How to Deal With a Pawn Shop

A pawnshop can be a good place to get a few extra dollars to pay a bill, buy a gift, or maybe just put some gas in your car. These steps will explain what happens in a pawn shop, and how to make it work for you.

1. Decide on the item you want to pawn, and the amount of money you are looking to get out of it. Tools, electronics, guns, and jewelry are all common items. They do need to be in good, safe, working condition however, or you won't get very much money for them, or none at all. If you don't re-pay the loan (or "pawn") for an item, the pawn shop will put it in their store to try and sell it for more money than they loaned you. This is one way they make money. They can't sell broken or nonworking items, so it doesn't pay for them to loan you money on them. For this same reason, they can't give you what the item is truly worth either, because if they had to sell it they wouldn't make any money.

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Calaveras Coin & Pawn - eBay Store

We Thank The Fire Fighter For The Help

Thanks to the amazing efforts and tireless work of not only our regular firefighters but those who willing volunteer their time to save homes and lives from destruction. All of us not just those at Calaveras Coin & Pawn want to send our appreciation to you and your families for your sacrifice.

Tuolumne County Fires Still Rage But nearly 30% contained.

Common Gold & Silver Bullion Abbreviations

Buyers should become familiar with bullion abbreviations so that they know what the seller is referring to. This could be critical product information that shoppers should know before making a purchase. Common abbreviations used to describe a bullion product include the following:

Abbreviation	Description
AU	About Uncirculated or Almost Uncirculated
BU	Brilliant Uncirculated
CAM	Cameo
CCE	Certified Coin Exchange
COA	Certificate of Authenticity
DCAM	Deep Cameo
DMPL	Deep Mirror Proof-Like
LOA	Letter of Authenticity
NGC	Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (a leading grading service)
NNC	National Numismatic Certification
NR	No Reserve (seller has not set a minimum price for sale)
PCGS	Professional Coin Grading Service (a leading grading service)
PR	Proof
UNC	Uncirculated

How to Tell if Gold Is Real

By American standards, fake gold is anything less than 10 Karats/Carats. If you're wondering whether your gold is real, the most reliable way to find out is to take it to a certified jeweler and have it tested. If you want to check for yourself, here's a list of tests you can conduct to tell if your gold is real.

Steps

Visual Inspection

The first thing to do to check if you have real gold is to look at it. Look for particular signs that point to real gold.

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   Inspect the piece for official markings. A stamp will indicate either fineness (1-999 or .1-.999) or karat (10K, 14K, 18K, 22K or 24K). A magnifying glass will make this easier.