Ebay Gold Pins??

[acolvin4]

Hey everyone im new to this and i've been doing my research for about 2 weeks and have downloaded hokes book(about half way through). I think i have a pretty good understanding on refining now or atleast as much understanding one can get with no experience yet. But i was wondering if any one knows an average of how much gold can be refined from 1 lbs of gold plated computer pins. i see a lot of ebay listing like this and im trying make sure i don't pay to much.


thanks!
adam

 

[martyn111]

Welcome to the forum.
Usually the first comment to a newbie is to get a copy of Hoke's book, but I see you are already one step ahead of most, now you just need to read it until you understand it.
Buying gold plated pins from ebay would not be my next step, firstly because its a well known fact that ebay gold is much more valuable than physical gold :roll: meaning you will pay way over the value of the gold for the scrap,secondly I would start with gold fingers from cards using the Acid Peroxide method, discussed many times on the forum or demonstrated on Lazersteves website (another excellant source of refining information).

To answer your direct question on yields per pound of pins, there is no definative answer, there are so many variations in make up of pins, when they were made, what they were made for, plating thickness etc etc

 

[acolvin4]

thanks for the advice martyn. another question, So using a reverse electrolysis method on gold plated pins bought off ebay wouldn't make a for a good return?

 

[philddreamer]

Welcome Acolvin!

It all depends on how much you end up paying for the pins. The pins will contain so much gold, which makes them worth so much money; if you pay more than the gold content of the pins, you won't make any money.
So, you need to read & learn how to calculate how much gold could be on the pins you happen to be buying from e-bay.

I'm sure you could find some of the members here that can sell you some pins for your experiments @ a better price the e-bay's.

Take care & be safe!

Phil

 

[niteliteone]

thanks for the advice martyn. another question, So using a reverse electrolysis method on gold plated pins bought off ebay wouldn't make a for a good return?

In my opinion the reverse elecrtoplating cell offers the best return on almost all gold plated material.

It's the feebay material that doesn't offer the good return on your money.

Tom C.

 

[martyn111]

It's the feebay material that doesn't offer the good return on your money.

Tom C.

That was the point I was trying to make with my reference to ebay gold being worth more than physical gold.

So using a reverse electrolysis method on gold plated pins bought off ebay wouldn't make a for a good return?

The reverse electrolysis method is probably the best method available to the hobbyist, the fact you make mention of it shows that you are working on your reading before asking questions, which is to be commended, you now need to continue with your reading while you gather scrap, preferably by collecting it for free rather than buying off ebay.
Just my 2 pence worth

 

[jack_burton]

As someone still new to all this, and having spent the better part of the last month doing nothing but experimenting and calculating, I can also confirm just about the only thing Ebay is good for is selling. Just about any supply for refining, whether it is material to refine, acids, powders, equipment- is going to be more expensive as finding it just about anywhere else. This has been my experience, your milage may vary of course. You won't truly know until you've gone through and done the research and experimenting yourself.