Value of gold nearing all-time high, Americans are cashing in
We're in the middle of the Gold Rush 2.0. But this time folks aren't making money finding gold – they're making money selling it.
With gold near an all-time high, selling for over $3,200 an ounce, folks are raiding their jewelry boxes and heading to pawn shops, jewelers and smelters to turn their little-worn necklaces, watches, bracelets and earrings into cold hard cash.
'Every day we have more customers just coming in, selling their gold, raiding their cabinets and stuff like that, looking for jewelry,' said Sabashden M. Hernandez, who works at family-owned A&M Precious Metals in Los Angeles' jewelry district. 'I have not seen anything like this. I've been in this business for about eight years and this is pretty crazy for me.'
And at A&M, people are getting their money's worth. Because the price of gold is so high, customers are getting 99% of the gold's market value. The shop only takes a 1% cut.
So how does A&M make a profit? Quantity. On a good day, Hernandez is buying over 400 ounces in gold – at 24k, that's over $1.2 million.
4 People are making money by selling and melting their gold, valued for over $3,200 an ounce.
Getty Images
4 The price of gold is so high, customers are getting 99% of the metal's market value.
Getty Images
'A couple years ago, we would have about seven to eight appointments a day. Now we're in a range of 15 to 20 customers a day,' said Hernandez.
Hernandez says his shop acts as a middleman. The gold is melted down into gold bars, which are then sold to refiners. Refiners turn it into a form that jewelers can work with, getting back to storefronts in no time. And it's all done in a few block radius in downtown Los Angeles.
Hernandez holds up a jar filled with gold pellets – the contents weigh exactly 1 kilogram.
'Jewelers here in the jewelry district grab this so they can make chains and stuff,' said Hernandez. 'The kilo nowadays is about $107,000.'
Behind the front office is where the magic happens. Alberto Hernandez, Sabashden Hernandez's uncle, has been smelting gold for more than 20 years. Their smelter is able to hit 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. But today it's running at around 2,000 degrees – roughly the melting point of gold.
4 Molten gold settles in a mold at A&M Precious Metals in the Jewelry District of Los Angeles.
AP
4 'I have not seen anything like this,' Sabashden M. Hernandez, who works at A&M Precious Metals, said. 'I've been in this business for about eight years and this is pretty crazy for me.'
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
After the gold is weighed and assayed for quality, it's thrown in the smelter. In just a few minutes, and with the help of borax to filter out impurities, it's in molten form. It's then poured into a mold, cooled off in water, buffed and weighed.
'We smelted it down and we're going to send that off to the refiner. So that all we were doing was blending it up to make sure we get an even assay when we go to check it right now,' said Alberto Hernandez.
The gold is checked for purity. Fourteen-karat gold is 58.3% pure, while 24-karat gold is 99.9% pure (the market price is based on 24-karat gold).
After it's checked for purity, the customer walks away with the cash – often surprised by how much money they made.
'I have plenty of customers that say that they're waiting for gold to go up and now that it's over $3,000, it's perfect timing for them. So it's amazing to hear how long they've held on to it,' said Alberto Hernandez.
Hernandez says business changes every day. When gold is up in the morning, they get more appointments. When it's down, it's a little slower. Sometimes customers bring in heirlooms and antiques worth more than their weight in gold.
