Want to Sell Precious Metals in Mesa? Here’s What We Accept and How It Works

Precious metals show up in all kinds of forms — an inherited jewelry box, a coin collection that’s been sitting in a closet for years, a few silver bars picked up as investments, old flatware that never gets used anymore, or a bag of scrap gold from broken chains and mismatched earrings. Whatever you’ve got, Alma School Pawn has been buying precious metals from Mesa residents and East Valley neighbors since 2008, and we’re straightforward about what things are worth.

We buy gold, silver, platinum, and palladium — in just about any form they come in. If you’re not sure whether what you have qualifies, bring it in or give us a call. We’ll take a look and give you an honest answer.

What We Buy

We accept precious metals across a wide range of categories. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Gold Gold jewelry is one of the most common things people bring in — rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and pendants, including broken or mismatched pieces. We also buy gold coins, gold bullion and bars, and loose gold scrap. Karat doesn’t disqualify anything; we evaluate 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, and 24K gold.

Silver Silver is one of the most varied categories we see. People bring in sterling silver jewelry, pre-1965 U.S. silver coins, silver rounds and bars, and silver flatware — serving sets, candlesticks, tea services, and individual utensils that have been packed away for years. We also buy silver scrap. If it’s marked .925, .999, or carries a recognizable silver hallmark, it’s worth bringing in.

Platinum Platinum is less common but we buy it regularly. Rings and other fine jewelry are the most typical form, though we also evaluate platinum bullion and bars. Platinum’s value is tied closely to current spot prices and purity, both of which factor into our offer.

Palladium Palladium has become a meaningful precious metal in its own right, and we buy it in coin, bar, and bullion form. If you have palladium and aren’t sure what it’s currently worth, we can walk you through it when you come in.

How We Evaluate Precious Metals

This is where a lot of people have questions, and it’s worth explaining clearly because the testing process directly affects what we can offer.

Precious metals can’t be evaluated accurately just by looking at them. Stamps and hallmarks give us a starting point, but they don’t tell the whole story — especially on older pieces or items that have been repaired or mixed with other materials over the years. That’s why we use two different testing methods to verify what we’re actually working with.

Acid Testing Acid testing is one of the most reliable traditional methods for evaluating gold and silver. We use a touchstone to leave a small mark from the metal, then apply a chemical acid solution calibrated to a specific karat or purity level. The way the mark reacts to the acid tells us whether the metal is what it appears to be, and at what purity. It’s a proven, time-tested process that gives us a solid baseline on a wide range of items.

Sigma Metalytics Verification For a second layer of confirmation, we use the Sigma Metalytics precious metal verifier. This instrument uses electrical conductivity to measure a metal’s properties without damaging the piece. It reads through plating and surface finishes, which makes it particularly useful for items where acid testing alone might not give the full picture — thicker pieces, coins, bars, and items where we want to cross-check our findings. Using both methods together means our evaluations are grounded in actual data, not guesswork.

The combination of acid testing and Sigma Metalytics verification is how we arrive at offers that are fair to you and accurate for us. There’s no guessing involved on either side.

How Pricing Works

Precious metal offers are based on current spot prices for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium — these fluctuate with the market, so what something is worth today may be slightly different from what it was worth last week. We factor in the metal’s purity, its weight, and current market conditions to calculate our offer. When you come in, we’ll walk you through how we arrived at the number so you understand exactly what you’re looking at.

Selling vs. Pawning — You Have Options

Not everyone who walks in with precious metals wants to sell permanently. If you need cash now but aren’t ready to part with something for good — a family piece, a coin collection with sentimental value, a set of silver that belonged to someone important to you — a pawn loan lets you use your metals as collateral without giving up ownership.

Here’s how it works: we hold the items during the loan term and you receive a cash loan based on our evaluation. Loans run on a 90-day schedule with monthly payments. Each payment covers the interest due, and you’re always welcome to put more toward the principal if you want to pay it down faster. Pay it off early and there’s no penalty.

Interest is calculated in tiers depending on where you are in the loan term, and early payoff can reduce what you owe. Because every loan is a little different, the best way to understand exactly what applies to your situation is to give us a call or stop by — we’re happy to walk through it with you.

Life happens and we get that. If a month comes where the full payment isn’t doable, just cover the interest and the loan stays in good standing. It carries over without issue and we move forward from there. Once the loan is fully paid off, your items come back to you.

What to Bring In

You don’t need to have everything sorted and catalogued before you come in. People bring us:

• Jewelry in any condition — wearable, broken, tangled, or mismatched
• Coin collections, rolls, or individual coins
• Bullion coins, rounds, and bars
• Silver flatware, serving pieces, and hollowware
• Scrap gold and silver — old clasps, bent rings, single earrings, dental gold
• Inherited collections or mixed lots where you’re not sure what you have

If you’re unsure whether something is worth bringing in, the easiest thing to do is call us first. We can often give you a general sense over the phone and save you a trip if something clearly doesn’t fit.

Serving Mesa and the East Valley

Alma School Pawn is located at 752 S. Alma School Road in Mesa, AZ 85210. We’ve been part of this community since 2008, and we serve customers from across the East Valley — Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Apache Junction included. Our staff speaks both English and Spanish, and we’re here Monday through Saturday 9AM–7PM and Sunday 10AM–6PM.

Ready to find out what your metals are worth? Stop by anytime or call us at (480) 644-7932.