Gold teeth complete with roots sold as people cash jewellery in

Louise Walsh

Sixteen gold-capped teeth, complete with roots attached and a 50p coin, are some of the most unusual items seen by an expert jeweller who turns scrap gold and silver into cash.

As the price of gold hits an all-time high, Shane Crossan is noticing more and more people coming to his countrywide roadshows to sell their broken or unwanted jewellery for cash.

He was inundated with people wanting to part with their gold in Kells, Co Meath on Wednesday, in what was his busiest roadshow ever.

Mr Crossnan, who owns a second-generation jewellers in Buncrana, Co Donegal, believes that people genuinely don't realise that broken or odd jewellery could still be worth a lot of money.

"Every household has a piece of jewellery, a broken chain or a single earring that has been lying in a drawer and has never been touched for years. They'd be surprised at what it is worth," he said.

"The price of gold on Wednesday was $4,800 [€4,092] per ounce, which is about 28 grams. A ring weighs about four grams and then the price will be equated on the carat. Obviously an 18-carat will be worth double the price of a nine-carat piece."

He added that silver and metals such as Rhodium and Platinum were also seeing huge increases in the markets.

"People think the piece of jewellery has to be in perfect condition but you could drive over the top of it and it's still gold to me," he laughed.

"If a chain is in one hundred pieces, it still weighs the same."

He added that some people also bring pieces of sentimental worth to only get valued.

"You don't know what's going to come through the door. One lady had a Faberge pendant and necklace which was stunning. Every piece has a story but some people are disappointed when they bring in what they think is a family heirloom and it turns out to be made from tin or another worthless metal.

"Of course, it's still of huge sentimental value to them."

However, over the years, Shane has been surprised a number of times.

"I was in the west of Ireland one time and someone came in with sixteen gold-capped teeth with the roots attached. I was shocked".

"I had a bit of trouble trying to work out the weight of the gold as opposed to the weight of the tooth but they were laughing when they walked away with €900 in cash, which I pay on the day.

"Another person brought in a 50p piece from the 1990s and a coin from 1774 and he genuinely believed that the 50p coin was the treasure. He couldn't believe that the 50p coin was only worth 50p but the other coin was €2,500.

"In the last week, I've also seen diamond rings which I've told customers are worth €15,000. I've told them that they can't scrap that, it's too valuable."

Most of the jewellery pieces that Shane sees are from customers who bought the jewellery as far back as the 60s and 70s and have no further use for it.

"Most young people are buying white gold and silver these days so a lot of the jewellery brought to me is from the older customers. Some people are selling it because family members don't want it or it's broken or they just don't wear it. They declutter their jewellery and walk away with cash."

Shane will be holding roadshows in the Boyne Valley Hotel in Drogheda, Co.Louth on Friday and in the Gateway Hotel in Dundalk from 1pm to 6pm on Saturday. He also intends to hold workshops in Kerry in the coming few weeks.