Confidential buyback, Deira to DMCC
Sell Gold in Dubai
Most of what we buy in Dubai never sat in a display case. It came out of a drawer, a safe, or a late relative's jewellery box: a set of bangles nobody in the family wears anymore, a handful of sovereigns an uncle brought back from somewhere in the 1970s, a chain with a clasp that broke years ago and was never fixed. The gold is real. What worries people is whether the number they get for it is real too.
It is a fair worry. Dubai has more gold buyers per square kilometre than almost anywhere on earth, from the 300-plus shops of the Gold Souk to the appointment-only bullion houses DMCC licenses in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, and payouts between them are not close to uniform. Reputable, assay-first buyers pay 80-92% of melt value on jewellery and scrap; informal cash-for-gold counters pay well under that. Knowing which end of that range you are being offered is most of the negotiation.
How Dubai buyers actually price your gold
Every buyer starts from the same place: spot gold near $4,298 an ounce as of 25 September 2026, about AED 513 to 516 a gram for 24k retail that week. What changes between buyers is how close to that number your item gets priced, and whether the percentage is ever put in writing. Our guide on how to verify a gold bar is real covers the bar side in more depth.
| Item type | How it is valued |
|---|---|
| Bullion bars and 1oz bars | Priced at live spot once the serial and assay card are verified against the refiner's own portal. Authenticity confirmed, not melted, so the buy-back spread is small. |
| Recognized coins: Krugerrand, Maple Leaf, sovereigns | Valued at spot by fine-gold content. Krugerrands and sovereigns run 916.7 fine, Maple Leafs 999.9 fine, so the math differs by coin. No serial exists on a coin, so condition and the dealer's own reputation carry more weight. |
| 22k jewellery | XRF-tested for karat first, fine-gold weight calculated net of stones and clasps, then quoted as an explicit percentage of live spot in writing: 80-92% at a reputable, assay-first buyer. |
| Mixed scrap, broken chains, odd pieces | Same XRF test, same percentage-of-melt logic as jewellery. Craftsmanship does not add value here, fine-gold weight does. The market range runs 40-92% of melt depending entirely on who you sell to. |
| Possible numismatic coins | Held back from any melt quote until checked. A sovereign or old coin with an early date, a branch mint mark, or unusual condition can carry a collector premium well above melt, so grading comes before pricing, not after. |
How a sale actually runs with us
The process is the same whether you bring in one ring or a full jewellery box.
- Send photos on WhatsApp first, for a preliminary read before you leave the house.
- Come in for an in-person assay. We test with XRF in front of you in JLT, so you see the karat reading yourself.
- We quote as a written percentage of live spot, against that hour's fix, not a vague market price.
- ID and AML paperwork, every time. Any trade at or above AED 55,000 is reported under Cabinet Resolution 134 of 2025, and every legitimate dealer here is registered on the goAML platform. Discretion means a private appointment, not skipped paperwork.
- Settlement the same day you accept the offer, through one of Dubai's own accredited refiners such as Al Etihad Gold.
Already know roughly what you have? Send a photo on WhatsApp and we will give you a preliminary read before you travel anywhere.
Get a valuationSelling gold you inherited, not gold you bought
If you are the executor, or just the family member who ended up with the box, you are probably missing the one thing an ordinary sale would have: a receipt. That is normal, and it does not stop a sale. We are not lawyers: if the estate is still open, check with your own lawyer whether you are clear to sell before you come in. What we need is simpler, your ID, and if the gold is not already in your name, something that shows you are the rightful seller, a grant of probate, letters of administration, or a will naming you as the beneficiary. Our guide to selling inherited gold in Dubai walks through the fuller process.
- A grant of probate or letters of administration, if the estate is still open
- Any old insurance valuation, appraisal or receipt, even a dated one
- A will, or the relevant extract, naming you as beneficiary
- None of the above: we can still assay and quote, this list just speeds up settlement
Why an old coin deserves a second look before it gets melted
Sovereigns moved through Gulf family history via Empire-era trade into India, the Gulf, Singapore and Hong Kong, and enough of them stayed that a family jewellery box in Dubai is a genuinely common place to find one today. A modern bullion-strike sovereign is worth close to its 7.322 grams of fine gold, plus a small premium. An older or branch-mint piece is a different question, and it is the most common surprise in an inheritance: something assumed to be scrap that turns out to carry real collector value.
Melt is always the floor on a coin like that, never the ceiling. A common circulated historic coin might trade at only a little over melt; a genuinely rare date, once graded, can be worth many multiples of it (the auction record for a single coin is $18.87 million, the 1933 Double Eagle, sold in 2021). A proper check, PCGS or NGC grading against realized auction results rather than a dealer's asking price, costs nothing and happens before any numismatic coin goes near a melt quote.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the original receipts to sell inherited gold in Dubai?
No. Reputable buyers value inherited gold by an independent XRF karat test and the day's spot price, not by whatever receipt survived. An old valuation helps confirm history and speeds up paperwork, but its absence does not lower a fair quote.
What if the estate is still in probate, can I still sell?
That depends on your own legal position, which we cannot advise on: check with your lawyer if the estate is still open. Operationally we just need your ID, and if the gold is not already in your name, something that shows you are the rightful seller.
How much ID and paperwork does Dubai actually require to sell gold?
Every buyer registered under the UAE's DPMS regime asks for ID on every trade, and any transaction at or above AED 55,000 gets reported under Cabinet Resolution 134 of 2025. This is a legitimacy marker, not a formality anyone can skip: a buyer who does not ask for ID is not one you want to be selling to.
Will an old sovereign or coin just get melted down with the rest?
Not with us. Sovereigns, colonial-era coins and anything with an early date or unusual mint mark get held back and checked before any melt quote. Melt is the floor for a coin like that, never the ceiling, and Gulf family collections turn up genuine numismatic value more often than people expect.
Ready to find out what it is really worth
Bring it in, or send photos first. Either way, the quote is a written percentage of live spot, not a guess.
Get a valuation