Old crowns in a pill bottle, a chain that snapped years ago, a single earring with no mate. That kind of gold sits in a lot of drawers around Winston-Salem, and it is worth money. Here are plain answers to the questions people ask us most about selling dental gold and broken gold chains at Apex Gold Silver Coin, 605 Walnut St SW. One thing up front: we do not offer appraisals. We test, weigh, and make a straight buy offer.
Do you buy dental gold?
Yes. We buy gold crowns, bridges, inlays, and onlays, whether they came out of your own mouth or turned up in a family member’s things. We test the metal, weigh it, and pay on the gold content we confirm.
What karat is dental gold?
Dental gold is almost never stamped, and the gold content varies a lot from one piece to the next. Some crowns are high-gold alloys. Others have much less gold mixed with metals like palladium, silver, or copper. That is why we test every piece on the counter instead of guessing from the color.
For more on how that works, see how we test scrap gold.
How much do you pay for dental gold?
Dental gold is priced like other scrap gold. We generally pay about 75% of melt value for the gold content we confirm, based on that day’s gold price. Since dental alloys vary, two crowns of the same size can pay differently. We show you the weight and the test result and explain the number before you decide.
My crown still has porcelain or part of a tooth on it. Is that a problem?
No. Bring it as is. You do not need to pry anything off. We only pay for the gold, so porcelain, tooth, and cement do not count toward the weight we pay on. We will explain how we account for them when we look at the piece.
Should I clean dental gold before I bring it in?
Please rinse it and disinfect it before you come in. A soak in hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol is plenty. Do not try to polish it or scrape it. Cleaning does not change the gold value; it is just a courtesy for the person handling it.
What about silver-colored crowns and fillings?
Most silver-colored dental work is not gold. Amalgam fillings and many silver-colored crowns are made of other metals, and we do not buy amalgam. Some white dental alloys do contain precious metals, so if you are not sure, bring them along with your gold and we will tell you what we can and cannot buy.
Can I get my old crown back from my dentist?
Many dentists will hand back a gold crown they remove if you ask. The easiest way is to ask before the appointment so it is not thrown out with other waste.
Do you buy broken gold chains?
Yes. Snapped links, broken clasps, kinks, and knots are all fine. When we buy gold as scrap, we pay for the gold itself, so a broken chain pays the same as an intact chain of the same karat and weight.
Broken bracelets, single earrings, bent rings, and odd pieces count too. See selling 10K, 14K, and 18K gold jewelry for how karat affects the offer.
Should I fix or untangle a chain before I sell it?
No. Do not pay for a repair, and do not spend an evening picking at a knot. Bring it in the way it is. Repairs do not raise the gold value of a piece we are buying as scrap.
How do I know if my chain is real gold?
Look near the clasp for a stamp such as 10K, 14K, 18K, 417, 585, or 750. Stamps can wear off or sit on a replaced clasp, so we test the chain itself. Marks like GF, GP, HGE, or 1/20 mean gold-filled or gold-plated. Those have only a thin layer of gold and do not pay like solid gold.
I have a mix of dental gold, chains, and other gold. Do I need to sort it?
No. Bring it all in one bag. We sort by type and karat on the counter, weigh each group, and price each one from the gold content we confirm. If there are gold coins mixed in, we pull those out, since coins often pay more than scrap.
Here is why: gold coins vs scrap gold.
Do I need an appointment, and what should I bring?
No appointment is needed. Walk in during shop hours with your gold and a government-issued photo ID. If you have a large lot, call (336) 505-9503 first so we can be ready for you.
Where are you and what are your hours?
Apex Gold Silver Coin is at 605 Walnut St SW, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. We are open Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm and Saturday 12pm to 3pm, and closed Sunday. Phone (336) 505-9503.
Visit Apex Gold Silver Coin
Apex Gold Silver Coin
605 Walnut St SW, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Phone: (336) 505-9503
Hours: Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm, Saturday 12pm to 3pm, closed Sunday
Jeff owns the shop and Tania runs it day to day. People bring dental gold and broken jewelry to us from Greensboro, Lexington, Mount Airy, Reidsville, and around the Triad. That is our service area; the shop itself is the one on Walnut Street in Winston-Salem. For more general questions, see our FAQ on selling gold and silver.
Featured photo: “Gold tooth 1” (gold dental crown) by James St. John, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Resized and converted to WebP.
