A reader from Virginia Beach emailed us last month with a shoebox of odds and ends: a tangle of broken gold chains, two class rings, a single earring whose match disappeared years ago, and a small handful of foreign coins. Her question was the one we hear most often. "Is any of this gold actually worth anything, and where do I sell gold near me without getting lowballed?" The short answer is yes, almost all of it had real value. This guide walks through exactly how we figure out what gold is worth so you can sell gold in Hampton Roads with confidence.
Malpass, Inc. is a licensed and bonded precious metals buyer in Chesapeake, VA. We pay cash for gold and cash for silver across Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Hampton, and we also buy from sellers nationwide who ship their items in for evaluation. If you have gold to sell and you want a fair, transparent number based on the live market, here is what matters.
What gold we buy
People are often surprised by how much of their gold has value, even pieces that are broken, dated, or missing a match. We buy gold in nearly every form:
- Gold jewelry: rings, wedding bands, chains, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, charms, pendants, and brooches
- Scrap gold and broken gold: bent chains, single earrings, clasps, and damaged or outdated pieces
- Class rings, signet rings, and estate jewelry
- Dental gold: gold crowns, bridges, and gold teeth
- Gold coins: American Gold Eagle, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, South African Krugerrand, British Sovereign, and pre-1933 US gold
- Gold bullion: gold bars and gold rounds of any size
- Yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold, in every karat
If you also have sterling flatware or silver and gold jewelry mixed together, bring it all. We sort and price each metal separately so nothing gets overlooked.
Understanding karats and gold purity
The single biggest factor in what your gold is worth is its karat, which is simply a measure of purity. Pure gold is soft, so it is almost always alloyed with other metals for durability. The karat tells you how much of the piece is actually gold:
- 24k gold is 99.9 percent pure (often hallmarked 999)
- 22k gold is about 91.6 percent pure (hallmarked 916)
- 18k gold is 75 percent pure (hallmarked 750)
- 14k gold is 58.5 percent pure (hallmarked 585)
- 10k gold is 41.7 percent pure (hallmarked 417), the minimum that can legally be called gold in the United States
To find the karat on your own piece, look for a tiny stamp on the inside of a ring band, on the clasp of a chain, or on the post of an earring. You may see "14k", "585", "18k", "750", and similar marks. Color does not change the math: yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold of the same karat are worth the same per gram, because the difference is just the alloy mix. One important caution: marks like "gold filled", "GF", "gold plated", "GP", "1/20 12k GF", or "vermeil" mean the piece is only coated with a thin layer of gold over a base metal, so it is not solid gold and carries little to no melt value.
How we test and weigh your gold
We never go on stamps alone, because marks can be worn, faked, or missing. Every piece is verified before we quote a price. Depending on the item we use a combination of an acid test, an electronic gold tester, an XRF analyzer that reads exact metal content, a hallmark check under magnification, and a simple magnet test to rule out plated steel. Once purity is confirmed, gold is weighed on a calibrated scale in grams, pennyweight (dwt), or troy ounces. If a piece has gemstones or non-gold parts, we account for that weight so you are paid for the gold and only the gold.
What your gold is actually worth
Gold value tracks the live gold spot price per troy ounce, which moves throughout each trading day. The melt value of a piece is its weight multiplied by its purity multiplied by the current spot price. That means two 14k gold rings of the same weight are worth the same in metal, regardless of brand or original retail price. Gold coins and gold bullion can carry an additional premium above melt because of their recognized weight, purity, and demand, so a Gold Eagle or Krugerrand is often worth a bit more than its raw metal content. We do not quote prices sight unseen or make up numbers, because the only honest figure comes from confirming purity and weight against the spot market at the moment of sale. If you want to understand how spot price and weight combine into a number, our silver value calculator shows the same idea applied to silver.
Selling gold in Hampton Roads
You have two easy ways to sell your gold with us. If you are local, bring your items to our Chesapeake office for a free, no obligation evaluation while you wait. If you are anywhere else in the country, you can ship your gold to us with insured carriers after we discuss what you have. Either way, the smartest first step is to send clear photos and an approximate weight through our contact form. We will tell you what we can pay before you ship or drive over, so there are no surprises.
Whether you are in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, or Hampton, Malpass, Inc. is your local option for cash for gold and cash for silver. Common requests we help with every week include sell gold, sell gold jewelry, sell gold near me, sell scrap gold, sell gold coins, and cash for gold. Bring your gold rings, chains, broken jewelry, class rings, coins, and bullion, and we will weigh it, test it, and give you a fair, transparent price the same day.
If you are ready to find out what your gold is worth, reach out for a free evaluation. We handle every piece with care, explain exactly how we arrived at the number, and pay you on the spot.
Malpass, Inc. — Licensed & Bonded Buyer in Chesapeake, VA
We pay top cash prices for sterling silver flatware, jewelry, hollowware, coins, and bars. Local appointments at 2650 Indian River Rd, Chesapeake. Nationwide insured shipping for out-of-area customers.
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