How to Sell Gold and Silver for a Fair Price

Selling gold or silver is usually simple. Common coins and bars have a ready market, and you can often sell the same day. The hard part is knowing whether the offer in front of you is fair.

Every buyer pays less than the spot price, which is the market price for one troy ounce of metal. How much less depends on who is buying, what you are selling and how much homework you did first. A few minutes with a calculator and two or three phone calls can make a real difference.

This page covers where to sell, how to work out what your metal is worth, how to compare offers, what not to do, and the records you need for taxes afterward.

How do you sell gold and silver?

Work out the metal value, get written quotes from two or three buyers on the same day, and sell to the one that pays the most with the least risk. Keep the paperwork for your tax return.

In more detail:

1. List what you have. Write down each coin or bar, its weight and its purity. Government coins have published specifications. Bars usually show weight and purity on the bar or its card.
2. Work out the melt value. Multiply the ounces of pure metal by today's spot price. That is the most the metal itself is worth.
3. Get quotes. Ask two or three buyers what they would pay today, per piece, and how they pay.
4. Compare and sell. Choose based on the price, how and when you get paid, and how comfortable you are with the buyer.
5. Keep records. Save the sale receipt with your original purchase receipt.

Where can I sell gold coins and bars?

The main options are a bullion dealer, a local coin shop, a jewelry or pawn buyer, an online or mail-in buyer, or a private buyer. Here is how they compare.

There are no published government figures for what each type of buyer pays, so treat the "tends to pay" column as a guide to ask about, not a promise. The only way to know is to compare real offers on the same day.

How much will a dealer pay for gold?

Less than spot. FINRA and the CFTC put it plainly: a dealer "will always sell metal above the spot price," and it buys metal back below spot.

The gap between a dealer's selling price and its buying price is called the spread. It is how the dealer earns a living, and it is the cost you pay for a round trip. Our page on premiums and spreads explains it with a worked example.

What you'll be offered depends on what you sell:

• Common government bullion coins such as American Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs and South African Krugerrands are easy for a dealer to resell, so offers tend to be closer to spot.
• Well-known bars in sealed cards from known refiners are also easy to resell.
• Unusual items, damaged coins, or bars from an unknown maker may get lower offers, or need testing first.
• Collector coins are priced on rarity and condition, not just metal. The CFTC and FINRA say so-called semi-numismatic coins are usually less liquid, which means harder to sell at a fair price, and an offer can be far below what you paid. Our guide to bullion vs. collector coins explains why.

How to get a fair quote

Do the math yourself before anyone quotes you. Multiply the pure-metal ounces by today's spot price. If you have ten 1 oz silver coins and silver is at a given spot price, the melt value is ten times that price. An offer is fair or not compared with that number.

Then call or visit two or three buyers on the same day, and ask each one the same questions:

1. What will you pay, per piece, for exactly these items today?
2. Is that price locked, and for how long?
3. Are there any fees, testing charges or deductions?
4. How do you pay me (check, bank transfer or cash), and when?
5. If I ship to you, who pays for shipping and insurance, and when is the price set?

Write down each answer with the time. Prices move during the day, so quotes taken hours apart are not directly comparable. If one offer is far below the others, ask why. If a buyer won't put its offer in writing, you can always say no and leave.

Should I clean my coins before selling them?

No. Cleaning can cut what a buyer will pay.

The US Mint says: "Polishing and/or cleaning coins can reduce their value." An article in the American Numismatic Association's Reading Room goes further: "Improperly cleaned coins often lose value, sometimes by more than half." The Mint also warns that brushing or rubbing can scratch a coin's surface.

This matters most for older and collector coins, where condition sets the price. For common bullion coins, the metal sets most of the price, but there is still nothing to gain from cleaning them. Sell coins as they are, in their original holders or tubes if you have them, and handle them by the edges.

Be careful with mail-in and "we buy gold" offers

Take extra care with any buyer that asks you to send your metal before it makes an offer.

The FTC told Congress in 2010 that consumers had complained about some online jewelry buyers. Some sellers were paid "only after buyers have melted their items." By then, the seller had no way to say no to a low offer. The FTC also reported that some buyers gave a price quote "only if asked."

A few habits protect you with any buyer:

• Get the offer before you hand over the metal. You should be able to refuse it and take your metal back.
• Know the melt value first, so you can tell a fair offer from a low one.
• Don't feel rushed. Common gold and silver coins can be sold on almost any business day. A buyer who says the price is only good for the next hour is pressuring you.
• Sell to a business with a fixed address you can look up and visit again if something goes wrong.

If you are selling for an older parent, or helping someone sort through a family collection, our page on inherited gold or silver coins covers getting the coins valued and the scams that target heirs.

Do I need to report selling gold to the IRS?

You report any gain on your own tax return, whether or not the buyer reports anything. That is the rule that matters most.

Dealers report some sales on Form 1099-B, but only certain forms and amounts of metal. The IRS rule ties reporting to the forms and minimum quantities of metal that trade on regulated futures markets. Dealers generally read this to cover large bars, not common coins. The rule changed in January 2026, and our page on dealer reporting to the IRS explains what changed.

Form 8300 is about cash a business receives. A business that receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction, or in related transactions, must file it within 15 days. That usually comes up when you buy metal with cash. It is illegal to split a cash payment into smaller amounts to avoid the report.

No 1099-B does not mean no tax. The gain is taxable either way.

What records do I need when I sell?

Keep proof of what you paid and what you sold for. Your gain is the sale price minus your cost basis, which is generally what you paid.

Keep these together:

• The original purchase invoice or receipt, showing the date, items and total paid.
• The sale receipt, showing the date, items and amount received.
• Any shipping, insurance or testing costs.

Your total purchase price generally includes the premium, shipping and any sales tax you paid, but the IRS doesn't address bullion premiums by name, so confirm this with a tax professional.

The tax rules in short:

• Gold and silver coins and bullion count as collectibles for federal tax purposes.
• If you held the metal more than one year, long-term gains can be taxed at up to 28%, higher than the 20% top rate on most stocks.
• Held one year or less, a gain is taxed as ordinary income.
• Sales generally go on Form 8949, with code C in column (f) for collectibles, and then on Schedule D.

If you have lost your purchase receipts, talk to a tax professional before you sell. Our guide to how gold and silver are taxed explains each of these rules.

What selling gold can't fix

Selling well is about avoiding a bad offer, not beating the market. You will receive less than spot, and you paid more than spot when you bought, so the price needs to have risen just to break even. Gold and silver pay no income while you hold them, and prices can stay flat or fall for long stretches.

If you are deciding whether to sell at all, think about what you need the money for and when. A fee-only fiduciary adviser can help you look at the whole picture, and a tax professional can tell you what the sale will mean for your return.