Rough estimates where possible; your final offer follows inspection.
No obligation. Free tracked return if you decline. We aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance.
A sovereign ring is really two things at once: a genuine 22ct gold coin, and a mount that is often 9ct or 14ct. Both are XRF-tested and listed separately on the written offer, coin on one line and mount on another. Send a photo of both sides of the coin on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value the ring before you post anything. GoldPaid buys them by post across the UK on a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, and pays by bank transfer once you accept.
Send a photo on WhatsApp for a rough estimate where possible, or arrange to post your items for assessment. We confirm our purchase offer after inspection, and you decide whether to accept. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Free Special Delivery label, usually within 30 minutesPurity tested in-house by X-ray (XRF)
How much is a sovereign ring worth to sell?A full-sovereign ring almost always contains a genuine 22ct sovereign (7.988g gross, 7.322g fine gold), set in a mount of 9ct or 14ct. The two are XRF-tested and weighed separately, and the written offer shows the coin and the mount on their own lines. Rare-year coins (some George V dates, mint marks other than London) can do better at a specialist coin auction, so include both sides of the coin in the photos you send.
Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you.
Send photos of your items and any hallmarks. We give a rough estimate where possible; your final offer follows inspection. You do not need to arrange postage to ask us a question.
We arrange postage with you after our conversation.
Before you post
The questions people ask before they send anything, answered here rather than at the end of the page.
Can I ask first?
Yes. WhatsApp a photo to 07944 014111, 8am to 9pm, every day, and we reply with an idea of what it is worth. Nothing is posted until you decide.
Is it safe to post?
Your parcel travels by Royal Mail Special Delivery, tracked and signed for. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post.
How is it tested?
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and tested with an XRF analyser, an X-ray test that reads the metal without marking it. Your written offer lists each piece with its weight, purity and figure.
What if I say no?
We return everything by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. Saying no costs you nothing.
When am I paid?
Only if you accept the written offer. We aim for the money to reach your bank within 24 hours of posting. We use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, test your items promptly on receipt, and aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. The 24-hour target is an aim, not a guarantee: it depends on posting before the local cut-off, the applicable working-day delivery service, prompt acceptance, completed identity checks and bank processing.
How long does an offer last?
Each written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses, we re-run it at that day’s rate.
Who am I dealing with?
GOLDPAID LTD, registered in England and Wales, run by founder Rocco Clayfield. Our office is at Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. We are postal only, so there is no counter to visit. Before we pay, we ask every seller for a photo of their passport or driving licence.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
A question costs nothing
Before you decide anything, send a few clear photos of your sovereign rings on WhatsApp, or call. You will get a rough estimate and a straight answer about hallmarks, the postal cover, the XRF assay or the free return if you decline. None of it commits you to posting.
GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal gold and silver buying service with no branches. Our main page on selling gold by post in the UK sets out the label, the XRF test, the written offer and the payment in one place.
How is a sovereign ring valued?
How is a sovereign ring valued when sold to a postal buyer?The coin and the mount are assessed separately. The coin is XRF-tested to confirm it is a genuine 22ct sovereign (fine gold content 7.322g on a full sovereign, 3.66g on a half), and it has its own line on the written offer. The mount is XRF-tested for its own carat (usually 9ct or 14ct in modern rings), weighed, and listed on its own line for the weight and purity we measure.
Two lines on the offer sheet: one for the coin, one for the mount. That matters because a full sovereign holds 7.32g of fine gold while a light 9ct bezel of 3–5g holds under 2g, so lumping the whole ring together as "9ct" would badly understate it. On a heavier 10–15g Oxford or plain-wire 9ct mount the gold in the two parts is closer, which is another reason the two lines are shown separately.
Typical weights on the offer sheet
The coin weights are standard: a full sovereign is 7.988g gross (7.322g fine gold), a half is 3.99g gross (3.66g fine gold). Mount weights vary widely by design, from a simple bezel of 3g up to a heavy plain-wire mount of 15g or more. Below are the lines a modern sovereign ring is split into on the offer sheet.
Piece on the offer sheet
Typical weight
How it is valued
Full sovereign (loose in the mount)
7.988g gross, 7.322g fine gold
Ask first: send a photo of both sides on WhatsApp
Half sovereign
3.99g gross, 3.66g fine gold
Ask first: send a photo of both sides on WhatsApp
9ct bezel/mount (light)
3-6g
Valued on the mount weight only, at the carat XRF confirms
9ct plain-wire or Oxford mount (medium)
6-10g
Valued on the mount weight only, at the carat XRF confirms
9ct heavy patterned mount
10-15g
Valued on the mount weight only, at the carat XRF confirms
18ct mount (less common)
4-12g
Valued on the mount weight only, at the carat XRF confirms
What the offer is built on
Every coin is weighed and XRF-tested at our Bristol office, and the written offer lists each one on its own line, with the reading, the weight and the figure, before you decide anything.
The written offer splits the ring into two lines, the coin and the mount, with the mount valued on the weight and the carat XRF confirms. Nothing is unset until you accept in writing. If you decline, the ring returns intact by tracked, signed-for post at our cost.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. For scrap and broken items, scrap gold value explains how the figure is reached.
One parcel gets one written figure, itemised piece by piece. Any gold or silver jewellery in it is priced on the weight and purity we measure and the live precious-metal market, with our margin already inside the figure.
