Here are some common household items that may hold surprising hidden value:

Silverware and Tableware

This is a good place to start. Many families have silverware sets that have been passed down through generations, or that they received as wedding gifts…and then rarely used. To check if that silverware is made of real silver, look for markings like “Sterling” or “925” (which means 92.5% pure silver). Old tea sets, trays, and candleholders might also be made of silver or silver-plated materials.

Jewelry

Beyond obvious items of value like necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings and pins made of precious metals, check those old watches before throwing them out. Vintage watches sometimes have platinum or gold parts in their mechanisms. And don’t overlook jewelry that’s broken or dull…that tarnished finish may just indicate that it’s real silver!

Dental Work

If you’ve ever had crowns or fillings removed and put them away in a little box somewhere, they could be worth their weight in gold (or silver and palladium)! Dentists often use high-quality metal alloys for dental work, and you can definitely get cash for those precious metals.

Coins

Check your coin jar or old piggy bank! Certain coins, like pre-1965 U.S. dimes, quarters, and half-dollars, contain 90% silver. Rare finds like gold commemorative coins, or coins with accidental variations or mistakes when minted could also be hiding in plain sight.

A great way to cash in on your Spring cleaning treasures is to take them to your local pawnbroker. At Noble Metal Refining, we support the pawnbroker community! Pawnbrokers can learn more about our precious metal refining services HERE

The post Spring Cleaning Treasures: Sweeping Up Profit with Precious Metal from Household Items first appeared on Noble Metal Refining.

The Metal Makeup of Olympic Medals

Beginning with the Athens 1896 Olympics, the medals for almost all of the summer Olympic games have featured the image of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, on one side. The other side is left up to the host city organizing committee to design, with final approval coming from the IOC (International Olympic Committee). As a precious metal refiner, we wondered about the actual metal content and value of the 2024 Olympic medals. We learned that the IOC sets the following guidelines for the materials to be used for the medals:

• The Gold (first place) medal is composed of at least 92.5% of silver, plated with 6 grams of gold. According to Wikipedia, the gold medal from the 2020 Summer Olympics was worth close to $800 at the time. (Because metal prices fluctuate, so does the intrinsic value of the Olympic medals.)
• The Silver (second place) medal is composed of 92.5% silver. The value at the most recent Olympic games was $460.
• The Bronze (third place) medal is made up of 97% copper with 0.5% tin and 2.5% zinc. At the 2020 games, it had a metal value of about $5.

Of course, the true value of an Olympic medal lies not in its precious metal content, but in the value of the athlete’s accomplishment in competing against the world’s best and winning it! But there’s one more metal being incorporated into the Paris medals, and it’s making this year’s version of the medals a truly unique and priceless memento of the 2024 games.

A Piece of Paris in Every 2024 Olympic Medal

For the design of the 2024 Olympic medals, the Paris organizing committee has done something that will make them unmatched in the history of Olympic medal design. They’ve incorporated a piece of the city’s most iconic landmark – iron from the Eiffel Tower – into each and every 2024 Olympic medal.

During the 20^th century, the structure of the Eiffel Tower underwent renovation work which involved the removal of some metallic elements. These pieces of French history have been carefully preserved, and now they will be a part of Olympic history as well. On each medal for the Paris 2024 Olympics, original iron from the Eiffel Tower has been cut into a hexagon embossed with the Paris 2024 logo. According to the Olympic committee, “this piece of heritage blends elegantly with the gold, silver and bronze” creating a treasured keepsake for every winner who takes one of these coveted medals back home with them at the end of the Olympic games.

Parisian Creativity and Craftsmanship

Combining the iron of the Eiffel Tower with the gold, silver and bronze of the Olympic metals required the skill and creativity of a master jeweler. Selected for this prestigious task was the House of Chaumet, a renowned Parisian jeweler with a 240-year tradition of fine jewelry creation. The design incorporates three key motifs, the hexagon shape of the iron Eiffel Tower fragments, the “radiance” of fine-lined rays of embossed metal beneath the iron, and the “claw” setting connecting these two elements at the six corners of the iron hexagon. The settings are in the “Clous de Paris” shape reminiscent of the famous rivets on the Eiffel Tower.

