Economic uncertainty leads to increase sales of gold and silver at pawn shops
Record gold price drives sales at coin and pawn shops
Precious metals are seeing a price spike amid economic uncertainty in other sectors of the economy, leading many Valley residents to sell off jewelry and coins for extra cash. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has more.
PHOENIX - Locals are taking advantage of what could be a golden opportunity to make money in the face of inflation.
Local coin and pawn shops are seeing an influx in gold and silver sales.
What we know:
Gold hit a record-high this month and despite a dip this week, this may be a good time to see what precious metals you have lying around and see how much they may be worth.
"Any time that there's any sort of economic unrest people like to turn to hard assets," said Bobby Latham co-owner of Toliver James Rare Coins in Phoenix.
Latham says the business has seen an uptick in first-time customers in recent months.
"A lot of people are interested in kind of starting a collection or at least hedging against inflation and that sort of stuff. Gold's tough to hold on to right now. I bought several ounces from a collection just the other day and they were sold the same day," he said.
The Phoenix store has just a few gold items currently remaining in stock.
"Some people like their gold to be fancy and have all kinds of cool designs on it, that sort of stuff. It makes them a little more vintage, a little more unique, makes them a little more valuable than just a chunk of gold," said Latham.
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By the numbers:
Gold rallied from $2,100 to $3,500 per ounce in just over a year and Mo' Money Pawn general manager Byron Vaughn says they too have seen a lot of people trying to sell their precious metals.
"A lot of broken jewelry, stuff that's out of date or a lot of people bring in, if they've been divorced, their wedding rings and stuff like that," said Vaughn.
"This is a diamond tennis bracelet that we have. It's about $3,200 where if you were to buy that at a jewelry store you're probably looking at upwards of $10,000."
Vaughn says it's not just gold or silver he's seeing brought in as people try to make ends meet.
"I take in firearms. I take in tools. I take in sporting goods, memorabilia, jewelry, watches," he said.
Vaughn has been with the family-owned pawn shop for more than two decades and says economic woes are cyclical, but right now, he's seeing a lot of customers struggling.
"I hear 20 times a day, 'hey, I just need gas 'til Friday. The last time it was comparative to this I would say was '08, '09," he said.
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Latham says it's always a good time for business to be booming, but as part of another family-owned business, he's happy to see people who appreciate the coins they're parting with.
"Any time that you have something that's as old as some of these coins are, just to be able to think of the history behind them, how many hands they've passed through, I mean some of these coins are several hundreds of years old. Plus, the sentimental value of a grandfather, great-grandfather having passed down the generations, it's something special," said Latham.
Both businesses say it's important for customers to do their research before choosing a place to take their assets to make sure they get the best price.