A hobby that pays for itself...you betcha!

[REVIER]

Just received this in my E-Mail from the refiner on Friday afternoon.
They received my gold package on Tuesday, processed it on Friday and the check will be sent in the mail to me first thing Monday.
Their calculations were right on and matched mine exactly so I am very happy.
I let the wife look at the pile one last time and she scarfed up a very nice 14k wedding band that she originally turned her nose up at when I found it but now she says she will alternate this with her real wedding band because it is a little thinner.
If you are married don't do this...words to the wise.
Give them one shot and that is it.

I still have lots of silver, a few gold rings, (that the wife doesn't want), and a 14k white gold bracelet I couldn't see scrapping because they are too nice to melt and I will try to get more than melt prices on other venues because they are worth it.
I also have a white gold diamond ring, (my avatar pic), that 2 different jewelry stores said is worth $1300 new and no less than $600-700 sold on the street...$500 at minimum for a really fast sale.

The money from the refiner is already spent.
$400 for a brand new in the box F70 I just couldn't pass up at this fire sale price.

$70 for a new Raptor hand digger because I might just be digging a little deeper with that new F70.

$660 for a college ring for the wife because she couldn't afford one when she graduated and she worked hard for this degree late in life while working full time and she deserves it.

$45 for a couple of buffets at the casino, (mmm...Crab legs!).

$10 to throw in a slot machine and see if we are lucky.

Add to this the over $1000 in clad I have found and everything I have ever bought for the hobby is paid for with lots left over.
The fun and enjoyment I had finding all this stuff is priceless and I can't put a value on that sort of thing but it is way up there.

What a great hobby!

 

[sprchng]

What refiner and how much was shipping? Looks like it beats the LCS

 

[REVIER]

What refiner and how much was shipping? Looks like it beats the LCS

ARA.
$16 total to ship to Dallas from north Kansas near KC and that includes $1200 in insurance through Fed Ex.

 

[BarberBill]

Nice return on activities you'd have done anyway.
BB

 

[mudpuppy]

AWESOME! uke:

I figured this was worth as many icons I felt while reading your post! Thanks for including the invoice...they really do give what looks like dang near top dollar like everybody has said...

I was out stabbing zincs today in 10degree weather and snow cussing your name looking for at least one more big gold ring! You have been one hell of an inspiration to me and hard to try to keep up with!
You get that F70 and holler if I can help you with any advice, which I'm pretty sure you WONT need, but hey, its an offer, you are one gold finding sumgun alright.
Mud

 

[tabman]

It nice to have a hobby that's so fun and is rewarding as well.

tabman

 

[REVIER]

AWESOME! uke:

I figured this was worth as many icons I felt while reading your post! Thanks for including the invoice...they really do give what looks like dang near top dollar like everybody has said...

I was out stabbing zincs today in 10degree weather and snow cussing your name looking for at least one more big gold ring! You have been one hell of an inspiration to me and hard to try to keep up with!
You get that F70 and holler if I can help you with any advice, which I'm pretty sure you WONT need, but hey, its an offer, you are one gold finding sumgun alright.
Mud

Thanks Mud!

I have been bookmarking everything I can find on setting the F70 from you and everyone else and I am studying up already.
Of course it went from the 50's and 60's to the 20's and 30's now, but hopefully it will get a little warmer when I pick up this thing probably next week.
I am sure I will have lots of questions but I am excited about experimenting, trying every setting and all the modes and see what works best for me.
Like an early Christmas for me, and I look forward to posting my thoughts and discoveries when I start swinging this great detector.
Oh yea...pics of all the great finds, too!


For those of you that want to do your own math when converting to pennyweight which is what lots of the gold buyers seem to want to use this is some info on doing that.

