Most people have some old, out of fashion or broken pieces of gold jewellery stashed away somewhere. These can be chains, odd earrings, pendants, bracelets, charms or gold watches that no longer work. When you find this old gold lying around in the bottom of a drawer, you may think that nobody could possibly want it. In fact, no matter how worn or broken, gold will always have value.

Gold can be melted down and then remade into something else…a new piece of jewellery or even gold coins. There was a time, many years ago, when money in circulation was made from gold or silver. This made it possible for the rich, who accumulated lots of coins, to have them melted down and made into items to decorate their homes or themselves.

In the event that they needed some extra cash, their items could be melted down and turned into coins again. Gold is a finite resource; it cannot be created and is virtually impossible to destroy. Because of this almost all the gold that has ever existed is still around somewhere.

Over the years, the value of gold has an upward trend. Even though it fluctuates from year to year and even day to day, we can say with confidence that in years to come gold will be worth more than it is today.

If you do find that you have some scrap gold that you would like to sell, what is the best way to sell it? If you need cash for your scrap gold quickly, then there are a couple of different ways to sell gold quickly. The first is to take your gold items to a local jeweller, although you may not get the best price here and you will have to prove your identity.

The second way is to use one of the gold buying companies that constantly advertise on TV and online at the moment. They will offer you a set price calculated from the weight and quality (carat) of your gold and will usually pay out very fast, often within 24-48 hours.

One other way to try to sell your gold if you are not in quite such a rush is to use eBay. This can get you a good price but do make sure to weigh, describe and photograph your scrap gold for sale accurately.

You will have to give the weight in grams, not including any stones or non-gold items. You will also need to know the carat of your gold. Much of the gold jewellery made in the UK is 9 carat or 18 carat and gold sovereigns are 22 carat. Pure gold is 24 carat.

Most dealers will tell you in advance how much per gram they will pay for the different grades of scrap gold. It is unlikely that any dealer will offer you 100% of the scrap value for your gold as they need to make a profit too. The only place that you may get more than the current scrap price for your gold is if you sell it on eBay, but then you will have to pay sales costs so you will probably be no better off in the end.

The exception to this of course is if you have vintage or antique gold jewellery to sell that is in good condition or old gold coins. These things can be worth a lot more than there scrap value so you should always take them to a jeweller or your local auctioneer for a valuation before considering selling them as scrap.

If you have any gold that you think may possibly be valuable it would be worthwhile finding out what the hallmarks mean. Every piece of gold jewellery should have hallmarks which will tell you the carat quality of the gold, the place where it was hallmarked and the maker.

You may be able to find the information you need about the hallmarks online or ask your local jeweller, antiques dealer or auctioneer. Modern jewellery sold in the UK will usually be hallmarked with either .375 which means the item is 9 carat gold, or .750 which is 18 carat.

Knowing whether your gold items are 9 carat or 18 carat before selling to a dealer will give you a much better idea of what your gold is worth. It is unlikely that you will have any pure gold (24 carat) unless you have any gold bullion stashed under the floorboards!

Pure gold is too soft to be used for jewellery or coins. Gold that has a lower carat value than 24 has had other metal added to it for durability. The lower the carat number the less the gold content. Commonly silver or copper are used to mix with the gold and make it stronger.

The most important thing to remember is that the higher the carat number, the more valuable your gold is. So the scrap value for 18 carat gold should be twice as much as for 9 carat gold. Once you know the carat value of your gold, the next most important thing is the weight.

It is essential to get an accurate weight for your scrap gold…your kitchen scales will not do the job. You need a digital jeweller’s scale. If you do not have access to one of these, you can buy one online for a few pounds. Or take your gold to your local jeweller’s shop and ask them to weigh it for you. They may make a small charge for this.

You need to know the weight of your gold in grams. Once you know the carat value and the weight of your scrap gold it is simple to calculate what it is worth. For example, if a dealer tells you that they will pay £7 a gram for 9 carat gold and you have an old chain, a bracelet and a couple of rings that together weigh 24 grams, then this dealer would pay you £168.

Of course, to know whether this is a good offer, you need to know the current scrap value of 9 carat gold on the open market. There are a number of websites where you can find this. Cooksonsgold.com will give you a good idea. Some newspapers also give daily values for gold.

However, bear in mind that the value given in the newspaper will be for pure (24 carat) gold and also probably per ounce, not per gram. This calculation is a little more complicated and you will need a calculator.

Divide the price of gold per ounce by 31.3 – this will give you the price per gram.

Then divide this result by 24 and multiply by 9 if your gold is 9 carat, or 18 if 18 carat.

This will then give you today’s value for your gold per gram.

Now just multiply this by the number of grams of scrap gold you have and you will have the true value.

If you find that the dealers offer is dramatically below this then look elsewhere or try selling on eBay. But don’t forget that no dealer will offer you 100% of the value as they need to make a profit themselves.