Making Recycling Part Of Your Daily Life

Posted on: 13 November 2015

As the holidays quickly approach and you are looking for ways to make extra money, you may have considered selling your extra gold and silver. While you may have a limited supply in your jewelry box, there are other places around your home, as well as in the community, that you may find this valuable commodity. With a little effort on your part, you may amass more gold than you ever thought possible, allowing you to turn it into a source of quick cash.

 Old Electronics

Before you carry a load of old electronics to the dump, or be lured to recycle them on one of those free e-waste recycle days you often see in many cities, know that they may contain several different types of precious metals. Gold's chemical properties along with the fact it is very conductive and pliable has made it a go to material in the manufacturing of computer parts and electronics. You can find gold and gold-plated components in:

• Desktop computers
• Laptops
• Old cell phones
• Cameras
• Scanners, and other types of electronics

More often than not this gold is in the form of gold plated circuit boards, but the device may contain gold, as well as other precious metals, in several other areas.

Some people who enjoy taking things apart, find it profitable to break these components down, extract the gold and refine it themselves before they sell it. This can be a very time consuming process, that requires a certain level of chemical knowledge.

Fortunately, you do not have to go through this process just to make money. Although prices will vary based on your location, the value of e-scrap, as well as the price of gold, you will be able to separate out your e-scrap pieces and sell them as they are. While some components may sell for less than $1.00 per pound, others components such as certain processors or CPUs can sell for ten times more.

If you do not have a lot of e-waste around your home, you may want to comb some of your local flea markets, yard sales, and other locations where people are simply trying to unload old electronics. You can often find a steal that you will then be able to turn around and make money off of.

Flatware And Other Kitchen Items

Another place to look for gold or quick cash, is in your china cabinet, or your flatware drawer. While most gold flatware is simply gold-plated and not worth you attempting to sell it, you may have pieces that are worth much more.

Look for markings on your gold flatware that may indicate that your flatware is gold. It may have a stamp indicating 1-.999, be marked with a karat weight (10K, 14K, 18K, 22K or 24K), or have some other form of markings. If you do not see a marking, use a magnet to see if the magnet sticks to your items. Although many metals are magnetic, gold is not. If your flatware sticks, this will indicate it is not gold. If it does not stick, you may want to still have it tested by a professional to ensure that it really is gold. 

Your gold-plated flatware may have extra value if your gold-plating is over sterling silver due to the price of silver. If it is over sterling silver, there will usually be some type of silver marking. These will appear as 9.25, 925/100, Sterling, S/S, or a combination of these. Before selling your flatware to be refined, always make sure that it does not have more value as a set. This is very important especially if you have a full set. In addition to your checking your flatware, check your goblets and other eating utensils that appear to be gold. You never know what you may find.

Thrift shops, garage sales, flea markets, auctions, yard sales, and other such places are also great places to search for these needles in a haystack. Knowing what you are looking for may help you find a gem that others have looked over. The old saying states "one man's trash is another's treasure."

For more information, contact a company like Mid-States Recycling & Refining.