that was worth more intact. X-ray fluorescence reads the metal composition without touching the surface, which is why every item GoldPaid assesses is XRF-assayed. The gold hallmark guide covers the marks in detail.
What honestly affects the value
- The weight of the precious metal, not of the item. Hollow chains, watch cases with base-metal backs and stone-set rings all weigh more than their gold content.
- Confirmed purity after assay, which can differ from the stamp. Solder at clasp joints, repairs and replacement parts all change what is really in a piece.
- Stones. Metal value is worked out net of stones, and any stone likely to carry value of its own is considered separately rather than absorbed into the metal figure.
- The market rate on the day of assessment. Gold and silver prices move continuously.
- Whether a piece is worth more intact than as metal. Signed pieces, Georgian and Victorian jewellery, sovereigns and good mechanical watches often are, and belong with a specialist.
Any offer depends on inspection, weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, condition and the market rate on the day. Nobody can responsibly give an estate a firm figure from a description alone, and an executor should be wary of anyone who does.
Before anything is melted
Where a will leaves jewellery to be shared, the sticking point is usually not money but which piece goes to whom. An itemised valuation replaces assumptions with figures and lets a family square the split in cash rather than in objects. Our guide to dividing inherited jewellery between beneficiaries compares the approaches that work in practice. Pieces someone wants to keep are set aside before the rest is posted.
Paperwork, identity checks and provenance
Keep four things on the estate file: a schedule of the items, photographs of them as found, the written valuation, and the bank record of the sale. On estate parcels GoldPaid asks for proof of identity and address before payment and asks how the items came to you, which is normal for precious-metal buying and protects the executor as much as the buyer. Payment can go to a personal or an estate account. GoldPaid cannot buy items where ownership is not clear, and for anything with possible provenance questions, church and chapel silver, service medals, memorial and mourning jewellery, we ask before proceeding and may decline.
Ask before you post, always
You never have to commit to anything to start. Message us on WhatsApp or call, tell us roughly what you have, and send a few clear photos for a quick indicative figure. Nothing leaves your hands until you decide it should, and there is no obligation even then.
GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service. Wherever you are, you sell estate jewellery by post with a free insured Royal Mail label. There is no shop to visit and no counter pressure.
How it works
- Ask first and send photos. Message us on WhatsApp with photos of your estate jewellery for a quick indicative figure. Ask anything; there is no charge and no obligation.
- Request a prepaid Royal Mail label. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery label, tracked and signed for. No printer? We send a QR code for the Post Office counter.
- Post it when you are ready. Use any padded envelope. There is no deadline and no pressure.
- Receive a no-obligation valuation. Every item is weighed on calibrated scales and tested by XRF spectrometry. You get a written, itemised offer: purity, weight, the rate used and the figure.
- Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer via Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned free of charge by tracked, insured post.
Valued on fact, not estimate
Your valuation rests on three things we can measure. An XRF assay confirms the purity, a calibrated scale records the weight, and the live precious-metal rate on the day sets the price. It is all shown to you in writing first. XRF testing explained covers how the assay works.
Every item is weighed on calibrated scales and XRF-assayed, and the written breakdown lists each piece, its confirmed purity and weight, the rate used and the offer against it. That format maps onto an estate inventory, so an executor or solicitor can file it as it stands. Where the estate needs the figure as at the date of death rather than today, the same assay is run and the historic rate for that date is applied.
Postage and cover
Your parcel is covered by Royal Mail Special Delivery, with cover available up to £2,500 depending on the cover level used. The label we send is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: tracked end to end, signed for on delivery, and arranged with that compensation cover per parcel. If you believe your items are worth more, message us before posting. We will arrange the right approach, either extra cover or splitting the items across more than one parcel. Full detail is on postage and insurance, and is it safe to post gold? walks through posting valuables safely.
Declining, made simple
A quick message is all it takes to decline, and you do not need to give a reason. Your items are then returned free of charge on a tracked, insured service, with no fee and no pressure to reconsider. What happens if I decline the offer covers it fully.
The payment step
Acceptance triggers payment: a direct bank transfer by Faster Payments, to the account you give us. Nothing to bank and nothing to chase.
What GoldPaid can and cannot do for an estate
- Can: XRF-assay every piece, itemise the result in writing with purity, weight, rate and date, apply a date-of-death rate where the estate needs one, flag anything worth more to a specialist, and return declined items free of charge.
- Cannot: give legal or tax advice, act as a SoFA or RICS probate valuer for formal purposes, quote a firm figure before the items have been inspected, or buy anything whose ownership is unclear.
If you are clearing the property as well as administering the estate, the house clearance jewellery buyer page covers mixed lots, and the probate and inheritance page is where the valuation starts.
Common questions
Can I sell the jewellery before probate is granted?
If you are an executor named in a valid will in England or Wales, your authority runs from the date of death and the grant confirms it rather than creates it, so selling ordinary household jewellery before the grant is common. An administrator under the intestacy rules has no authority until letters of administration are issued. Either way, tell the beneficiaries first, record the date-of-death value and keep the paperwork. Scotland and Northern Ireland follow separate rules. This is general information, not legal advice; check the position with the estate solicitor.
I have no idea what any of it is. How do I value jewellery for probate?
You do not need to identify anything yourself. Photograph the items as found, send the photos for an initial view, and have the lot assayed so each piece is measured rather than guessed at. For ordinary household jewellery a written, itemised assay showing purity, weight, rate and date is generally accepted as supporting evidence. For estates near the inheritance-tax threshold, or where a single piece looks individually valuable, use a SoFA or RICS-qualified valuer and let the estate solicitor decide.
The will splits the jewellery between three of us and we cannot agree. What now?
Get an itemised valuation before dividing anything. Most disagreements come from not knowing what things are worth rather than from the objects themselves, and a written figure per item lets a family take turns choosing pieces or balance the split in cash. Nobody has to sell anything to obtain the valuation, and pieces someone wants to keep are set aside.
What paperwork do I need to sell inherited gold?
For the sale: proof of your own identity and address, and an explanation of how the items came to you. Some estates also produce the will, the grant of probate or the death certificate, which helps but is not always required for ordinary household jewellery. For the estate file, keep the item schedule, the photographs, the written valuation and the bank record of the payment.
Can the money be paid into the estate account?
Yes. Once the written offer is accepted, payment is made by bank transfer using Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance, to a personal account or an estate account, whichever the estate is using.
What if the family changes its mind after we have posted the items?
You decline the offer and everything comes back free of charge by tracked, insured Royal Mail post, along with payment for anything you did accept. You can also decline on part of the lot and keep individual pieces. There is no fee for declining and no follow-up pressure.
Is this a formal probate valuation for HMRC?
No. GoldPaid provides a written, itemised valuation of the metal content, notes any significant stones, and makes a no-obligation offer to buy. It is useful supporting documentation for estate administration and can be produced at the date-of-death rate, but a formal probate valuation for HMRC purposes should come from a qualified probate valuer.
Related pages
- Probate & inheritance
- House clearance jewellery buyer
- Probate jewellery valuation for executors
- Clearing a parent’s house: jewellery, silver and coins
- Valuing jewellery for IHT400 and IHT407
- Dividing inherited jewellery between beneficiaries
- Do you need probate or a death certificate to sell?
- How we value gold
- What happens if I decline the offer