With gold currently trading at $1,787.40 per troy ounce, this is a good time to look for and recycle even small amounts of gold.

Here are some easy-to-overlook places you can find small amounts of gold today – even in your own home.

A man in Delaware emailed us recently to ask, “Are there any scrap gold buyers near me?” He explained that there were plenty of companies in his area that would be happy to buy gold jewelry, bullion, and coins from him if he walked through their front doors. But nobody in his area was in the business of buying the kind of gold scrap he wanted to sell – a bunch of old circuit boards and used sputtering targets that contained gold.

Many precious metal investors believe that they will make a lot of money if they look for “one big win” in their investing. They will find one batch of gold scrap, platinum scrap or even silver scrap, make a lot of money from it, and then they will be set for life.

Of course, that does happen. (We could tell you stories about times when it has.) But looking for one big high-paying batch of metal is not the most effective way to spend years investing and ending up with a large sum of money from investments.

If you’ve been following current events, you know that legislation could soon be passed by Congress that will result in improvements in our country’s infrastructure from coast to coast. Bridges will be built and rebuilt, roadways will be improved, internet access will be improved in underserved areas, and many more improvements are planned.

If you’ve been following current events, you know that legislation could soon be passed by Congress that will result in improvements in our country’s infrastructure from coast to coast. Bridges will be built and rebuilt, roadways will be improved, internet access will be improved in underserved areas, and many more improvements are planned.

The question that we chose to be the title of today’s post – “What Is the Best Part of the Country for Gold Investors to Live?” – probably seems a little puzzling to you. After all, if you invest in gold scrap (or silver scrap or platinum scrap for that matter), what difference does it make where you live? You can call our precious metal recycling advisors from wherever you live, send us your scrap. And of course, we will send your payment wherever you live.

The period of Covid-19 has been a year of doom and gloom – and with good reason. But now that the end is in sight, opportunities are increasing for precious metal investors.

So let’s throw off the gloom and feel optimistic. We are certain that the coming years will offer great opportunities because the following trends are at work. All of them lead to the conclusion that increasing demand for gold, silver and platinum will drive prices upward in the coming years. And as prices rise, your investments in precious metals will pay you a bigger return.

At Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, we are all about recycling gold scrap, silver scrap, and platinum scrap too.

But for our post today, we are stepping a bit out of our zone and writing about non-precious metals that you can recycle for money. (Certainly not as much money as you will get when you recycle gold, silver, and platinum but hey, money is money.)

Are you trying to figure out how much gold, silver, platinum, or other metal is contained in a small metal item you have found – a button, a little pyramid, or maybe a charm or a religious medal?

In most cases, getting a bead on how much precious metal you have is simple. You just weigh it!

What was your preferred way of selling precious metal items and precious metal scrap a few years ago – before the pandemic struck?

Some people took their gold, silver and (in some instances) platinum items to one of those “we buy gold” stores that were doing business in their towns and on nearby highways. Other people took items to jewelry stores and sold small pieces of jewelry to them. Still other people went to pawn shops. And of course there were people who called us up at 800-426-2344 and sent their scrap to us for testing and recycling.

“You shouldn’t just toss your old iPhone,” a friend tells you, “it contains a lot of gold.”

Your friend isn’t kidding you, because your iPhone does contain gold. But he or she is stretching the truth, because although your old iPhone does contain gold that can be reclaimed, it doesn’t contain a lot of gold. It only contains a little.

So how much? In today’s post we will answer that question, along with others that are probably on your mind. Let’s dive right in.

What Will You Find Closer to Home?

Metal detector enthusiasts have recently found astonishing treasures buried in the British Isles. Last December, a retired police officer who was exploring on the Isle of Man found a cache of Viking-era jewelry that contained a gold arm ring, a silver brooch and other items that were apparently hidden 1,000 years ago.

April 15th coming up soon and it is time to start thinking about taxes.

By the way, the deadline for filing our federal taxes in 2021 is April 15th. You might remember that in 2020, the filing deadline was extended until July 15th, because of Covid-19. But this year the filing deadline is again April 15th unless (of course) you file for an extension.

What’s in Your Toolbox?

We have written blog posts in the past about metal detectors, drones, and other equipment that can help you locate gold, silver, and other precious metals outdoors. But what tools and equipment should you have on hand when you go looking for precious metals indoors? Let’s say, for example, that you are going to comb through an old jewelry factory, welding shop, or other building that is soon to be demolished or sold?

It’s a good idea to collect large quantities of little smartphones that were made in the last five years – batches of 50, 100 or more – and send them to us to be recycled. The same is true for remotes. But let’s face realities. In order to make a good return on having us recycle them for you, you need a lot of them.

We hope you made a lot of money in 2020 by having us test and recycle your silver, gold and even platinum scrap. But as you have noticed, a new year is dawning, so we would like to remind you that there is money to be made – sometimes a great deal of money – by investing in these additional forms of precious metal scrap.

We don’t know whether you are a big fan of the television series Downton Abbey. But whether you love the show or not, we have noticed that it teaches some valuable lessons for those of us who profit from recycling precious metals. The creators of the show seem to have invested extra effort in historical accuracy, showing wealthy people as they really lived a century ago. Most of the lessons Downton Abbey teaches apply to recycling silver, with fewer applying to recycling gold.

All kinds of statistics get thrown around in the world of recycling precious metals. Here are some we have heard . . .

1. “Cellphones contain about two cents’ worth of gold . . . “

2. “An old cathode ray computer monitor contains a nickel’s worth of gold . . .”

3. “A ton of electronics scrap should contain about 12 ounces of gold . . .”

We are not done with the coronavirus yet. And make no mistake about it. Frightening as it is to say, the coronavirus is not yet done with us either.

But there are hopeful signs, despite the numbers that show that the virus is bouncing back again now that the colder weather has returned to many parts of our country. One hopeful sign is that every day brings us closer to a time when an effective vaccine will be widely available. (How we all long for that day.) Another hopeful sign is that more people have accepted social distancing, wearing masks, and practicing other safe protocols at work and at home.

The meaning of the term “floor sweepings” is pretty obvious, right? You go into an area of a factory where gold, platinum or silver jewelry or other products were manufactured, you sweep them up, and send them to a precious metals refinery like Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, correct?

An article in The New York Times on September 28th (“There’s Gold in Them Thar Braes”) reports that a new gold rush is currently taking place in Scotland. That’s right, Scotland. Stephen Castle, who wrote the article, notes that during the 19th century, several gold rushes took place in Scotland that rivaled the famous gold rushes of the 1840s in the New World, which attracted tens of thousands of gold prospectors to California and Alaska.