Our Guide to Gold Nugget Shopping – What to Know
If you’ve decided to invest in gold nuggets, you’re probably confused as to how to buy them without fear that you’re getting ripped off. After all, everybody likes getting the best value for their money.
Expert gold nugget buyers know how to buy them because they have years of experience in the industry. Lucky for you, you don’t need that experience to buy quality gold. These are listed below in short snippets to help new gold nugget investors in their journey towards financial freedom.
Nugget Numbers Estimate According to Mesh Size
Predicting gold nugget numbers for a specific weight is impossible. It varies significantly for each batch. As a general rule, you’d expect to receive one or two pieces of nuggets for every gram in a mesh 4 size, between two to four chunks for every gram in a mesh 6 size, between seven to 12 pieces of nuggets for every gram in a mesh 8 size, and between 15 to 20 chunks for every gram in a mesh 10 size.
It is important to remember that the values mentioned above are only estimates. Since some gold may be flatter, more compressed, more compact, denser, or lighter than others, these factors influence the outcome of gold nuggets per batch.
Gold Nugget Fair Value Guide
For the untrained person, the weight and lustre of gold nuggets is your best determinant of its price. Aside from the two most common criteria, the gold rarity also plays a crucial role in influencing price.
Gold Weight
You can never lie in this factor as it uses instruments to measure the gold nuggets property accurately. Common denominations are ounce or troy (oz), pennyweight (dwt), gram (g), or grains (gr). For your reference, you can study the conversion metrics below:
- 1 oz = 31.10 g
- 1 oz = 20 dwt
- 55 g = 1 dwt
- 1 g = 15.43 gr
Working off this measurement guide, Large Gold nuggets, particularly over one Troy ounce, are very rare to find while prospecting. These nuggets always beg a higher price than the going spot price and If the piece is damage-free and of good quality, you will often see these pieces around 20-30% above spot gold piece. In some cases even higher if the piece is very unique.
Gold Luster
Lustre is a primary indicator of gold purity. Since gold is a metal, it usually forms with alloys like copper or silver. Generally, the deeper the colour, the purer it is compared to those with a shinier more silver complexion.
Remember that gold nuggets are impossible to be naturally 100 per cent pure gold. Natural gold comes mixed with other impurities, and vendors who tell you otherwise may be scammers.
The term karat measures gold purity. Karat refers to the hierarchy of gold concentration, as expressed in terms of original gold parts per 1,000 parts. The best natural gold nuggets come in a range of 20 to 22.
Look at the concentration per 1,000 parts for all corresponding karat hierarchy below.
- 24 karats = 1,000 gold parts per 1,000 overall parts (not naturally occurring)
- 22 karats = 916 gold parts per 1,000 total parts (standard quality for gold coins)
- 18 karats = 750 gold parts per 1,000 overall parts (for high-quality jewellery)
- 14 karats = 583.33 gold parts per 1,000 total parts (for average-quality jewellery)
- 10 karats = 417.77 gold parts per 1,000 overall parts
- 9 karats = 375 gold parts per 1000 whole parts
- 8 karats = 333.33 gold parts per 1,000 total parts (minimum purity required for trade)
Conclusion
It is your responsibility as the buyer to triple-check the quality of the gold you want to purchase. Aside from weight and purity, there also other factors to consider—rarity, shape, and origin. However, the two mentioned above are the best estimates of price. You can use the other elements to finetune the cost to a more specific value.
Are you looking for a trustworthy gold nugget seller? We buy and sell gold nuggets, specialising in premium gold nuggets and unique gold specimens. Get in touch with us to see how we can help.