'I tell them, 'You sure you want to really melt this down?'' said Hernandez. ''It's an antique,' and they just want to do it because they want the money right now because gold's hot.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Here's how a £20k Stocks & Shares ISA could earn £1k, £2k, or even £3k of passive income annually
A Stocks and Shares ISA is a long-term investment platform. So, as far as I am concerned, it can be a good place to tuck away some dividend shares in the hope of share price growth over time, with the added bonus of potentially juicy passive income streams along the way. Here is how an investor could use a £20,000 Stocks and Shares ISA to target different levels of passive income. An annual income of £1,000 on a £20,000 Stocks and Shares ISA would require a dividend yield of 5%. That is well above the current FTSE 100 average of 3.6%. But that is only an average and there are plenty of blue-chip firms that currently yield above 5%. Those include high yielders like M&G (LSE: MNG), Phoenix Group, and Legal & General but also firms with a yield close to 5% such as HSBC and Aviva. So an investor could spread the £20,000 across a diversified mix of blue chips and aim to start earning an annual passive income of £1,000, with dividends starting to arrive within months or even weeks. What, then, about a £2,000 target? That suggests a 10% yield — higher than any FTSE firm offers. Legal & General's 8.4% yield is currently the highest of the bunch. It could still be possible by looking outside the top flight index, though. For example, I own Henderson Far East Income and its current yield is 11%. Other shares offer even higher yields. NextEnergy Solar Fund yields 11.4% at the moment, for example. But it is important never just to chase yield and always know what you are buying. Both those shares have grown their dividend per share annually in recent years. But no dividend is ever guaranteed. Another approach to earning £2,000 – or even £3,000 – in annual passive income would be delayed gratification, waiting while dividends earn dividends before taking out the passive income down the line. In investing terms that is known as compounding. It means that the passive income may not flow for a while but should be higher once it does. Compounding £20,000 at 7.2% annually, it would take five years to hit a £2,000 in annual passive income target, or 11 years to hit the £3,000 yearly earnings goal. But 7.2% is double the average FTSE 100 yield I mentioned. Is it achievable while restricting the Stocks and Shares ISA to proven blue-chip firms? I think so. For example, one share I think passive income hunters should consider as part of a diversified portfolio is FTSE 100 asset manager M&G. The share price has done well lately, moving up 29% so far this year. That partly reflects an announced strategic partnership with a Japanese insurer. That could help grow the business. But M&G's main attraction to me is its dividend. The yield is 7.8% and the company aims to grow the dividend per share annually. It has a strong brand, large customer base, and deep financial markets expertise. Its business model is highly cash generative. One risk I see is less income due to clients taking more money out than they put into M&G products. That has been happening lately, but I hope the Japanese tie-up could help reverse that trend. The post Here's how a £20k Stocks & Shares ISA could earn £1k, £2k, or even £3k of passive income annually appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool HSBC Holdings is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. C Ruane has positions in Henderson Far East Income. The Motley Fool UK has recommended HSBC Holdings and M&g Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
New York Post
10 hours ago
- New York Post
Mega Millions ticketholder wins record-breaking $348M jackpot in Virginia
Virginia is for winners. A Mega Millions player in Virginia clinched the historic $348 million jackpot Friday night, ending a 20-draw drought and the lottery's first major win since the game was revamped in April. The life-changing ticket was the largest Mega Millions win in Virginia's history and was sold at the E & C VA convenience store in Burgess, 85 miles northeast of Richmond, the lottery announced. 3 A person buys a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a store in Arlington, Virginia on July 29, 2022. AFP via Getty Images The winning numbers were 18, 21, 29, 42 and 50 and the gold Mega Ball 2. The odds of winning the jackpot were an astonishing 1 in 290,472,336. The unidentified winner can choose between the $348 million pot, before taxes, paid out in annual installments over 30 years, or choose the one-time cash option estimated at $155.5 million. The lottery allows winners to have 180 days to claim their prize. Retired truck driver JR Triplett previously held the state's Mega Millions record when he won $239 million in 2004. Triplett opted for one lump sum, which was worth $140 million before taxes, according to WIS News 10. Virginia has produced 10 Mega Millions winners since the game was founded in 2002. Kevin Young, of Bristow, Va., was the last Old Dominion resident to match all six numbers, back in July 2016, when he shared a $15 million jackpot with Christina Ford of Dallas, Ga. 3 The E & C VA convenience store and gas station in Burgess, VA. Google Maps Friday night's drawing is the fourth time the game's jackpot was won in 2025, and the second since the format changed on April 8. The new game, which was marketed as 'bigger and better,' created larger prizes for all non-jackpot tier winners, better odds to win the jackpot and a larger starting jackpot of $50 million instead of the original $20 million. Ticket prices were increased from $2 to $5 following the change. Mega Millions implemented the new system on April 8, and a jackpot worth $112 million was won by the Ironwood Family Trust in South Euclid, Oregon on April 18. 3 The new game, which was marketed as 'bigger and better,' created larger prizes for all non-jackpot tier winners, better odds to win the jackpot and a larger starting jackpot of $50 million instead of the original $20 million. AP Two more jackpots were won from the old format in 2025. A $112 million ticket was sold to an anonymous player in Tempe, Arizona, on Jan. 17. Another anonymous player in Cortland, Illinois, won the $349 million prize on March 25. In December 2024, Rosemary Casarotti purchased a Mega Millions ticket at the Sunshine Food and Gas station in Cottonwood, Calif., worth $1.269 billion. It was the largest jackpot won in 2024, and the fifth largest in game history.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
