10K Gold Price Per Gram Today
10K gold · live melt value
$58.19per gram
Calculate your gold
Melt value
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What buyers actually pay
Melt value is what the metal is worth. It is not what anyone will hand you. Every buyer subtracts refining, assay, shipping, insurance and their own margin.
- Melt value 100% of melt
- Online refiner (mail-in) 75%–90% of melt
- Local gold buyer / jeweler 60%–75% of melt
- Pawn shop 40%–60% of melt
Enter a weight to see your estimate.
These ranges are estimates built from published buyer terms and commonly reported industry spreads — not a proprietary dataset, and not a quote. Your actual offer depends on the piece, the buyer and the day. See how we calculate this.
What this number actually means
10K gold is 41.7% pure gold — 10 parts in 24, and the legal minimum for anything sold as "gold" in the United States. Less than half the metal in your piece is gold; the rest is copper, silver and zinc. That is why the price per gram above is meaningfully lower than the other karats, and why people are often surprised at their first offer.
What the number above gives you is the melt value of that 41.7% fraction at today's spot price. Nothing else in the piece carries value worth recovering. The good news is that 10K items tend to be substantial — class rings and heavy chains especially — so the weight often compensates for the lower purity more than people expect.
Because there is less gold per gram to work with, the spread between buyers matters more here, not less. A ten point difference in payout percentage on a 10K lot is the same dollars as a ten point difference on an 18K lot of the same value, and the smaller absolute figures make it tempting to just take the first offer. Check the ladder below before you do.
10K gold by the unit
| Unit | Grams | 10K melt value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 gram | 1.0000 | $58.19 |
| 1 pennyweight (dwt) | 1.55517384 | — |
| 1 troy ounce (ozt) | 31.1034768 | — |
What typical 10K pieces are worth
| Piece | Typical weight | Melt value range |
|---|---|---|
| High school class ring The classic 10K piece | 8–18 g | — |
| Man's wedding band | 5–9 g | — |
| Figaro chain, 22 in | 12–24 g | — |
| Charm bracelet, empty | 6–12 g | — |
| Nugget-style ring | 6–14 g | — |
| Pair of hoop earrings Hollow hoops weigh far less | 2–5 g | — |
Compare every karat
| Karat | Gold content | Melt value / gram | Online refiner pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 99.9% | $139.50 | $104.63–$125.55 |
| 22K | 91.7% | $128.01 | $96.01–$115.21 |
| 18K | 75.0% | $104.73 | $78.55–$94.26 |
| 14K | 58.3% | $81.45 | $61.09–$73.31 |
| 10K | 41.7% | $58.19 | $43.64–$52.37 |
10K anchors the bottom of the American karat range. A gram of 24K carries roughly 2.4 times the gold of a gram of 10K, which is worth remembering if you are looking at an inherited mix of American and imported jewelry — the imported pieces are frequently 18K or 22K and worth considerably more per gram than they look.
10K gold questions
Is 10K gold worth anything?
Yes, though less per gram than any other karat sold as gold in the United States. 10K is 41.7% pure gold, so a gram of it carries about 71% of the gold in a gram of 14K. It has genuine melt value and refiners buy it routinely. It is simply the least gold-dense alloy that can legally be called gold here.
Why is 10K the legal minimum in the United States?
Federal law sets 10 karat as the floor for anything marketed as "gold" in the US. Below that, an item has to be described as gold plated, gold filled or by its actual alloy. Other countries draw the line differently: the United Kingdom allows 9K, and much of continental Europe sets the minimum at 14K or 18K, which is why 10K jewelry is largely an American phenomenon.
Why are class rings almost always 10K?
Cost and durability. Class rings are bulky by design, and making that much volume in 14K or 18K would price them out of reach for most families. 10K is also the hardest common gold alloy, which suits a ring that gets knocked around. If you have a drawer full of old class rings, they are usually worth more than people expect purely because they are heavy.
What stamps indicate 10K gold?
Look for 10K, 10KT, 417 or 0.417 inside the band or on the clasp. Some older American pieces are stamped 1/20 10K GF, which is gold filled, not solid, and is worth almost nothing as scrap. Read the whole stamp rather than just the number.
Do buyers discount 10K more heavily than higher karats?
In practice, often yes. The processing cost per item is roughly the same regardless of karat, but there is less recoverable gold in a 10K piece to absorb it. Some buyers apply a flat percentage across all karats and some quietly pay a worse rate on 10K. Ask for the offer in dollars against the weight, and compare it to the melt figure on this page rather than accepting a percentage on faith.
Is it worth selling a small amount of 10K gold?
It depends on the buyer minimums more than the metal. Many mail-in refiners set a minimum lot value below which shipping and assay costs eat the proceeds, and some charge a fee for lots under that threshold. For a few grams, a local buyer you can walk to is often the better economics even at a lower percentage, because there is no shipping to lose.
Before you accept an offer
Weigh the piece yourself, know its karat, and compare at least three buyers. The gap between the best and worst offer on the same lot of scrap gold is routinely larger than most people expect.