A drawer is almost never one thing. There is a snapped chain, a handful of silver from a grandmother's canteen, some coins nobody could name, and one ring that looks like it might matter. The instinct is to split them up and take each part to whoever seems to specialise in it. That instinct is what costs money — not the mixed box itself.
One shipment, four ways of pricing
A mixed lot does not get one price per gram. Each piece goes into the lane that suits it, and the lanes work on genuinely different rules: two of them start on a scale, and two of them start with somebody reading the piece. The number you end up with depends on which lane a piece is put in — which is exactly the decision you should not have to make yourself, at home, from a photograph in your head.
Here is what those lanes are and what actually decides the number in each one.
| What is in the box | How it is priced | What decides the number | Where it is explained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain and scrap gold | On the scale | Weight and karat at the day’s live spot price, plus any brand or design premium | Sell Gold |
| Solid silver — flatware, hollowware, jewelry | On the scale, unless it is worth more whole | Weighed against live silver spot; a signed maker, a complete service or a real antique is valued on the resale market instead | Sell Silver |
| Bullion coins, bars and rounds | On the metal inside, not the gross weight | Actual metal content against live spot — an American Gold Eagle holds one full troy ounce even though it weighs slightly more | Sell Coins |
| Collector coins | Read first, weighed second | Date, mint mark, rarity and condition — which can be many times melt | Sell Coins |
| Signed, antique or gem-set jewelry | As jewelry, not as metal | Maker, period, stones, condition and originality on the resale market | Sell Estate Jewelry |
| Loose stones and certificated diamonds, watches | On their own merits | The stone graded in its own right; a watch on reference, age, condition and demand | Diamonds · Watches |
Melt is the floor in every one of these lanes, never the ceiling. Only items genuinely worth more as metal are valued at melt — everything else is read before the scale gets involved.
The three mistakes a mixed box invites
None of these are careless mistakes. All three are the sensible-sounding thing to do, and all three quietly move money in the wrong direction.
Splitting the lot between buyers
Coins to a coin shop, gold to a gold buyer, the ring to a jeweller. Three journeys, three lots of handling, three separate conversations — and one insured label would have covered all of it in a single box.
Letting one lane price another lane’s piece
This is the expensive one. A scarce date weighed with the scrap, a signed brooch valued as gold content, a complete flatware service priced by the gram. Nothing is recoverable once a piece is melted.
Sorting out “the wrong stuff” first
The plated tray, the gold-filled bracelet, the bag assumed to be costume. Leaving them out saves nothing, because there is no charge for including them — and that bag is where surprises live.
All three are a decision made blind
Each one asks you to judge, at home and without testing, which category a piece belongs to. That judgement is free here, done with the piece in hand, and it happens before anything is priced.
The valuation is free whether you sell or not, and it is free per piece, not per box. Nothing is melted, altered or dismantled before you accept an offer in writing, and anything you decline goes back to you free and fully insured. There is no version of this where including one more item costs you something.
What decides which lane a piece goes into
Mostly a mark, and mostly a mark you can find yourself in a few minutes. It is worth looking — not so you can price anything, but so you know what you are holding before you decide what to do with it.
| Where to look | What you might find | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a ring band, the tag beside a clasp, an earring post | 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, 24K, or 585, 750 | Karat gold — all of those are bought, and the karat sets the metal value per gram |
| The same places, after a number | GF, GP, GEP, rolled gold plate | Not solid gold. Gold-filled is evaluated case by case; plated carries no real metal value |
| Back of a handle, underside of a base, inside a rim | STERLING, 925, 950, Britannia, 800, 830, 900 | Solid silver. British silver uses hallmarks rather than a number |
| The same places on silver | EPNS, silver plate, A1, Sheffield | A microscopic layer over base metal — no recoverable melt value |
| Either face of a coin | A date and a mint mark | The two things read before any coin is treated as metal. US dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier are 90 percent silver |
| Anywhere discreet on a piece of jewelry | A maker’s name or a workshop mark | The single most valuable thing to find before anything is melted — how to spot one |
You are not expected to get this right. Every piece is weighed and its karat confirmed by testing here, and a mark is a declaration, not a proof. If you cannot find one, that changes nothing about whether a piece is worth sending.
Packing a mixed lot, in five steps
- 1Put it all in one shipmentOne prepaid, insured label covers the whole box, whatever is in it. There is no per-category charge and no advantage in holding anything back for a second parcel.
- 2Group loosely, but do not sort anything outCoins in one bag, silver in another, jewelry in a third — that helps. Deciding what does not deserve to go is the part that costs money.
