#1 Gold Buyer Las Vegas & Henderson

Nevada Coin Mart is the LARGEST buyer of gold chains in Las Vegas, Henderson, and the Greater Las Vegas Area. To make use of your pre-owned gold, take it to our store for fair assessment and instant cash!

History

First discovered in streams as tiny yellow nuggets, gold became the first metal known to man. Its prominence in different cultures across the globe showed how frequently it was associated with wealth, immortality, and the gods—with time’s passing, its value increased, as it spurred man’s technological advancements forward. While many consider the use of iron and copper in development to be most powerful, gold came before any other.

Gold’s value lies not only in its monetary worth, but in how it has shaped the human race as a whole. It is directly connected to livelihood, culture, and society.

In Early Cultures

As gold naturally occurs in streams, it can be found anywhere in the world. Historically, gold has been considered the premier material because of its pure and workable state, as opposed to other ores that are difficult to smelt. Ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, Chinese, Phoenicians, and Hittites went on lengthy quests to obtain gold, often sending their slaves and prisoners of war to mine it. We can see the commonality of ancient statues and relics being made of the prized mineral.

The unearthing of the “Gold of Troy” treasure hoard dating 2450-2600 B.C. in Turkey showed a range of gold work from delicate jewelry to solid gold gravy boats that weigh nearly a troy pound. It took almost two thousand years before gold would be used as currency.

Shaping the Existence of Money

Its appeal is universal: whether in ancient times or present day, the value of gold is accepted globally. Gold is considered to have birthed the idea of money itself: portable, private, and permanent. As early as 3100 B.C., the Egyptians assigned values to gold and silver, marking “one part of gold is equal to two and one half parts of silver in value.” It wasn’t until 700 B.C. that the earliest recorded use of gold coins appeared in the Lydian civilization from Asia Minor.

Gold was later used to make trade easier. Rather than using barter arrangements, values were assigned to gold or silver coins, and later as paper money. A monetary standard allowed us to create a global economy.

Uses

There is no doubt that gold is a vital resource. While most commonly seen as jewelry or otherwise luxury items, gold is also a medium of exchange, and is used in a variety of fields.

Coins and bullion

Even if a currency collapses, gold maintains its value. The first form of gold coins were called ‘electrum,’ which were 63% gold and 27% silver. Although the civilizations who created these are long gone, their gold continues to hold its worth. In more recent and familiar history, the United States’ California Gold Rush in the 1800s brought around 300,000 people to work in gold mills, radically invigorating the country’s economy.

Gold in the form of coins, bullions, and even bars are typically some of the purest forms of gold!

Jewelry

75% of the world’s gold is turned into jewelry and is often the first thing that comes to mind when people think of the mineral. At least once in our lives, we experience standing in a store to examine pieces to either sport for daily wear, or even to keep for a lifetime. Gold is among the softest and most malleable of metals, which again is why it is considered among the most valuable.

Variants of gold jewelry and other products can be created by mixing it in with other alloys, such as silver, palladium, and copper. The recently trending “rose gold” is made of a mixture of gold and copper, giving pieces a pinkish shine.

Technology

More than being just decorative pieces, gold’s flexibility also allows it to be an important material in technological innovations. Gold is considered an excellent conductor, and cell phones typically have about 50 cents worth of the mineral in them, while computers may have a bit more. Not only can they be found in handheld devices, but have become essential to developments on the aerospace front: gold is used for circuit boards on space ships, as well as for the maintenance of temperature stability.

Food and Medicine

The power of gold also extends to the medical field, as it is used in various treatments. This includes vitamins, medicine, and even radiation for chemotherapy!  In the dental field, we often see rappers with gold grills. But gold can also be used for fillings, crowns, and other dental applications. Some cultures have infused gold in their cuisine, and recent trends have also shown gold shavings in ice cream, gold integrated into savory dishes, and even gold food-themed restaurants!

Gold Quality

The first step to assessing the value of gold is determining its authenticity. The purer gold is, the higher it becomes in value. Some gold is more valuable than others simply because no other metals or alloys have been mixed into it. How do we determine the genuity and worth of gold?

Karats

Gold’s value is directly associated with its purity. The determinant used to measure this is called a karat, and in other parts of the world, a carat. Regardless of the name, a higher purity calls for a higher number, beginning at 9K for lower quality gold and ending at 24K for the highest quality. Computing for gold purity is typically done by dividing the number of karats by 24 (as it is the highest possible purity of gold), then transforming it into a percentage. When purchasing gold, you can use the following guide:

  • 9K = 37.5% of gold purity
  • 10K = 41.7% of gold purity
  • 12K = 50% of gold purity
  • 14K = 58.3% of gold purity
  • 18K = 75% of of gold purity
  • 22K = 91.7% of gold purity
  • 24K = 99.99% of gold purity

Color and quality

24K and 22K jewelry are often the yellowest kind of gold, as well as the most valuable. 24K is too soft to make jewelry out of, but 22K can be used to make plain jewelry, such as wedding bands. 18K gold usually has a different color due to the metal alloys in it, where palladium creates white gold and copper creates rose gold. It is brighter than 14K and 12K. 9K is the cheapest but strongest purity of gold, making it easier to buy.

One of the most important things to note about gold is that it is also considered valuable because it is chemically inert. This means it doesn’t react to air, so it doesn’t rust like other metals. However, lower quality gold is generally stronger but is less tarnish-resistant, unlike higher quality gold that is softer but does not tarnish easily. For jewelry, the most commonly used grade of gold is 18K or 22K, as it is not too soft but can still be used by people who sweat often or sleep with their jewelry on.

Real vs. Fake

To be able to tell the difference between real and fake gold, you would have to understand the most basic of terms that gold purchasers use. Among them are the following:

 

  • Assay, or test the quality of a metal;
  • Bullion, or metals in bulk, such as in ingots or gold bars;
  • Carat, which in the US is used to measure the general weight of gems, where it is used in other countries in the same context as karat;
  • Ductility, or how a metal can be deformed under stress (not to be confused with malleability);
  • Hallmark, or the mark of purity on gold or other metals; and
  • Malleability, or how metals can be deformed using force (like turning into sheets).

Gold is also often stamped with numbers that indicate its purity, with 375 as 9K and 999 as 24K, parallel to their percentage of gold purity. Some also have EPNS, or Electroplated Nickel Silver, better known as silver-plated. This means that the piece is not gold and virtually worthless. There is also EPBM, Electroplated Britannia Metal, which is also not gold but rather a mix of silver and another alloy. GE, or Gold Electroplate, means that there is another base metal, but at least 10K of gold.

Precautions When Buying Gold

The quality of gold can be determined by home testing kits, but most easily through professionals. Kits come with variants of nitric acid that allow a user to determine what karat a piece of gold is with different levels of acid. To quickly find out how real or pure your gold item is, you can take them to pawn shops or jewelers for assessment.

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