The manufacturing process for the medals is more complex than the process for that of a coin. Metal blanks cut into discs were sent to the Hôtel de la Monnaie (French Mint) workshop on the left bank of the Seine River. These discs were then struck several times in a press equipped with specialized tools to bring out the design created by the Paris 2024 Committee and The House of Chaumet. The medals then underwent a series of specialized processes to remove impurities, polish and finalize the design, and create the gap through which the ribbons of the medals are threaded.

Sustainability Meets Sportsmanship

In line with Paris 2024’s commitment to sustainability, the 2024 Olympic medals were crafted using recycled materials. Per the IOC’s standards, the gold and silver metals are made from solid silver with a millesimal fineness of 925. Both the gold and silver used are certified 100% recycled by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), one of the main regulatory bodies overseeing good practice in the supply of gold and other precious metals. For the bronze medals, the copper alloy, tin and zinc used come from reused scraps of metal that are a byproduct of other production processes of the Monnaie de Paris.

With their iconic design and sustainable materials, the 2024 Olympic medals promise to be an inspiring and lasting testament to the spirit of competition and the “thrill of victory” of the Olympic games. We can’t wait to cheer on the U.S. team as they travel to Paris to compete (especially the many athletes from right here in our home state of Indiana)!

To learn more about how refining and recycling your scrap metal helps to advance sustainable use of our global resources, check out our blog article, How Precious Metal Recycling Helps Save the Planet.

GET CASH FOR YOUR GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER PRECIOUS METAL SCRAP

Click Here to order FREE collection containers and shipping labels for your scrap materials, and begin recycling with Noble Metal Refining today.

The post The Paris 2024 Olympic Medals: Gold, Silver, Bronze…and Iron? first appeared on Noble Metal Refining.

Where It All Started

How and when did Valentine’s Day get its start? Although it has been celebrated for centuries, its origins as a day of love are a bit of a mystery. There are plenty of theories though! Some trace the holiday’s beginnings to an ancient Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia, which was celebrated in mid-February. This annual event featured a drawing where young bachelors of the city would pick the names of young, single women from an urn, and then become their companions for the rest of the year with the hope that the matches would result in marriage. With the rise of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, this “pagan” festival was eventually outlawed. At the end of the 5^th century, Pope Gelasius essentially replaced it when he declared February 14^th to be St. Valentine’s Day.

What’s in a Name?

Just about everyone agrees that Valentine’s Day was named for Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr, although exactly WHICH Saint Valentine is a matter of debate. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different martyred saints named Valentine or Valentinus. The most commonly accepted story is that Valentine was a third-century Roman priest living during the time of Emperor Claudius II. At that time, Claudius outlawed marriage for young men because he believed that single men made better soldiers that those with wives and families. Valentine rebelled against this unjust decree, and continued to secretly perform weddings for young Christian couples. He was eventually discovered, imprisoned and executed for this act of defiance in the name of love, and ultimately canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. The rest is…well, history!

Valentine Gift-Giving Traditions

Today of course, St. Valentine’s Day is all about love and romance, and one of the most popular traditions associated with this day is giving your loved one a token of your affection. Whether it’s a simple card or something more, Valentine presents are a way to express your feelings for that special someone. But it took awhile for this tradition to grow! Exchanging home-made cards with loving sentiments began as far back as the Middle Ages, an era known for its elevation of courtly love and romance through songs, poems and artwork. The Victorian age accelerated the custom of giving cards, and by the mid-19^th century, the ability to mass produce paper greeting cards solidified this still-strong Valentine’s Day tradition. In fact, according to Hallmark, approximately 145 million Valentine’s cards are now exchanged each year!

The Special Gift of Jewelry

So when did Valentine presents of jewelry come into the picture? Although lovers have exchanged gifts on Valentine’s Day down through the ages, the custom of giving jewelry didn’t really take hold until the 20^th century. Retail industry observers credit the classic “A Diamond is Forever” marketing campaign – launched by the De Beers company in 1947 – with making diamonds THE gem for engagement rings. With Valentine’s Day being one of the most popular days for marriage proposals, a new tradition was born and the giving of jewelry on this day took off like a champagne cork!