JD Sports, M&S and Sainsbury's to face shareholder pressure over low pay
Major high street retailers are set to face pressure from shareholders over low pay in their workforce, including third-party contractors. ShareAction, which campaigns for responsible investment, has put forward resolutions on the issue, which will be voted on by shareholders at M&S and JD Sports' annual general meetings (AGMs) on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. While the group is not filing a resolution at Sainsbury's, shareholders will directly question the board about pay transparency at the supermarket's AGM on Thursday. The companies are facing questions over wages that do not meet the 'real living wage' of £12.60 per hour nationally and £13.85 per hour in London for those aged 21 and over. These wages, which are set by the Living Wage Foundation to reflect the true cost of living, exceed the 2025/26 legal minimum wage of £12.21 set for the whole country including London. ShareAction argues the real living wage boosts stability, productivity and brand value, and has long been campaigning on the issue across the retail sector. Catherine Howarth, chief executive at ShareAction, said: 'We urge investors to support the shareholder resolutions going to a vote at the AGMs of M&S and JD Sports. 'Votes in support will endorse good governance and risk management whilst recognising the workers who keep these businesses running.' The resolutions ask M&S and JD Sports to disclose information on the number of employees earning below the real living wage and staff turnover rates as well their approach to setting base pay for contracted staff and a cost/benefit analysis of setting the real living wage across their workforce. While M&S pays direct employees at least the real living wage, it argues that third-party contractors are independent and set their own pay. M&S's board is recommending shareholders oppose the resolution, citing its recent investments in employee compensation of more than £285 million since 2022 and an increase to the standard hourly rate by more than 26%. On third-party contractors, it also said the vast majority of colleagues are paid at or above the real living wage. At the AGM, M&S could also be questioned about the major cyber attack it suffered earlier this year, which halted website orders, disrupted contactless payments, left some shelves empty and saw personal customer data taken by hackers. The company said the incident is likely to drag its group operating profits down by around £300 million this year but it expects this to be reduced through cost management, insurance and other reactions. For JD Sports, the activists argue that the firm only guarantees the legal minimum wage and lacks transparency on contractor pay. The board has advised shareholders to vote against the proposals, saying the firm complies with legal requirements and has invested more than £75 million over the last three years in removing the age banding as well as enhancing the remuneration and benefits of lowest-paid workers. Further reporting adds no value, reduces flexibility, raises costs and may harm competitiveness, the retailer said. Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), which is Europe's largest independent shareholder advisory consultancy, is supporting the resolution at both companies' AGMs. PIRC said that while M&S has made progress on pay, there is still room to improve in formally committing to wage standards and increasing transparency for contractor pay. For JD Sports, the consultancy argues that legal compliance is not best practice and that pay transparency is needed to assess risks and resilience. It follows an identical resolution filed at Next in May, which gained the support of over a quarter of shareholders. While not legally binding, support for shareholder resolutions can put pressure on business leaders to respond to the matters raised, and more than 20% of dissent against the board can be considered a rebellion. During Sainbury's AGM, shareholders plan to stand up and ask the board to commit to disclosing the composition and pay of their workforce, employee turnover, and the feasibility of paying the real living wage for all staff, including all third-party contractors. An M&S spokesperson said: 'In addition to paying the real living wage, we offer an industry-leading range of benefits which, when taken with hourly pay, is worth up to £15.40 an hour. 'In regards to on-site third party contractors, which we use for specialist roles and to support the inherent seasonality in retail, a vast proportion of colleagues are paid at or above the real living wage and we go to great lengths to ensure they are all treated as part of the M&S family. 'While we support and act on the principle that all M&S-related colleagues should be paid well, we do not believe it is right to divest responsibility for setting pay and benefits away from businesses and their shareholders to a third party, as ShareAction would propose.' A JD Group spokesperson said: 'Our highly competitive UK colleague package is specifically designed to address the needs of our predominantly young workforce. 'We remain committed to providing fair wages and acting in the best interests of all stakeholders and have been engaging with shareholders ahead of our AGM on July 2 to outline our holistic approach to reward and benefits and are grateful for their supportive response. 'We are proud of our role as one of the UK's largest employers of young people, often giving them their first jobs and teaching them skills and disciplines that stand them in good stead for the rest of their working lives, including long-term opportunities with JD.' The PA news agency has contacted Sainsbury's for comment.
