Featured 'Yellow Metal' in auction: how safe is it to gamble?

Yup, and their contracts specifically say that.

I sold some odds and ends through Roseberys and Tooveys. Both highly reputable. Both use yellow metal as a description .

 

They very well may have tested but the law does not allow them to catalogue it as gold unless it has a British hallmark. According to the British auctioneers on Cash in the Attic and other such shows.

 

Yes that's really what I mean in this post and saying majority of these yellow metals are still gold, even if they aren't you can still tell from pics, most of the time

 

I have recognized real gold based from colour and construcion from photos, for example, I bought a 9ct gold chain which when it arrived home, I was pleasantly surprised that it had a 9ct mark on the clasp. I believe it is possible to nail some gold discoveries by judging photos only, although this is of course a gamble and you might end with rolled gold or thickly plated pieces. I found an engraved locket and an engraved brooch which look like 9ct gold but to be sure, I would have to take them to the jeweller to test... I think they are tired of doing this for the third time haha.

 

and on the show they couldn't prove the date of manufacture of a 1907 US double eagle. It sold for 300 quid. Book value $7000 at the time. Scrap value was $700 then.

 

You can get a 9ct gold acid tester at home, only 9ct as I m happy enough to know it’s gold without a specific purity. But for pieces with higher quality or weight better ask professionals to test it

 

I prefer machine testing, not acid tests, as I don't want to ruin the pieces.

 

Gambling on metal is where you can make some major wins. If you have the stomach for it. If you’re making well educated guesses and have the stomach it’s probably one of the better ways to step into large profits. I won’t pay market price for gold and silver with the spot price being so high right now but I haven’t stopped buying metal either. You just have to take some risk sometimes if you want a big win.

 

I use acid. I scrap the pice on the touch stone and apply the aid to the scraping. That doesn't do any damage to the piece.