Gold Buyers in Central New Jersey

What kind of store is Cash 4 Gold Trading Post?

We are a licensed precious metals buyer with eight real storefronts in Central New Jersey. Buying is the business: you bring an item to the counter, we test it and weigh it in front of you, and we make an offer you can accept or decline on the spot. There is no showroom to browse, no mail-in kit, and no form that promises a number from someone you never meet.

Family owned since 2012, licensed, bonded and insured, and rated 4.9 stars across 984 Google reviews from all eight stores. More than 500,000 customers have come through our counters. Every store has an XRF analyzer and a state-certified precious metals scale, and every offer is priced against the live market on the day you visit.

Most people who land here searched something broad. Here is how those searches map to what actually happens at our counter.

Where is the nearest store, and when is it open?

Our eight stores cover Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties, so most of Central New Jersey has a counter within a short drive. Every store runs the same process, so it is worth picking the one closest to you rather than the one with the biggest sign.

Hours in one line: every store is open Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Saturday hours vary by store and two stores are closed Saturday, so check the store page before a Saturday trip. All eight are closed Sunday.

Not sure which is closest? The locations page has maps, directions and full hours for each store.

What happens when I walk in with gold?

Nothing goes into a back room and nothing is decided before you can see it. The whole point of a walk-in counter is that you watch the two numbers that set your offer being measured.

1. You walk in, no appointment. Bring your items and a valid government-issued photo ID, which New Jersey law requires for every precious metals purchase.
2. We sort by metal and karat. Ten karat, 14K, 18K, 22K and 24K are separated before anything is weighed, so higher purity gold is never paid at a lower karat rate.
3. Each item is tested with XRF, in front of you. The analyzer reads the exact metal composition in seconds without scratching or damaging the piece, and you see the reading.
4. Everything is weighed on a certified scale you can see. The unit and the weight are shown openly, so there is no confusion between grams and pennyweight.
5. We check for value above melt. Coins, signed and designer jewelry, watches and antique pieces are reviewed before melt value is used as the answer.
6. You get the offer and the math out loud. Accept it and leave with cash the same visit, or decline and leave with your items exactly as you handed them over. The evaluation is free either way.

Most visits run about 15 to 30 minutes. A single chain or ring is usually quicker; a full estate box takes longer because every piece gets its own test.

What do you buy at the counter?

Gold is what most people bring, but it is rarely all they bring. Every store buys the full range at the same visit, so a drawer of mixed odds and ends is one trip rather than five. Each link below opens the page with the detail on how we evaluate that category.

Condition does not change the price of scrap gold, because scrap is melted anyway. Broken chains, single earrings, bent rings, class rings, dental gold, charm bracelets, unmarked foreign pieces and estate lots with mixed metals are all bought at their tested purity. If it tests as gold, we buy it.

Do not pre-sort, clean or polish anything at home. Polishing removes a trace of metal and can damage a collectible or branded piece, and a piece you were about to throw out is often the one that tests positive.

What is my gold worth, and how do you work it out?

Three inputs set every honest gold offer: the purity of the metal, its weight, and the live market price at the moment you sell. Nothing else moves the number, which is why you should be able to watch all three being established.

Purity is why two chains of identical size can be worth very different amounts. The karat stamp is a claim about how much of the piece is actually gold, and the rest is alloy that carries no precious metal value.

A stamp is a claim, not a guarantee, which is why the XRF test settles it. Plated and mismarked items are common, and an unmarked piece that tests positive is still bought at its true purity.

Once purity and weight are known, the raw metal value follows a single formula. Use a placeholder market price of $S per troy ounce and substitute the live number when you calculate:

Worked example. Say you have a 14K chain that weighs 20 grams.

1. Pure gold content: 20 grams × 0.585 = 11.66 grams of pure gold.
2. Convert to troy ounces: 11.66 ÷ 31.1035 = 0.3749 troy ounces.
3. Multiply by the market price: 0.3749 × $S is the chain's melt value at that rate.

Swap the purity decimal to run it for any karat: 10K uses 0.417, 18K uses 0.750, 22K uses 0.917 and 24K uses 0.999. One troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, not the 28.35 grams of a kitchen ounce, and that difference is worth knowing before anyone quotes you.

Want to run your own piece first? The gold calculator takes the karat and the weight and does this arithmetic for you. Treat it as an estimate, not a quote: it cannot see whether a coin carries a collector premium over its metal, or whether a branded piece is worth more intact than melted, and both of those move real money. For the full method, including hallmarks, testing and the traps to avoid, read the complete New Jersey gold selling guide.

Are you a pawn shop, a jewelry store, or a coin shop?

All three searches lead here for a reason, and what you actually need depends on what you walked in with. Here is the straight answer in each case.

• If you want cash for gold, we buy it outright. That is the business. You sell, you get paid the same day, and you walk out with nothing owed: no loan, no interest, no ticket to redeem. See cash for gold near me.
• If you searched for a pawn shop, the difference is worth knowing. A pawn loan advances cash against your item and holds it as collateral until you repay with interest. We buy rather than lend, so the cash is yours to keep and there is no deadline to meet. See the pawn shop alternative.
• If you have coins or bullion, that is its own desk. Coins are examined for date, mint mark, condition and bullion content before melt value is ever used as the number, because a coin worth more to a collector should never be paid as scrap. See coins and bullion.
• If you have jewelry rather than scrap, it is valued as jewelry first. Signed, branded, antique and intact designer pieces are weighed against their melt value and you are paid the higher of the two. See jewelry buyers.

The practical difference between a dedicated buyer and a general secondhand counter is focus. Precious metals, coins, diamonds and watches are all we handle, so the person testing your piece knows what it is, and the offer tracks the live market instead of a flat house rate.

What do I need to bring?

That is the whole list. Bring the items, bring the ID, leave everything uncleaned, and you will have a real number in front of you inside half an hour.

Where to go next

Estate and inherited lots · Jewelry buyers · Pawn shop alternative · Sell diamonds · Buy gold · All FAQs