How Much Does a Pawn Shop Pay for Gold? Mobridge SD
What Do Pawn Shops Pay for Gold? 75–90% of Melt Value
For ordinary scrap gold jewelry, 75% to 90% of melt value. Melt value is the pure gold content: gram weight × karat purity × the current gold price per gram.
Everything else on this page is the arithmetic behind that sentence — so you can check any offer you are given, at any shop, on any day. Including ours.
Market snapshot — every dollar figure on this page comes from these
Last checked against the market on 17 September 2026, when spot traded between about $4,310 and $4,370; $4,350 is the rounded figure used below. Spot moves daily; everything below this box is expressed as multipliers and percentages, so it stays correct whatever gold does.
The Four-Step Formula — Run It Yourself
Price per gram
Take the current spot price and divide by 31.1035 — the grams in a troy ounce.
Pure gold content
Multiply your item's gram weight by its karat multiplier (table below).
Melt value
Multiply step 1 by step 2. That is the metal in the piece.
Realistic payout
Take 75–90% of the melt value. That is the offer range.
Worked example — a 20-gram 14k chain, at the snapshot above.
Price per gram: $4,350 ÷ 31.1035 = $139.86
Pure gold: 20 g × 0.583 = 11.66 g
Melt value: 11.66 × $139.86 = about $1,631
Payout at 75–90%: roughly $1,223 to $1,468
Swap in today's spot price and your own weight and the same four steps work on any day. That is the point — you should be able to sanity-check any offer you are given, including ours.
Karat Multipliers — This Table Never Expires
There are no prices in it, so it cannot go out of date. Multiply your gram weight by the multiplier to get the grams of pure gold in the piece, then multiply that by whatever gold costs per gram on the day you are reading this.
| Karat | Stamp | Purity | Multiplier | Pure gold in 10 g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24k | 999 | 99.9% | × 0.999 | 9.99 g |
| 22k | 916 | 91.7% | × 0.917 | 9.17 g |
| 18k | 750 | 75.0% | × 0.750 | 7.50 g |
| 14k | 585 | 58.3% | × 0.583 | 5.83 g |
| 12k | 500 | 50.0% | × 0.500 | 5.00 g |
| 10k | 417 | 41.7% | × 0.417 | 4.17 g |
Keep this one. Between this table, the current spot price from any live source, and the 75–90% payout band, you can estimate any gold offer yourself — on any day, at any shop, not just ours.
Why It Is Not 100% of Melt
A common misunderstanding is that a ring with $500 of melt value should fetch exactly $500. At 75–90%, that ring is a $375 to $450 offer. Melt value is the starting point, not the finish line.
A local buyer has to cover testing, refining or resale, market movement between buying and selling, counterfeit risk, staff time, holding risk and overhead. That is what the payout factor accounts for. Where a specific piece lands inside the band comes down to how easily it can be tested, priced and resold: a clean, marked, easy-to-resell 14k chain sits nearer 90%; a damaged, unmarked, solder-heavy piece sits nearer 75%. Recognised gold coins and bullion price closer to spot than any of that, because they are fast to verify and fast to resell.
Simple rule: the more confidently an item can be tested, priced and resold, the closer the offer gets to its true metal value. Anything that adds doubt costs you a few points. And anyone quoting you 100% of melt is either mis-stating the number or losing money on the transaction.
Weighing It Yourself Without Getting It Wrong
The arithmetic is easy. The weighing is where people go wrong, because gold is priced in troy ounces and almost every scale in a house is not.
| Unit | In grams | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 gram | 1 g | How jewelry is normally weighed in store. |
| 1 pennyweight (dwt) | 1.55517 g | Traditional US jewelry-trade unit; 20 dwt to a troy ounce. |
| 1 troy ounce | 31.1035 g | The unit gold and silver are priced in. |
| 1 avoirdupois ounce | 28.3495 g | The kitchen-scale ounce. About 10% lighter than a troy ounce. |
The single most common self-estimate error: weighing gold on a kitchen scale set to ounces. That is the avoirdupois ounce, roughly 10% lighter than the troy ounce gold is priced in — so people routinely undercount what they are holding and talk themselves out of the trip. Weigh in grams if you weigh at home at all.
How We Test Gold at the Counter
Stamps are helpful but they are not the last word. A piece can be worn smooth, mismarked, plated, gold-filled, repaired with solder, or simply missing a visible mark. That is why testing matters more than reading.
Hallmark check
We look for 10K, 14K, 18K, 417, 585, 750, 916, 999, plus maker and country marks.
Weight check
Weighed in grams, in front of you, with obvious non-gold parts separated so the number is fair.
Metal testing
Tested to confirm karat and to screen out gold-plated, gold-filled and questionable pieces.
The payout should be based on what a piece actually tests as, not only on what it appears to say — and that cuts both ways. Unmarked pieces sometimes test better than their owners expect.
Sell It, or Pawn It?
