Selling Gold from Meriden, CT

Sterling silver flatware and hollowware evaluated for a Meriden, CT resident at Haven Coin & Jewelry in Hamden

In the Silver City, We Buy Gold and Sterling the Same Way — Tested, Weighed and Priced While You Watch

Meriden, Connecticut is the Silver City — home of the International Silver Company for a century. Gold buyers near the mall and on East Main weigh your lot and hand you a flat number. Haven Coin & Jewelry is 20 minutes down the Wilbur Cross in Hamden, where we test every piece of gold and sterling in front of you, show the live spot price, and pay by check the same day. Jewelry, flatware, hollowware, coins, bars, scrap. Free evaluation, no obligation.

Book Free Appointment Call (203) 717-4921

Licensed Connecticut Dealer Insured through Lloyd's of London Free Evaluations Same-Day Payment

Why Meriden Residents Drive Down the Wilbur Cross to Sell Gold and Sterling

Meriden has gold buyers near Westfield Meriden mall and on East Main Street. Most of them weigh your jewelry and hand you one flat number based on melt — without testing each piece individually, and without showing the spot price they used. If your chain is 18K from an Italian or Polish family tradition and they assume 14K, you are being underpaid by roughly 28 percent. And if you bring in sterling flatware from a family that worked at International Silver, a storefront gold buyer may not have the scale or the interest to weigh it properly.

We are 20 minutes down the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Hamden, and we are a licensed, buy-only precious metals dealer. We acid-test and electronically test every piece of gold in front of you, display the live spot price, and walk you through the weight, karat, and our percentage. For sterling, we confirm the mark, weigh the actual silver, and show you the math from the current silver spot price. You get a written offer to take home — no pressure, no shortcuts.

The drive is simple: Route 15 south to Exit 61, Whitney Avenue. About 13 to 15 miles, 20 to 25 minutes. Connecticut law requires payment by check, and you receive your check the same day you accept the offer.

How Gold and Sterling Are Priced and What We Buy

Karat stamps and what they mean

Gold jewelry is stamped with a karat mark: 10K is 41.7 percent gold, 14K is 58.5 percent, 18K is 75 percent, 22K is 91.6 percent, and 24K is pure. European fineness stamps — 417, 585, 750, 916 — correspond to the same purities. Meriden’s Puerto Rican, Polish, Italian, and Irish-American communities often have 14K and 18K pieces, with 10K common in older American-made jewelry. We acid-test and electronically test every piece because stamps are sometimes wrong, and confirming the actual karat is where a fair offer begins.

Spot price and how your offer is calculated

Gold is priced per troy ounce on the global spot market, and that price moves throughout the day. We display the live spot price on a screen at the counter. Your offer is the spot price multiplied by the pure-gold weight of your piece — which depends on karat and total weight — minus our margin. We show you each number in the calculation. No dealer pays 100 percent of spot; the margin is how we stay in business. What matters is that the math is transparent and the karat is correct.

Sterling silver versus silverplate in Meriden

This is the question that comes up more in Meriden than anywhere else we serve. The International Silver Company and Meriden Britannia produced enormous quantities of both sterling and silverplate, and many families have sets that have been in dining rooms and china cabinets for generations. Sterling pieces are stamped "Sterling" or "925" and are valued by their actual silver weight at the current spot price — we weigh them on a calibrated scale in front of you. Silverplate — including most Meriden Britannia hollowware and many "IS" plated lines — has a microscopic layer of silver over base metal and carries little to no melt value. We look for the stamp on each piece and test when the mark is ambiguous, so you know plainly whether your set is sterling or plated and why the offer reflects that.

How we price sterling flatware, hollowware, and tea sets

For sterling flatware — forks, knives, spoons, serving pieces — we weigh the silver content on our scale, confirm the "sterling" or "925" mark, multiply by the live silver spot price, and apply our margin. Pieces with weighted or filled handles are handled differently: we separate the actual silver shell from the cement or resin inside the handle, because that filler is not silver and should not be priced as such. Sterling hollowware — tea sets, bowls, trays, water pitchers — is weighed the same way, after confirming the mark. We buy complete sets or individual pieces.

Weighted candlesticks and why gross weight is misleading

Weighted candlesticks, salt shakers, and similar pieces have a thin silver shell filled with plaster, wax, or cement to make them feel substantial. The gross weight is mostly filler, not silver. We weigh the actual silver content — the shell — not the total weight, and we show you the difference on the scale so you understand exactly where the number comes from. This is one of the most common sources of confusion for Meriden families who inherit candlesticks from International Silver households.

