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

New Jersey has two state laws for gold buyers, and neither says whether it covers a buyer outside the state. The precious metals buyers act (N.J.S.A. 51:6A) applies to "any person in the business of buying precious metals," but its duties assume a counter: prices posted "at the point of purchase," metal weighed "in plain view of the seller," and registration "with the police of the municipality in which he intends to conduct his business." The used-jewelry law (N.J.S.A. 2C:21-36) covers anyone "engaged in the business of retailing, wholesaling, or smelting jewelry" who buys used jewelry, with weekly reports to the police department "in the location of that person's place of business," and it does not apply to "sales made through an Internet website." Neither law addresses buying by mail from New Jersey residents. We have no New Jersey premises; your items travel to our refinery in Oregon and the purchase happens there.

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Anyone in the business of buying gold, silver, platinum or palladium for its melt value must register with the police of the town where they do business, post their name, address and per-weight prices where you sell, and weigh your metal in front of you on state-certified scales. They take proof of your identity, give you a numbered receipt listing each metal, its fineness, weight and price, and keep that receipt and digital photos of the metal for a year. The metal stays in the form it was bought for at least 2 business days (48 hours minimum). A transient buyer, meaning one that has not been in retail business continuously for at least 6 months at the address where it registers or plans to close within 6 months, must also post a surety bond with the state Office of Weights and Measures (N.J.S.A. 51:6A-1 and 51:6A-5).

Jewelers, wholesalers and smelters who buy used jewelry have a second set of rules. They check a government photo ID, keep your name, address, phone number, a photocopy of your ID and photos of each piece for 5 years, and send the police a weekly list of what they bought. Each piece stays in their possession for at least 10 business days after that weekly report is delivered, and anything that looks stolen must be reported to police right away. Licensed pawnbrokers fall under a separate pawnbroking law.

Neither law sets a minimum seller age or limits how a New Jersey buyer may pay you.

A 2024 law (P.L.2024, c.64) amended N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.32 so that sales of investment metal bullion and investment coins are exempt from New Jersey sales and use tax starting January 1, 2025. Bullion means refined gold, silver, platinum or palladium valued for its metal content, with no minimum value. An investment coin is a numismatic coin with a fair market value of at least 1,000 dollars, and the exemption does not cover jewelry made from coins or commemorative medallions. Jewelry and other taxable goods still carry the 6.625% rate.

When you sell: sales tax is a buyer's cost, and selling to a dealer is not a retail sale. You pay no New Jersey sales tax when you sell your gold, silver or platinum, whether to a shop in Newark or to us by mail.

New Jersey's gross income tax counts net gains from selling any property, real or personal (N.J.S.A. 54A:5-1), and the Division of Taxation says all of a resident's capital gains are taxable except gains on exempt obligations. The state does not separate short-term from long-term gains, and it uses your federal cost basis. We found no exclusion for gold, silver or other precious metals.

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

We found no New Jersey statute recognizing gold or silver coin as legal tender. That has no effect on selling: buyers in New Jersey and everywhere else price metal off the live spot market, not face value.