Where to Sell (or Buy) Gold, Silver & Platinum in Arkansas

Anyone in Arkansas who buys gold, sterling silver, platinum, gemstones or pearls from the public to resell them in any form must register with the local police or sheriff at least 24 hours before buying (Ark. Code 17-23-201 and 17-23-202). For each purchase the buyer takes your driver's license, state ID, military ID or other photo ID, a signed statement that you own the items (or are authorized to sell them) saying when, where or how you got them, and a print of your right thumb. The record book also lists your address, phone, date of birth, a physical description and each item with its marks, and a copy goes to the police chief or sheriff at least once a week.

The buyer must tell you the price per ounce it is paying and weigh your metal where you can see it. It then keeps what it bought, unaltered, for 15 business days after sending the weekly list, longer if police or a prosecutor suspect theft. Nobody under 18 can sell unless a parent or guardian comes along and shows ID too, and if metal looks like it was melted down from an older piece, the buyer must ask where it came from and get permission from the State Police, sheriff or local police before agreeing to buy it.

Transactions involving coins are outside this law entirely, as are pawnshops, banks and registered commodity dealers. The law sets no cash limit and no check-only rule.

Ark. Code 26-52-454 removes Arkansas sales and use tax from coins, currency and bullion of gold, silver, platinum or palladium when they are sold on their value as precious metal or as collectibles rather than as money. Both definitions also require an item that "was or is used solely as a medium of exchange, security, or commodity by any state, the United States Government, or a foreign nation," so a bar or round from a private mint may not qualify. Coins built into jewelry are excluded, and jewelry is taxed at the 6.5% state rate plus local tax.

When you sell: sales tax is a buyer's cost, not yours. You pay no Arkansas sales tax when you sell gold, silver or platinum to a dealer.

Since Act 595 of 2023, Ark. Code 4-56-106 says "the purchase, sale, or exchange of any type or form of specie shall not give rise to any tax liability." Specie means coins with gold or silver content and bullion stamped with its weight and purity, so it does not reach platinum, jewelry, scrap or dental gold. The Department of Finance and Administration's 2025 income tax instructions do not explain how to claim it. For other gains, Ark. Code 26-51-815 exempts 50% of a net capital gain from state income tax.

Federal rules still apply: the IRS taxes physical precious metals as collectibles, with gains on metal held more than a year capped at 28% and gains on metal held a year or less taxed as ordinary income. Inherited pieces generally use their value on the date of death as their cost basis. We are not tax advisers, so check with yours before you file.

Under Ark. Code 4-56-106, first passed as the Arkansas Legal Tender Act (Act 595 of 2023) and expanded in 2025, legal tender consists of specie coin issued by the United States Government, or other specie an Arkansas court rules the state may designate. Specie is not treated as personal property for tax purposes, and the state or a local government may take it for taxes and fees if it agrees to. No one can be forced to pay or accept specie unless a law or contract says so, and buyers still price your coins off the live metal market.