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How to Melt Gold Coins

Melting gold coins to extract their metal is not a new process. Throughout history, many people and agencies, including the U.S. government, have melted large amount of gold coins for various reasons. One thing to take into account before melting gold coins is that the numismatic value of old gold coins tends to significantly outweigh the worth of the pure gold in the coin. It is sometimes difficult to sell old coins at their purported value, but in many cases, especially with gold coins, it will be worth it.

Things You'll Need

Oxy-acetylene blowtorch
Safety goggles
Safety gloves
Graphite crucible
Fine gold flux
Pure flux
Tongs
Heat-proof holding or shaping container

Instructions

- 1
  Equip your safety materials. Melting coins is a very dangerous process, so wear your gloves and goggles.
- 2
  Coat the coins with fine gold flux, and then coat them again with pure flux. Using flux will keep the fine gold particles from blowing away as you operate the blow torch.
- 3
  Place the coins you wish to melt into the crucible.
- 4
  Turn on your blowtorch. Pure gold will melt at 1,060 degrees Celsius or 1,940 Fahrenheit. Old gold coins, however, are not made of pure gold. The temperature will vary slightly depending on the compositions of the coins you are melting.
- 5
  Heat the coins with the blowtorch. Adjust heat as needed to melt the coins.
- 6
  Separate the gold from the other metals by pouring the gold from the crucible (using tongs) into some holding or shaping container. The flux will pull the impurities to the bottom of the crucible, allowing you to remove the gold, but not the impurities. Allow the gold to cool.

Coin Collecting