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

Anyone in Texas in the business of buying and selling crafted precious metal (jewelry, silverware, art objects and other household items made wholly or partly of gold, silver, platinum or another precious metal) must register with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and renew every year. A buyer working from a temporary location, such as a hotel buying event, must also file a registration statement with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the local police at least 30 days before buying. The law does not cover coins, bars, commemorative medallions, dental gold, or items a dealer buys for 105 percent or more of their scrap value.

Before buying, the dealer has you sign a list of your name, address and the items, certifying it is true and complete, and records your driver's license or state ID number from the card itself. The state's rules add your date of birth, height, eye color, either an itemized list of each piece with its metal, purity and weight or a description with clear photos of everything bought, and your statement that you have the right to sell. You get a copy, the local police chief or sheriff gets one within 48 hours, and the dealer keeps it three years. The dealer then may not melt, alter or dispose of the items before the 11th day after that report, unless police allow it or the dealer records who it sold them to, and police can hold a suspected stolen piece up to 60 days. Sellers under 18 need a parent's or guardian's written consent. The law sets no cash limit or check-only rule, and violations are a Class B misdemeanor.

Pawnshops fall under the Texas Pawnshop Act instead. They check a photo ID, record you and the item, and hold anything bought outright at the shop for at least 20 days, or less where local law or a police agreement allows. A coin shop buying only coins and bars is outside the crafted precious metal law, which is why coin sales usually close on the spot.

Texas Tax Code section 151.336 exempts the sale of gold, silver or numismatic coins and of platinum, gold or silver bullion, and the Comptroller's rule (34 TAC 3.336) has applied it since October 1, 2013, with no minimum purchase. The rule does not reach metal in the form of jewelry or other items of adornment, which is taxed at the 6.25% state rate plus up to 2% local tax.

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

Article 8, section 24-a of the Texas Constitution says the legislature may not tax the net incomes of individuals, so there is no state return to report a profit on gold, silver or platinum. 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.

House Bill 1056 of 2025 added section 2116.101 to the Texas Government Code: to the extent the U.S. Constitution allows, gold and silver specie is legal tender in Texas if it is marked with its weight and purity (and, optionally, its refiner or mint) and carries no other design or any suggestion that a government issued it. The section does not apply to U.S. coins, and no person can be required to offer or accept specie for a debt, a deposit or any other purpose. A separate electronic payment system backed by gold and silver held in the Texas Bullion Depository is authorized from May 1, 2027. Buyers still price your coins and bars off the live metal market.