Goldealers Blog

What is the real price of gold?

Gold Price Comparison 23 Aug 2012

The price of gold fluctuates and is extremely volatile. There are literally thousands of places to sell your gold in the UK, but some companies are still offering far below market value. We aim to show you, and hopefully your friends and family the true price of gold. The price of gold paid by one gold buyer may only be enough to pay for half a tank of petrol, in comparison, others will pay enough to cover the cost of a small mortgage for a month.

What is the price of gold?

The price of gold on 23rd August 2012 was £1047.57. This price is for 1 troy ounce of pure (999 gold).

1 troy ounce is equivalent to 31.1035 grams.

This means that the market value of 1 gram of pure gold is £33.68.

Pure gold means that more than 99.9% of your gold is actually gold. Pure gold is extremely soft, and as such, is not suitable for jewellery. Typically in the UK, we use 9ct gold. Which is basically gold alloyed with other metals to make it more durable, but still retain its luster.

Useful Tools

Conversion calculatorWeight Conversion Calculator to convert between different units of weight.

London Gold Prices – You can retrieve the latest figures from London Gold Fixing.

What is the value of 9ct Gold

There are many ways in which gold purity can be expressed. 24ct is the same as pure (999) gold.

9ct means that 9 parts out of every 24 are gold.

This can also be expressed as a percentage:

9 / 24 * 100 = 37.5 %

Or as parts per thousand:

9 / 24 * 1000 = 375 ppt

So the the market value of 1g of 9ct gold today, is:

9 / 24 * £33.68 = £12.63

And the market value of 20g of 9ct gold is:

9 / 24 * £33.68 * 20 = £252.60

Differences in prices paid

Quite simply, this post has been designed to show you the true value of your gold. Whether you, your friends or family have gold to sell, 20g of 9ct gold is worth £252.60.

Every dealer will take different margins as they need to earn their commissions. Every dealer will offer a different rate. Some dealers will show a price higher than this to make it seem like they pay more, some simply will not show the prices that they pay, but make it seem like they offer a high rate. Some dealers will charge hidden commissions.

Below, you will find a quick price comparison of some of the largest, best known gold buyers in the country as well as a few generalizations.

Company 9ct price paid per g Amount Paid For 20g 9ct Approximate Dealer Margins
Goldealers £12.06 £241.20 £6.28
Tesco £10.00 £200.00 £46.28
H&T Pawnbrokers £8.00 £160.00 £86.28
Post Gold For Cash £1.85 £37.00 £209.28
British Gold Refinery

£12.69 £253.80 -£7.51

All dealers sell at approximately the same rates. Goldealers Ltd buy from the trade at approximately 97.5% of market value. As such, the approximate dealer profit column is based on Goldealers Ltd purchasing the 20g of 9ct gold from Tesco, H&T Pawnbrokers or Post Gold for Cash.

Prices paid are based on TescoGoldExchange website price comparison dated 23 August 2012.
24 August Gold Price Comparison Source Data.

We can now deduce that on 20g of gold, Post Gold for cash are paying you £37.00 for 20g of 9ct gold and will be taking as gross profit on the transaction of an approximate whopping £209.28. Hardly a good deal for the person selling their gold!

According to British Gold refinery, they will pay you £12.69 per gram meaning that for every 20g of 9ct gold they buy, they will loose approximately £7.51. It is obvious that this is not possible. British Gold Refinery also been wrapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for false/misleading advertising. The British Gold refinery have recently updated their calculator to advise that “The calculator provides a guide spot price of gold. Testing, evaluation and admin costs will be reflected in the price we offer.*” Which basically means that the online calculator which they provide is complete nonsense as it gives absolutely no indication to how much they will actually pay.

H&T Pawnbrokers actually probably pay around the average in comparison to gold buyers on market stalls, jewellery shops and other pawnbrokers.

Tesco pay a very good rate, but the fact remains that they are not bullion dealers or refiners – they get a pawnbroker to sort through the gold they buy. In comparison with Goldealers Ltd, you will see for yourself that not only will you get the £200 that Tesco offer, but an extra £40 which is worth half a tank of fuel – we would consider this a massive difference.

Why you should share this post

Whether you have gold to sell or not, we at Goldealers Ltd know that times are hard, and we also know that some members of your friends and family will be struggling financially and may be turning to selling their gold.

We have shown you the market value for gold, we have shown you how dealers earn their commissions, we have shown you how to ensure that you get a sensible fair rate for your jewellery.

Furthermore, we have shown you that some gold buyers are sharks who are just in the business to earn a quick buck.

The price you will find on the Goldealers online calculator is the price you will receive for your gold jewellery.

Share this with friends and family to ensure that when they sell their gold, they go in knowing what their gold is worth, and make sure that their 20g of 9ct gold will pay for their mortgage, and not just half a tank of fuel.