Gold, silver, platinum, palladium and other metals are all selling for certain trading prices that can change day by day. If you have a Troy Ounce of Gold, for example, you can check on our home page and see that day’s current trading price.
But here’s a riddle for you. Let’s say you own something made of gold that weighs one Troy Ounce but when you take it to a jewelry store, the man behind the counter offers you not the current trading price, but $40,000.00? How can that be? Is he crazy? Is he trying to give his money away?
Chances are he isn’t. The reason he is offering you more than twice the value of the gold your item contains is that it is a piece of jewelry that was made by the famous American goldsmith John Paul Miller, who lived from 1918 until 2013.
Miller’s jewelry, as well as jewelry made by other master craftsmen, regularly sells for more than its value as pure metal. In other words, your item has . . .
Collectible Value
That means that collectors are willing to pay more than just what the metal in your item is worth. And collectible value can be tacked onto a Precious Metal items for a number of reasons, including these:
A famous craftsperson made the item, like Paul Miller, who we mentioned just above. But value can be added in smaller amounts too. A sterling silver spoon made by a famous brand like Reed & Barton, for example, might not be worth a king’s ransom, but it will be worth much more than another spoon of the same wait that was made by a less prestigious company.
Somebody famous, like Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn Monroe, owned the item.
Something notable happened while the item was present, like it is the ring that Queen Elizabeth wore at her coronation. (This ring does exist, but it isn’t for sale.)
The item was previously owned by a prestigious museum or collection.
The item was made by a luxury manufacturer. Let’s say, for example, that you have an 18K gold watch that was made by Rolex, and you also have an 18K gold watch that was made by a lesser brand. Even though both watches contain the same amount of gold, the Rolex is going to be worth more. Why? It has collectible value.
How Knowing about Collectible Value Can Put More Money in Your Pocket
In some cases, you can discover and buy a piece of jewelry (or another collectible) for a low price – maybe at the trading price level for the metal it contains – and then turn around and sell it for a nice profit. Like if you discover that Reed & Barton spoon we mentioned above sitting in a pile of old silverplated tableware at an antique store, you can buy it for just a few dollars and then sell it for much more than you paid for it.
Sometimes you can increase the value of items you have bought by doing some research into them yourself, or by taking them to an appraiser to tell you what they are worth. Let’s say, for example, that you buy an old gold watch and are able to document the fact that it was owned by Yogi Berra, Eleanor Roosevelt, or some other notable? The time you spend researching can sometimes dramatically increase the profit you can make from the investments you have made.
At other times, knowing about collectible values can prevent you from paying too much for items. Let’s say somebody is trying to sell a coin he says was once owned by King Farouk, who was one of the most active coin collectors in history.
Well . . . is that seller telling you the truth, or trying to inflate the value of his coin by assigning it historical value that really isn’t there? You, or an honest coin dealer, can do some research and let you know.
The bottom line is, knowing about collectible value can both help you recognized undervalued items and also to protect yourself from paying too much.
Want to know more? Give our precious metal refiners a call at 800-426-2344.
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