Gold melt value calculator
Find the live melt value of gold by karat — 10k, 14k, 18k, 22k, or 24k bullion — or by US gold coin, against the current spot price. Enter a weight and purity, or count your coins.
How gold melt value works
Melt value is the raw metal value of an item — what the gold itself is worth at the current spot price, before any premium or dealer spread. The math is three steps:
melt value = spot price/ozt × weight in troy oz × karat purity
The calculator converts grams, kilos, pennyweight, and standard ounces to troy ounces (31.103 grams — the unit gold trades in), then scales by purity to the pure gold content.
Gold purity by karat
| Karat | Fineness | Pure gold |
|---|---|---|
| 24k | .9999 | 99.99% |
| 22k | .9167 | 91.67% |
| 18k | .750 | 75.0% |
| 14k | .5833 | 58.3% |
| 10k | .4167 | 41.7% |
Note that 22k bullion coins like the American Gold Eagle and Krugerrand still contain a full troy ounce of actual gold — the extra alloy just makes the coin harder, so the coin weighs slightly more than an ounce. For those, use the coin counter above rather than the karat weight input.
Melt value is the floor — see what dealers charge over it
Live cash/wire premiums on real gold products, ranked lowest first.
Common questions
How is gold melt value calculated?
Melt value = the current gold spot price per troy ounce × the pure gold content of your item. Convert the weight to troy ounces, multiply by the karat purity (14k = 0.5833, 18k = 0.750, 22k = 0.9167, 24k = 0.9999), then multiply by the live spot price. This calculator does all three steps live.
What is the purity of each gold karat?
Karat is gold content out of 24. 10k = 0.4167 (41.7%), 14k = 0.5833 (58.3%), 18k = 0.750 (75%), 22k = 0.9167 (91.67%, used in Gold Eagles and Krugerrands), and 24k ≈ 0.999–0.9999 pure bullion. Multiply the item's weight in troy ounces by these fractions to get pure gold content.
How much gold is in US gold coins?
Pre-1933 US gold coins are 90% gold. A $20 Double Eagle contains about 0.9675 troy oz of pure gold, a $10 Eagle about 0.48375 ozt, a $5 Half Eagle about 0.242 ozt, and a $2.50 Quarter Eagle about 0.121 ozt. Modern American Gold Eagles are 22k but hold a full ounce (or fraction) of actual gold.
Is gold melt value what a jeweler or dealer pays?
No. Melt value is the raw metal value only. Jewelers and scrap buyers pay below melt to cover refining and margin; bullion dealers pay a premium above melt for recognized coins. Melt is your baseline for judging any offer.
Spot is fetched live and melt values update against it. Coin gold contents follow standard US Mint specifications. Informational only — not investment or tax advice, and not a dealer buy quote. See our methodology. Melt reference: https://stackerspot.com/calculators/gold-melt-value.