- 3Leave the coins exactly as they areNever clean a coin: cleaning leaves hairlines that any grader spots instantly and can cut a collectible coin’s value sharply. Leave graded coins sealed in their holders, and keep dates and mint marks visible.
- 4Do not polish the silver or repair the goldTarnish costs you nothing; polishing an antique or signed piece wears the surface and softens the marks, and that does cost you money. Plain gold is paid on metal content, so a mended clasp adds nothing.
- 5Say roughly what is inside when you ask for the kitSo the cover matches what is actually in the box. Then photograph the lot laid out, plus a close-up of any mark you can read — that answers most questions before anything ships. Full packing instructions.
Four things not to do to a mixed box before it ships.
Do not clean the coins. It is the single most expensive mistake in coins, it is not reversible, and it is visible to every grader afterwards.
Do not polish the silver. A tarnished antique is worth more than a bright one with soft marks. Send it exactly as it is.
Do not melt or scrap anything yourself — and do not let anyone else do it in a hurry. A signed piece can be worth restoring rather than melting, and melting a signed piece destroys value that can never be recovered.
Do not split the shipment to “get a specialist price” on part of it. The specialist reading happens here, per piece, before the scale is involved — and one label already covers the whole box in both directions.
What happens when a mixed box lands here
It is unpacked and inventoried as individual pieces, not as a lot. Jewelry and silver are weighed and the karat or fineness confirmed by testing. Coins are checked for date, mint mark, rarity and condition before metal is considered, because a scarce date should never be sold by weight. Anything signed, antique or gem-set is read as jewelry first — it is never blindly melted.
Then the offer comes back in writing, with the breakdown shown: metal value and any premium separately, so you can see which pieces were priced on the scale and which were valued above it. You decide piece by piece — sell what you like, keep the rest. Whatever you decline ships back free and fully insured, and payment for what you sell goes out the same day you accept, by bank transfer.
Not sure whether your box is worth sending as it stands? Photograph it laid out, add a close-up of anything with a mark, and send it over — you will get a straight answer about what is worth what.
Ask on WhatsAppWe are jewellers rather than a melt shop, and that is the reason the lanes exist at all: the best pieces that come through do not go into a crucible, they go into our own collection. It is in nobody’s interest — least of all ours — to weigh something that should have been read.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send gold, silver and coins in the same package?
Yes, and it is the cheaper way to do it. One prepaid FedEx label backed by dedicated jewelry insurance through IFS (In4Sure) covers the whole box, full value door to door, both ways, tracked and signature required. Nothing about a mixed box slows the valuation down, because every piece is assessed individually anyway. Tell us roughly what is inside when you request your kit so the cover matches what is actually in it.
Will my coins be melted in with the scrap gold?
No. Every coin is checked for collector value before it is treated as metal, because a scarce date should never be sold by weight. Melt value is the floor, not the answer: collector value comes from date, mint mark, rarity and condition, and it can be many times melt. The same principle protects jewelry, where signed and antique pieces are valued on the resale market instead of at melt, and nothing is melted or altered before you accept an offer in writing.
Do I have to sort everything before I ship it?
Grouping helps, sorting does not. Coins in one bag, silver in another and jewelry in a third makes unpacking easier, but deciding what to leave out is where money is lost. Every piece is weighed, tested and assessed on its own, and there is no charge for including something that turns out to be plated or costume — it is set aside, you are told, and it comes back with anything else you decline, free and fully insured. There is more on that in what is actually worth mailing in.
Is it better to sell coins to a coin dealer and jewelry to a jeweller?
That is the assumption a mixed box invites, and it has a cost: two or three separate shipments, more handling, and each buyer looking at your lot through one lens. Here the lanes exist under one roof. Coins are read for date, mint mark, rarity and condition before metal is considered; solid silver is weighed against live silver spot unless a signed maker, a complete flatware service or a genuine antique makes it worth more on the resale market; plain gold is priced on weight and karat at the day’s live spot; and signed, antique or gem-set jewelry is valued as jewelry rather than as metal. You see the numbers in writing and decide piece by piece.
How will I know what you paid for each item?
The offer comes to you in writing with the breakdown shown, metal value and any premium separately, so you can see which pieces were priced as metal and which were valued above it. You then decide piece by piece: sell what you like and keep the rest. Anything you decline ships back to you free and fully insured, and payment for what you do sell goes out the same day you accept, by bank transfer.
What happens to the parts of the box that are worth nothing?
You are told honestly and they come back with anything else you decline, free and fully insured. Plated pieces marked EPNS, silver plate or A1 carry no recoverable melt value, and gold-filled is evaluated case by case rather than assumed either way. Including them costs you nothing, which is the point: it means you never have to make the call yourself about whether a piece is real, and that is the moment at which genuinely valuable things get thrown away.