Costa Mesa · Coins & bullion
Newport Gold Buyer
Sell gold coins, bars and estate collections, along with platinum and silver, to a family-owned shop in Costa Mesa. Your pieces are weighed and tested in front of you and priced against the day’s spot rate.
- 4.7★ from 89+ reviews
- Family-owned since 2007
- Coins, bars & estate pieces
Free evaluation
What’s in the collection?
List the coins, bars or estate pieces you have, with any sizes or marks you can read. We’ll get back to you, with no obligation to sell.
Daily
spot-rate pricing
In person
weighed and tested
4.7★
from 89+ reviews
Selling coins, bars or an estate
We buy coins, bars and estate pieces against the day’s spot rate. Here is what happens between sending the form and deciding on an offer.
- 01
List what you have
Coin names and sizes, bar weights and refiners, or a rough list of estate pieces. Any stamps or marks you can read are useful.
- 02
Bring it in as it is
Coins in their tubes, capsules or holders, bars in their assay cards, jewelry with its stones in place. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID.
- 03
Weighed and tested
Your pieces are weighed and tested in front of you, with an acid or electronic test, and priced against the day’s spot rate.
- 04
Accept or decline
There are no fees and no obligation to sell. If you accept the offer, same-day payment is available.
At a glance
3 metals
gold, platinum and silver, as coins, bars or estate pieces
- Estate jewelry
- Any condition
- Stones
- Priced separately
- Testing
- Acid or electronic
- Buying bullion
- Join our buying list
Visit the shop
1860 Newport Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Mon–Fri 10:00am – 4:30pm
After-hours appointments available
Text us: (714) 679-8591
Coins, bars and estate metal
Gold bullion coins
Eagles, Buffalos, Krugerrands and Maple Leafs, including fractional sizes
Gold bars
Stamped with refiner, weight and fineness, ideally still in the assay card
Silver coins, bars & rounds
Bullion silver, and U.S. dimes, quarters and halves dated before 1965
Platinum
Rings, chains and settings marked PLAT, PT950 or 950 PLAT
Estate jewelry
Gold and platinum pieces in any condition, stones priced separately
Sterling & coin silver
Flatware, trays and jewelry marked 925, Sterling, COIN or 900
Bullion coins and bars
What’s inside a bullion coin or bar
The four bullion coins below are made to a set weight and purity, with the fine gold weight struck on each coin, so what’s inside is known before it reaches the scale. They use one of two standards, 22 karat or .9999 fine. Bars carry their own stamps, and the packaging a piece came in is worth keeping with it.
- American Gold Eagle
- 22 karat, or 91.67% gold. The silver and copper alloy is added on top, so a one-ounce Eagle weighs more than an ounce but holds a full troy ounce of gold.
- South African Krugerrand
- Also 22 karat and 91.67% gold, alloyed with copper for hardness, which also gives it a warmer color. The one-ounce coin holds a full troy ounce of gold too.
- Canadian Maple Leaf
- .9999 fine, or 99.99% gold; the earliest coins, from 1979 to the early 1980s, are .999. The one-ounce coin weighs 31.1 grams, and the soft metal marks easily.
- American Gold Buffalo
- .9999 fine, 24 karat gold, the same standard as the Maple Leaf and just as easy to mark.
- Gold bars
- Stamped with the refiner’s name or mark, the weight and the fineness, such as 999.9. Many also carry a serial number.
- Assay cards and capsules
- Bring them. An assay card repeats a bar’s refiner, weight, fineness and serial number, and a capsule or tube keeps a soft coin from picking up marks.
Estate collections
Sorting an inherited collection
An inherited collection is often a mix: a coin album next to a jewelry box, sterling flatware in a drawer, a bar or two in a safe. Sorting it into a few groups at home shows you what you have, and nothing needs to be identified perfectly before you come in.
The marks below help with sorting, but they are a starting point, not the final word. Marks wear down and are occasionally wrong, which is why pieces are tested in front of you before they are priced.
- Coins and bars
- Keep them apart from the jewelry, in whatever tubes, capsules or cards they came in.
- Jewelry with stones
- Leave the stones in place. They are priced separately from the metal, along with their settings.
- Platinum
- Marked PLAT, PT950 or 950 PLAT, the marks for 95% platinum. Look for PLAT or PT beside the number, because 950 on its own also appears on some silver.
- Sterling silver
- Marked 925, Sterling or Ster., meaning 92.5% silver. On flatware and trays the mark is usually on the back or underside.
- Coin silver
- Marked COIN or 900, meaning 90% silver, and found on older American silverware.
- Silver plate
- Marks such as EPNS, A1 or silver plate mean a thin coating over base metal, not solid silver. Give these their own pile.
Buying bullion
Buying coins and bars: our bullion list
If you’d rather buy than sell, we keep a buying list for people who want coins, bars and rounds. You can join it from the bullion list page on www.newportwjl.com, which asks which metal you’re after, whether gold, silver, platinum or a mix, and which forms you prefer.
The three forms are worth telling apart. A bullion coin comes from a national mint; the Gold Eagle, the Krugerrand and the Maple Leaf are all examples. A round looks like a coin but is made by a private mint and isn’t legal tender. A bar comes from a refiner and is stamped with its weight and fineness.
Joining the list is not an order. It doesn’t hold a price, and it doesn’t promise that a particular coin, bar or size will become available.
Common questions
What should I bring to sell coins or bars?
A valid government-issued photo ID. Bring coins in their tubes, capsules or graded holders and bars in their assay cards, with any receipts or certificates you have.
Does a 22 karat coin hold less gold than a .9999 coin?
Not when they are the same size. A one-ounce Gold Eagle or Krugerrand is 91.67% gold, but the alloy is added on top of a full troy ounce of gold, so the coin simply weighs more. A one-ounce Maple Leaf or Buffalo holds the same troy ounce at 99.99%.
How is an offer on bullion worked out?
It starts from melt value: weight, times purity, times the day’s spot rate. For a bullion coin or a stamped bar the weight and fineness are already known, and the piece is still weighed and tested in front of you. What we offer is then a percentage of the melt value.
Should I clean old coins or tarnished silver first?
No. Cleaning can leave fine scratches on a coin that can’t be undone, and tarnish on silver is only on the surface; it doesn’t change the purity. Bring coins and silver as they are.
What if I don’t know what a coin or bar is?
That’s fine. In the form, note anything you can read on it, such as a country, a weight, a fineness or a refiner’s name, and bring it in as it is. The marks and a test at the counter settle what it is.
Can I buy gold coins or bars from you?
We keep a buying list for coins, bars and rounds, which you can join from the bullion list page on www.newportwjl.com. Joining isn’t an order. It doesn’t hold a price or promise that a particular piece will become available.
From our store
- Gold & silver buyingHow we buy gold, platinum and silver against the day’s spot rate.
- Bullion buying listJoin the list for gold, silver or platinum coins, bars and rounds.
- Gold and silver volatilityWhy gold and silver prices move, and what a swing means for owners.