Pawning and selling are different transactions, and the right choice mostly comes down to one question: do you want the item back?
| Route | Usually best for | The trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Sell outright | Broken jewelry, single earrings, outdated pieces, dental gold, scrap — anything you are certain you do not want back. | More cash, because the shop can resell or refine it. The item is gone permanently. |
| Pawn loan | Family jewelry, sentimental rings, Black Hills Gold you may want back, or a temporary cash need where you plan to redeem. | Less cash than a sale, but you keep the option to redeem the piece under the loan terms. |
Neither is the "right" answer in the abstract. For the general case — what each route pays on the same item, the 30-day math, and when to do which — see pawn vs. sell.
Why Selling Locally Can Beat Mailing It Away
Mail-in gold buyers look convenient, but they add shipping delay, spot-price movement while your gold is in transit, offer disputes at a distance, package risk, and a great deal less transparency.
- You do not see the scale. In person, you watch the weight being taken.
- You do not see the test. At a counter you can ask what a stamp or a reading means and get an answer.
- Shipping risk. Gold is valuable and small; mailing it adds a step that can go wrong.
- You decide on the spot. Accept the offer, or walk out with your gold.
At Larsen's the process is simple: bring it in, we test and weigh, we check the market, we explain how we got to the number, and you decide. There is no pressure to sell and no charge for finding out. Service details are on cash for gold.
Gold Payout FAQ
What percentage does a pawn shop pay?
For ordinary scrap gold jewelry, 75% to 90% of melt value. Melt value is the pure gold content — gram weight multiplied by karat purity multiplied by the current gold price per gram. The 10 to 25 points that come off cover testing, refining or resale, market movement between buying and selling, counterfeit risk and overhead. A clean, marked, easily resold piece sits nearer 90%; a damaged, unmarked or solder-heavy one sits nearer 75%. Recognised gold coins and bullion price closer to spot than any of that, because they are fast to verify and fast to resell. Anyone quoting you 100% of melt is either mis-stating the number or losing money on the transaction.
How do I work out my own gold's value at today's price?
Four steps. Divide the current spot price by 31.1035 to get the price per gram of pure gold. Multiply your item's gram weight by its karat multiplier — 0.417 for 10k, 0.500 for 12k, 0.583 for 14k, 0.750 for 18k, 0.917 for 22k. Multiply those together for melt value. Then take 75% to 90% of that for a realistic payout range. The multiplier table on this page has no prices in it, so it works on any day.
Why does my kitchen scale give a different weight?
Because a kitchen scale set to ounces uses the avoirdupois ounce, which is 28.3495 grams. Gold is priced in troy ounces, which are 31.1035 grams — about 10% heavier. People who weigh at home in ounces routinely undercount their gold and decide the trip is not worth making. Weigh in grams instead, or just bring it in.
Can I sell gold without a visible karat stamp?
Yes. A missing or worn stamp does not mean a piece has no value. Older jewelry, estate pieces, and well-worn rings often need testing rather than reading, and unmarked pieces sometimes test better than expected.
What about gold-filled or gold-plated jewelry?
Gold-filled and gold-plated pieces carry a layer of gold over a base metal. They do not pay like solid gold because the recoverable gold content is far lower. Bring them anyway — sorting solid from filled from plated is quick, and it is better to know.
Can I pawn gold instead of selling it?
Yes. If you want the item back, a pawn loan usually makes more sense than selling. The loan amount will be lower than an outright sale offer, but you keep the option to redeem the piece under the loan terms.
What do pawn shops pay for gold per gram?
Work it from the day's spot price, because a per-gram figure goes stale within days. Divide spot by 31.1035 for the price of a gram of pure gold, multiply by the karat multiplier, then take 75% to 90%. At the 17 September 2026 snapshot above, pure gold was about $140 a gram, so a gram of 14k held about $82 of melt value and a fair offer was roughly $61 to $73; a gram of 10k about $58 of melt and $44 to $52; a gram of 18k about $105 and $79 to $94; a gram of 22k about $128 and $96 to $115. Redo those four lines with today's spot and your own weight and you have your number before you walk in.
Do pawn shops pay more for gold than jewelry stores or gold buyers?
Not as a rule. Whoever is buying, the offer starts from the same melt value; what differs is the percentage each buyer keeps and how openly they show the arithmetic. Local buyers who test and weigh in front of you and explain the number — pawn shops, independent jewelers, coin dealers — tend to land in the same 75% to 90% band for scrap jewelry. Mail-in buyers are usually lower once shipping, delay and dispute risk are priced in, and refiners pay closest to melt but generally only on larger lots. The useful comparison is the payout in dollars from two local buyers on the same piece. At Larsen's the jewelry store and the pawn shop are the same counter, so there is only one number to get.
Bring It In and We Will Show You the Numbers
Tested and weighed in front of you, with the reasoning explained out loud. No pressure to sell, and no charge for finding out.
211 N Main St, Mobridge, SD 57601 • Mon–Sat 11am–6pm • Closed Sunday