Gold coins, bars, and bullion

We buy American Eagles, Maple Leafs, Krugerrands, gold bars, and rounds at a small premium above the live spot price. Each piece is tested and weighed in front of you. Gold bullion is exempt from the Connecticut 10-day hold, so you receive your check the same day. If you have gold coins with potential collector value — pre-1933 U.S. gold, for example — we identify the date, mint mark, and condition before pricing, because a numismatic coin can be worth well above its metal content.

Broken jewelry, scrap gold, and dental gold

Broken chains, bent rings, single earrings, clasps without the necklace, old dental gold — all of it has full gold value by weight. Condition does not change the gold content. We test and weigh every piece regardless of whether it is wearable, and we price based on the metal, not the appearance. Bring the jewelry box you have not opened in years; if it is gold, it has value.

Do not polish — gold or silver

Polishing sterling flatware is unnecessary because we pay by silver weight, not appearance, and aggressive polishing can scratch the surface and remove a small amount of silver. Similarly, do not polish gold jewelry before coming in — it does not change the karat or the weight. Bring everything exactly as it has been stored, and we will test and weigh it as-is.

Gold and Sterling in the Silver City

Meriden — "the Silver City" — is a city of about 61,000 in New Haven County, sitting between New Haven and Hartford on the I-91 and Route 15 corridors. For a century the International Silver Company and Meriden Britannia made the city the sterling and silverplate capital of America, and generations of families worked in the silver plants. That heritage is still visible in dining rooms and attics across the city: sterling flatware sets, hollowware, tea services, and candlesticks that come out of estates on the East Side, the West Side, South Meriden, and the Hanover and Yalesville sections.

Meriden’s Puerto Rican, Polish, Italian, and Irish-American communities have shaped the city’s jewelry traditions. Gold jewelry in these households is often 14K and 18K, with 10K common in older American-made pieces, and 22K showing up in chains and bracelets from overseas. We price by tested karat, not by assumption — so an 18K piece from a Polish grandmother’s jewelry box is paid as 18K, not rounded down to 14K.

Meriden is bordered by Wallingford to the south, Cheshire to the west, Southington and Berlin to the north, and Middletown and Middlefield to the east. If you are clearing an estate in any of those towns and the family worked at International Silver, bring the sterling and the gold together — we evaluate each category on its own.

Simple 3-Step Process

Professional evaluation with same-day payment. No obligation.

Bring Your Items

Drive down Route 15 from Meriden to 2285 Whitney Ave, Hamden. Bring your gold jewelry, sterling flatware, coins, bars, or estate items as-is — no need to clean or sort anything first.

Free Evaluation

We test and weigh every piece in front of you — gold karat, sterling marks, spot price, and the full calculation. You see each step.

Written Offer & Same-Day Payment

Accept the offer and receive payment by check the same day. Or take the written offer home and decide in your own time — no pressure, ever.

Directions from Meriden

Two routes from Meriden to our Hamden shop at 2285 Whitney Ave.

Route 1 — Via Wilbur Cross Parkway

Take Route 15 south (Wilbur Cross Parkway) from Meriden to Exit 61, Whitney Avenue. Haven Coin is at 2285 Whitney Ave, a short drive from the exit. About 13 to 15 miles, 20 to 25 minutes from central Meriden.

Route 2 — Via I-91 South

Take I-91 south to the Route 15 connector, then Exit 61 to Whitney Avenue. A good option if you are coming from the West Side or near the Southington line.

Our Address

2285 Whitney Ave, Hamden, CT 06518

~20–25 min from Meriden

Directions from Meriden

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions from Meriden residents about selling gold and sterling.

Is my International Silver set sterling or plated, and does it matter?

It matters a great deal. International Silver Company produced both sterling and silverplate under various brand names. Sterling pieces are stamped "Sterling" or "925" and are valued by their actual silver weight at the current spot price. Silverplate pieces — including most Meriden Britannia and many "IS" plated lines — have a microscopic layer of silver over base metal and have little to no melt value. We look for the stamp on each piece and test when the mark is ambiguous, so you know exactly what you have and why the offer is what it is.

How do you price sterling flatware?

