“Whatever Happened to Grandma’s Sterling Silver?”

Recycle Precious MetalsRecycle and Refine GoldSmelting and Refining
Written By Barry Lenson

and Other Questions to Ask at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. We would like to make a suggestion. Instead of trying to avoid talking to old Uncle Edwin about politics while you chew your turkey, why not spend your time profitably by asking some of the questions we will explore in today’s post?

Note that we are not suggesting that you inappropriately try to get your hands on the precious metals owned by your older or now-departed relatives. We are only suggesting that in many families, pieces of jewelry and other valuables are sometimes lying around ignored. We are also suggesting that those valuables can sometimes be used to do a lot of good for people in the family – people like kids who are just about to start college and need money and elders who are about to go into assisted living communities, for example. Why leave precious metal items lying in drawers or in safety deposit boxes when they could be doing a lot of good for people who could use a small infusion of cash right about now?

With that said, here are some questions to consider asking when your family convenes for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Whatever happened to Grandma’s sterling silver (or gold ring or beautiful watch, or  . . . whatever)”? 

When you ask this question, don’t be too surprised if you learn that family valuables are just lying around somewhere. An aunt might say, “Oh, that box or silver is in a cupboard in our dining room” or something similar. If you learn something like that, you can follow up with a question like, “Wouldn’t this be a good time to sell it and use the money to help in your retirement?” Your relatives might not realize they own valuables that can be sold or recycled for a lot of money.

“Are we as a family doing enough to support Jennie and Joe (or whatever youngsters are heading toward college)”?

Granted, some parents think it is their job alone to help their kids pay for college, and everyone should respect that choice. But if your family has hidden assets that could be sold to help those youngsters, perhaps your family could consider selling or recycling them and putting the money to good use.

“Is anybody here sitting on gold jewelry or other valuables?”

Most everybody is. An aunt has an old engagement ring in her jewelry box, for example, or an uncle has a pair of gold cufflinks he inherited years ago. Asking this question can help relatives remember – and possibly benefit from – forgotten items that can be worth a lot of money.

“I recently put my coin collection in a safety deposit box, and I feel much safer . . . have you thought about doing that too?”

This question can encourage relatives to put their precious metal valuables in safety deposit boxes too. And in the end, that will only protect the wealth of everyone in your family and increase the aggregate wealth of your entire clan. All that . . . just from asking a question.

Send the Discoveries that Result to Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners for Testing

Give us a call at 800-426-2344. We are here to help you and your family take the best steps to get the greatest value from precious metals you discuss at Thanksgiving . . . and at any other time of the year.  

 

Barry Lenson
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