Confidential buyback, Central to Kowloon
Sell Gold in Hong Kong
The question we get asked first in Hong Kong is rarely about the gold itself. It is some version of: how do I know you are not about to lowball me. Fair question. Between Nathan Road's dozens of independent shops, bank counters posting their own buyback prices, and private desks that never put a number in a shopfront window, the spread between a fair offer and a poor one on the same chain or the same handful of coins can be wide.
There is an honest way to check before you commit to anyone, including us. Every legitimate gold dealer here must register under the Customs and Excise Department's DPMS system, Cap. 615, in force since April 2023, and that register is public. Registration alone does not guarantee a generous price, but a dealer who is not on it is not one worth walking into. The rest, whether the percentage you are quoted is fair, comes down to an assay-first process and a number in writing, which is what we run.
What gold actually pays out in Hong Kong
Every buyer starts from the same place: spot gold traded near $4,285 an ounce on 25 September 2026, well off January's all-time high near $5,600. What changes between a bank counter, a Nathan Road shop and a private desk 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. Hong Kong also has its own LBMA-accredited refiner, Metalor HK, so assay-to-settlement can happen without the metal ever leaving the territory.
| Item type | How it is valued |
|---|---|
| Bullion bars and 1oz bars | Priced at live spot once the serial and assay card check out against the refiner's own portal. No VAT, GST or capital gains tax complicates the number either way. |
| Recognized coins: Krugerrand, American Eagle, Maple Leaf | Valued at spot by fine-gold content. No serial exists on a coin, so condition and the dealer's own standing carry the weight a serial would elsewhere. |
| 22k jewellery | XRF-tested for karat, fine-gold weight calculated net of stones and clasps, quoted as a written percentage of live spot: 80-92% at a reputable, assay-first buyer, well under that at an informal counter. |
| Mixed scrap, dental gold, odd pieces | Same karat test, same percentage-of-melt logic. The market-wide range runs 40-92% of melt, which is the whole reason to get the percentage in writing before you agree to anything. |
| Possible numismatic coins | Set aside from any melt quote until checked. Hong Kong's own 116-year gold-trading history means older coins surface here often, and grading comes before pricing. |
How a sale works with us
Same process for one coin or a full estate.
- Send photos on WhatsApp first, for a preliminary read before you travel to Central or Sheung Wan.
- Come in for an in-person XRF assay, in front of you, not out of sight.
- We quote as a written percentage of live spot, not a verbal figure.
- ID and AML paperwork, every time. Cash transactions of HKD 120,000 or more require Category B due diligence under Cap. 615, and we ask for ID below that threshold too. Check our own DPMS registration on the public register before you decide anything.
- Settlement the same day you accept the offer.
Want to check us out first? Our DPMS registration is public. Message us and we will point you to it before you send a single photo.
Get a valuationSelling an estate or a collection you inherited
If you are handling an estate, as the executor or simply the family member who ended up with it, you are usually missing what a normal sale would have: a receipt, a valuation, sometimes even certainty about the karat. That is ordinary, and it does not stop a sale. We are not lawyers: if the estate is still being settled, confirm with your own lawyer that you are clear to sell before you come in. Operationally we need less than people expect: your ID, and if the gold is not already yours on paper, whatever shows you are the rightful seller. Our guide to selling inherited gold covers the process step by step; it is written around Dubai's rules, but the valuation logic is the same here.
- Grant of probate or letters of administration, if the estate is still open
- Any old valuation, insurance schedule or receipt, however dated
- A will, or the relevant extract, naming you as beneficiary
- None of the above: we can still assay and quote, these just speed up settlement
Melt is the floor, never the ceiling
Hong Kong's own trading history runs back to 1910, and affluent local investors have been adding to gold fast, nearly tripling their portfolio allocation year on year according to an HSBC survey reported in 2025. A lot of that sits in family collections that include older coins nobody has had properly checked. A modern bullion-strike sovereign or coin prices close to its fine-gold content. An older, rarer or unusually well-preserved piece does not, and it is the most common surprise in an estate: something assumed to be scrap that turns out to carry real numismatic value.
| Coin condition | Typical pricing basis |
|---|---|
| Common, circulated historic gold coin | Close to melt, roughly 1.0-1.3x, depending on demand |
| Scarcer date or mint mark, ungraded | Worth a professional grading check before any offer |
| Certified rare date, PCGS or NGC graded | Can reach five or six figures on a single coin, priced against realized auction results |
| The extreme case | The record for a single coin is $18.87 million, the 1933 Double Eagle, sold in 2021 |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the original receipts to sell inherited gold in Hong Kong?
No. We value inherited gold using an independent XRF karat test and the day's spot price, not old paperwork. A receipt or valuation helps confirm history, but its absence does not block a sale or reduce a fair quote.
How do I know a gold buyer in Hong Kong is legitimate?
Check the Customs and Excise Department's public DPMS register under Cap. 615. Every legitimate dealer must register, and Category B registration with full due diligence applies to cash transactions of HKD 120,000 or more. Verify the registration yourself before you commit to anyone.
Do I pay tax on money from selling inherited gold in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong has no capital gains tax, no VAT and no GST, and gold is not a dutiable good at the free port. Confirm your own position with a tax adviser if the estate itself is still being settled, but the sale transaction carries no gold-specific tax.
Will an old coin just get melted with everything else?
Not with us. Coins get set aside and checked before any melt quote is discussed. Melt is the floor on a coin like that, never the ceiling, and Hong Kong's long trading history means older coins turn up in family collections more often than people expect.
Get a written offer before the metal goes anywhere
Check our DPMS registration, then send photos or come in. The quote is a percentage of spot, in writing, every time.
Get a valuation