We weigh the sterling pieces on a calibrated scale in front of you, confirm the "sterling" or "925" mark, multiply the weight by the current silver spot price, and apply our margin. Flatware with weighted or filled handles is weighed differently — we separate the actual silver from the cement or resin inside the handle. Each piece is weighed and accounted for individually, and the math is shown to you at every step.

Do weighted candlesticks count as full silver weight?

No. Weighted candlesticks, salt shakers, and similar pieces have a thin silver shell filled with plaster, wax, or cement to make them feel heavy. The gross weight is mostly filler, not silver. We weigh the actual silver content — the shell — not the total weight, and we show you the difference on the scale so you understand the number.

Why can’t you pay cash?

Connecticut law requires licensed precious metals dealers to pay by check. This is a consumer protection — it creates a transaction record that protects both sides. You receive your check the same day you accept the offer, with no waiting period for your payment.

How much more is 18K worth than 14K?

18K is 75 percent gold versus 14K at 58.5 percent, so at the same weight and spot price, 18K is worth roughly 28 percent more. Meriden’s Italian, Polish, and Irish-American families often have 18K and even 22K pieces, while older American-made jewelry is frequently 10K or 14K. We acid-test and electronically test every piece in front of you so the karat is confirmed, not assumed — a 22K chain priced as 14K is being underpaid by about a third.

Do you buy gold coins and bars the same day?

Yes. Gold bullion coins and bars are exempt from the Connecticut 10-day hold that applies to jewelry and other non-bullion items. You receive your check the same day whether you are selling jewelry, coins, or bars. The hold affects when we can resell non-bullion items, not when you get paid.

Should I polish the silver first?

No. Polishing sterling flatware or hollowware is unnecessary — we pay by silver weight, not appearance, so tarnish does not reduce the value. Aggressive polishing can actually scratch the surface and remove a small amount of silver. Bring your sterling exactly as it has been stored, and we will weigh and test it as-is.

What We Buy from Meriden Residents

Gold, sterling, coins, bullion, and estate collections — each category evaluated on its own merits.

Gold Jewelry

10K, 14K, 18K, and 22K gold rings, chains, bracelets, earrings, estate jewelry, broken pieces, and dental gold — priced by tested karat and weight.

Sterling Flatware, Hollowware & Tea Sets

Sterling flatware, hollowware, tea sets, trays, and candlesticks — confirmed "sterling" or "925," weighed for actual silver content, priced from live spot.

Bullion

Gold and silver bars, rounds, and bullion coins at current spot with a transparent margin.

Gold & Silver Coins

U.S. and world gold coins, silver dollars, pre-1965 silver, key dates, and full collections — evaluated coin by coin.

Estate Collections

Full estate gold, sterling, and coin collections — each piece evaluated individually, never lumped at bulk melt.

See everything we buy

Helpful Resources

Everything you need to know before your visit from Meriden.

Sell Gold Jewelry

How gold jewelry is tested, weighed, and priced — karat stamps, spot price, and what to expect.

Learn more

What We Buy

Complete list of everything Haven Coin purchases — gold, sterling, coins, bullion, and estate pieces.

Learn more

Appraisals

Free, no-obligation evaluations for insurance, estate, or resale purposes.

Learn more

Gold Karat Value Guide

What 10K, 14K, 18K, and 22K mean — and how karat determines the price per gram.

Read guide

Gold Spot Price Explained

How the live gold spot price determines what your jewelry and coins are worth.

Read article

Silver Melt Value Explained

How sterling flatware and silver coins are priced by silver weight from the spot price.

Read article

What Is Gold-Filled Jewelry?

The difference between solid gold, gold-filled, and gold-plated — and why it matters at the counter.

Read article

Nearby Areas We Serve

Coin Dealer for Meriden, CT Sell Gold in Wallingford, CT Sell Gold in Cheshire, CT Sell Gold in Southington, CT Sell Gold in Berlin, CT Sell Gold in Middletown, CT Sell Gold in Middlefield, CT All Service Areas

Ready to Drive Down from Meriden?

About 20 minutes down the Wilbur Cross brings you to Haven Coin & Jewelry in Hamden. Bring your gold, sterling, coins, or estate collection. Free evaluation, same-day payment, no pressure.

Content by Matt Pavia, Licensed CT Precious Metals Dealer & ANA Member — Hours: Tue–Fri 10–5, Sat 10–2.

Book Free Appointment Call (203) 717-4921