Throughout the modern era, jewelry designers have outdone themselves in using precious metals and a wide array of beautiful gemstones to create unique jewelry gifts with lasting value. Today, everything from diamond rings to heart-shaped pendants are exchanged by couples on Valentine’s Day as a symbol of their love and commitment. In fact,  According to the National Retail Federation, American consumers are planning to spend a new record of more than $6.4 billion on jewelry for St. Valentine’s Day this year. The top gift categories for the holiday include:

• Candy (57%)
• Greeting Cards (40%)
• Flowers (39%)
• An Evening Out (32%)
• Jewelry (22%)
• Clothing (21%) and
• Gift Cards (19%)

So whether you’re celebrating with a romantic partner or showing love to a friend or family member (or even a pet!), the wide range of unique Valentine presents available today ensures that you’ll have plenty of choices to make their day special!

Send your gold and silver jewelry scrap to us…you’ll our “sweet” payouts!  Learn more.

The post From Love Notes to Diamonds: A Colorful History of Valentine Presents first appeared on Noble Metal Refining.

As you create beautiful pieces of jewelry for your customers, you also generate metal dust and scrap. Precious metals including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium collect little by little on the workbench, floors, rugs, and other spaces around your shop. This may include everything from karat gold to bench grindings and filings to polishing dust. While it may seem like this jewelry scrap isn’t worth much, believe us…it is! Best of all, it’s as easy as ABC to collect and cash in on all that scrap metal. Here’s a quick primer on how to effortlessly capture additional profit for your jewelry business.

Accumulate

It’s easier than you may think to collect and profit from your jewelry scrap by sending it to a refinery that specializes in handling your materials. All it takes is:

3 Basic Items

• Metal-lined catch tray

• Collection jar(s)

• Sweeps bag or barrel

And A Simple Plan

Your work area and equipment are all sources of metal dust and scrap. Here’s how to capture this precious material from each area or item:

Workbench

Use a metal-lined catch tray (built-in if possible) to capture precious metal dust, filings and scrap while you work. Sweeps and filings from the bench are considered a higher grade of precious metal scrap than other “waste” materials, and should be transferred from the catch tray to a collection jar on a regular basis. Noble Metal provides its customers with complimentary collection jars for this purpose. TIP: Use a small paintbrush to “sweep” dust and filings into your collection jar.

Tools of the Trade

Polishing mops, work aprons, emery paper, and other tools you use on precious metal jewelry can be collected by placing them into a sweeps container once they’re spent. This can be a sturdy garbage bag, a plastic bucket from your local hardware store, or a collection barrel from your refiner. Noble Metal offers complimentary collection barrels upon request.

Vacuum Bags & Wipes

Use a dedicated vacuum for cleaning up around your shop. And don’t throw away those vacuum bags and cleaning wipes! Instead, throw them into your sweeps container. They are an often overlooked source of precious metal dust and filings.

Rugs & Carpet

A LOT of metal dust and filings can collect in the carpet in your shop over time. Whether you use carpet tiles, rugs or floor mats, don’t ignore this potential source of profit. When you’re ready to replace your old flooring, be sure to put it in your sweeps container.

 Hard-Surface Flooring

Instead of using a standard mop to clean your floor, use one that utilizes moistened disposable pads (like Swiffer). Once you’re done cleaning up, simply toss the pads into the sweeps bag.

Box Up

When your collection jar and/or sweeps container are full, send them in to a reputable refiner for processing. At Noble Metal, we make it easy for our customers to box up their jewelry scrap material and send it in by providing complimentary shipping labels and/or packaging upon request.

Cash In

Your refinery will determine the value of your scrap metal by measuring the weight and purity of the materials, and calculating payment using the current spot price for each precious metal in the lot. To get an estimate of the value of your materials, feel free to use our Gold Calculator. Your final settlement price will be based on the actual melt and assay results of your metal lot. Noble offers flexible payout options including payment in 24 karat gold, gold or silver bullion products, ACH or wire transfer, or by check or e-check.

It couldn’t be easier to make the most of your scrap metal materials. So if you’re not already doing it, be sure to Accumulate, Box Up and Cash In on yours starting today!

The post The ABC’s of Jewelry Scrap Collection: Accumulate, Box Up and Cash In first appeared on Noble Metal Refining.