When a specialist route beats scrap
Certain sovereign dates and mint marks are genuinely rare and clear well above metal value at a specialist coin auction (Baldwin’s, Spink) or through the Royal Mint Historic Coin service. GoldPaid does not specialise in numismatics, and nothing is unset or melted before you accept, so the specialist route stays open. Common Victorian, Edwardian and Elizabeth II sovereigns trade close to their gold value. Full year-by-year detail sits in our sovereign value by year guide.
Rare-year flags. Certain George V years (particularly some post-WWI dates), George VI proofs (proof-only issues, very rare), and mint marks other than London (S Sydney, M Melbourne, P Perth, I Bombay, C Ottawa, SA Pretoria) can beat metal considerably at a specialist auction.
Uncommon reverse designs. Young-Victoria shield-back reverse types are a specialist market.
Mount vs coin split. If you keep the coin and sell just the mount, we can do that too. Say so on WhatsApp when you send photos.
Postage and cover
Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed: tracked end to end and signed for on delivery. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. If your items may be worth more, message us first and we can split them across more than one prepaid label, each with its own tracking number, at no charge. Full detail is on postage and cover, and is it safe to post gold? walks through posting valuables safely. If a parcel is lost on its way to us, the compensation claim goes to Royal Mail from you, the sender, using your Post Office receipt, and we give you our tracking records and help you make it. Lost parcels, step by step.
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, signed-for service, with no fee and no pressure to reconsider. What happens if I decline the offer covers it fully.
The written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses before you decide, we re-run it against the live precious-metal market on the day, at no charge. You can also accept part of a parcel and decline the rest, with no minimum and no penalty for splitting it.
The payment step
Acceptance starts payment: we aim to send a Faster Payments bank transfer within one working hour of your acceptance, to the account you give us. Nothing to bank and nothing to chase.
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
What decides your offer
Every parcel is opened at our Bristol office and each piece is handled on its own. Nothing is averaged across the parcel.
Weight. Each item is weighed on scales. Stones, steel springs, non-gold clasps and cores are not paid as gold. The written breakdown explains the payable metal weight for each item, rather than treating everything on the scales as precious metal.
Purity. Each item is tested with an XRF analyser, which reads the metals at the points tested without marking the item. A surface reading alone cannot establish the composition of a plated or filled piece. Hallmarks, construction and different components all need to be considered alongside the test.
The market on the day. Gold and silver are priced against the live precious-metal market at the time your parcel is assessed, not at the time you posted.
Condition and intact value. Broken is fine and does not reduce a metal offer. Where a piece is worth more intact (a named maker, a collectable coin, a locket with provenance) we tell you before testing, so you can choose.
Anything that is not gold or silver. Plated, rolled-gold and base-metal items are listed on the offer at nothing and returned to you free. We never quietly keep them.
Why we do not publish a per-gram price list. A single printed rate hides the things that change the figure: hollow versus solid, stones, mixed carats in one bag, a mark that does not match the metal. We would rather show you the weight, the tested purity and the figure for each item, in writing, and let you decide. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
What you see before you decide. A written, itemised offer by WhatsApp or email: every item, its weight, its tested purity, and its figure. Accept and we aim to pay by bank transfer within one working hour. Decline and the whole parcel comes back by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. No fee, no deduction, no questions.
Either. You can post the whole ring intact, and the coin and the mount go on separate lines of the same written offer. If you would rather keep the coin and sell only the mount (or vice versa), tell us on WhatsApp when you send photos and we quote it that way.
What if my sovereign turns out to be a copy?
The XRF assay tells us within seconds whether the coin is genuine 22ct gold. Non-gold copies do exist (usually gilt or gold-plated brass); we say so on the written offer and return the ring free of charge. A mount made to take a sovereign usually holds a real one, but the check is done on every ring.
Is a sovereign ring worth more than the scrap value of its parts?
Sometimes, yes. If the coin is a rare year or a rare mint mark, the combined market value can beat scrap noticeably, and the same can be true of a well-made ring by a named maker. Send photos of the coin and any maker’s mark first and we will tell you how we would value the ring before you post anything.
Do I need to know the year of the sovereign?
No. Send a clear photo of both sides on WhatsApp and we identify the year, monarch, mint mark and reverse type. Most rings mount the coin with the head visible, so the date on the reverse is often obscured, the head still tells us the reign and narrows the year window.
What if the sovereign has been soldered into the mount?
Common. The solder is usually a lower carat than the coin, and the XRF assay reads the solder joint separately from the coin surface, so nothing is quietly averaged in. If you want the coin out intact, say so when you send photos. Otherwise the ring stays whole and is listed as coin and mount.
Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.
The full process, start to finish
Ask, then send photos. Message us on WhatsApp with a few clear photos of your sovereign rings. Lay items flat, in daylight if you can, and include any hallmarks or carat stamps in shot. We reply with a rough estimate and answer anything you want to ask. There is no charge and no obligation.
Request the prepaid label. When you are ready, we email a free Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, tracked and signed for. No printer is needed: ask for a QR code and the Post Office counter prints it for you.
Pack and post, tracked. Wrap items in any padded envelope or a small box and attach the label. Hand the parcel in over the Post Office counter so you get a receipt with the tracking number. Keep that receipt. There is no deadline.
We weigh, test and value. On arrival each item is weighed and tested by XRF spectrometry to confirm purity. You receive a written, itemised offer showing the weight, the purity and the figure for each item, usually on the working day your parcel arrives.
Accept or decline. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer via Faster Payments. Decline and everything is returned to you free of charge by tracked, signed-for post. The choice is entirely yours, and you do not need to give a reason.
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and XRF-tested before the written offer is prepared.
Speak to us before you post
Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you. We give a rough estimate where possible and arrange postage with you after our conversation. Your final offer follows inspection.