Because the value of gold is based on WEIGHT, it is important to use an electronic jewelry scale to estimate the market value of your scrap pieces. Ideally your digital balance will measure in Pennyweight (dwt), but even a scale that weighs in Grams (g; gr; gm) will do. (1 dwt = 1.56 g; also 1 dwt = 24 grains). We use Pennyweight because 1 dwt is equal to 1/20 troy ounce. I recommend using DigiWeigh brand, as they have many models which offer both Pennyweight & Gram mode.

The other factor which determines the value of your gold is PURITY. Therefore, it's imperative that you get some sort of basic test kit. Fortunately these are very inexpensive, and you can find proper acid test kits on eBay & other sites for less than 30 bucks. If you have no idea whether your gold is 10k, 14k, 24k, etc,. I recommend getting each of the four gold testing acid solutions (10k, 14k, 18k, 22k). **I recommend PuriTEST brand because I've used it many times with 100% reliability, and also because they sell a 5-pack that includes a bottle of Silver tester.*** Do not forget that you also need a test stone to carry out the procedure--included when you purchase a PuriTEST 5-pack or 6-pack (inc. Platinum test). You can also get a test stone for a few bucks--or a large test stone for 10-15 bucks.

It is important to understand how the Karat (kt; k) system works. 24-karat indicates that the gold is 100% pure, because 24 out of 24 parts are pure gold. Therefore, 12-karat is 50% pure because only 12 of 24 parts are pure. Consult the chart below for value calculations.

10KT = 10/24 = 0.4167
12KT = 12/24 = 0.500
14KT = 14/24 = 0.5833
18KT = 18/24 = 0.750
20KT = 20/24 = 0.8333
22KT = 22/24 = 0.9167

Whether you've measured your gold in grams or penny-weights, the calculations to determine value are very easy.



IF YOU MEASURE IN GRAMS:
Let's say you have 5 grams of 14k gold.
Let's also say the value of gold is at $900 per ounce (troy ounce).
FIRST--There are 31.1 grams in a troy ounce, so you would divide 900 by 31.1 to find the price per gram of 24kt gold. Here, the cost per gram would equal $28.9389.
NEXT--Multiply the cost per gram of gold by the purity of 14k gold: 28.9389 x 0.5833 = $16.88 per gram of 14k gold.
NEXT--If you have 5 grams of 14k gold, multiply $16.88 by 5, which equals $84.40.



IF YOU MEASURE IN PENNYWEIGHT:
Let's say you have 5 pennyweights of 14k gold.
Let's also say the value of gold is at $900 per ounce (troy ounce).
FIRST--There are 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce, so you would divide 900 by 20 to find the price per pennyweight of pure gold. Here, the cost per pennyweight is $45.
NEXT--Multiply the cost per pennyweight by the purity of 24k gold. 45 x 0.5833 = $26.25 per pennyweight of 14k gold.
NEXT--If you have 5 pennyweights of 14k gold, multiply $26.25 by 5, which equals $131.25.



This process can be replicated for any amount... any karat value of gold.


If You Are UNSURE IF PLATED OR SOLID, and if you are testing a piece that you intend to melt or sell, use a filing piece or "needle file" to cut into the gold to see if it is solid or plated.




Here is a site that will do this for you if you want.
Old version
http://dendritics.com/metal-calc/original/

New version
http://dendritics.com/metal-calc/

 

[mudpuppy]

Well, you should really like it, the batteries last for a very long time...you dont have to use the PP button, just sort of gently and briskly tap the coil over a good target as you rotate 90 degrees and bing! its right under the sweet spot. You wont even need your hand held...seriously, when you get it, toss a coin on the ground and see how fast you can sweep over it and get the ping...the dang things are real quick brooms, and from the looks of some of the fields you like to hunt, you should be able to fly through there in a hurry and scarf up all good targets in short order!
Mud

 

[Dancer]

Double smarts to you Revier. Knows how to find them & knows how to sell them.

 

[REVIER]

Double smarts to you Revier. Knows how to find them & knows how to sell them.

Thank you.
Lets hope that trend continues with the new machine.