Sell Mexican Gold Jewelry for Top Cash in LA
We buy oro mexicano across Los Angeles County, from 10K chains to 14K coin pendants. Every piece is tested on its own and written down beside its own karat before anything is added up.
The Best Place to Sell Mexican Gold in Los Angeles
If you want to sell Mexican gold in Los Angeles, the first thing worth knowing is that a great many counters in this city price it differently from everything else in the case. South Bay Coin does not. We are a licensed, bonded and insured precious metals dealer in Lawndale, and a piece made in Guadalajara is read the same way as a piece made in Italy: on the bench, by test, one item at a time.
That distinction matters more here than almost anywhere in the country. Los Angeles County holds one of the largest Mexican and Mexican American populations in the United States, and the gold that comes with it is real, working jewelry: chains worn daily, esclavas given at fifteen, a Centenario mounted for a father who never wore it. It reaches our counter constantly.
We have bought gold at this address since 1980, and we refine in house rather than selling your metal on to a third party. That removes a layer of cost and puts it back into the offer. Whether you bring one broken chain, a drawer of gold jewelry to sell for cash, or a box mixing jewelry with loose gold and silver coins, walk in without an appointment and watch every step.
Our Lawndale Showroom
South Bay Coin
Get directions to South Bay Coin in Lawndale (opens in a new tab)
Sat: 10 AM - 3 PM
Sun: Closed
Priced by the Test, Not by the Country
There is a practice in this trade that nobody advertises. A lot identified as Mexican gets settled a karat down before anything touches a scale, as policy, because the trade has learned that some Mexican pieces read under their stamp. Sellers feel it as an offer that arrives too fast and never gets explained.
We will grant the honest half of it. Some pieces do read under their mark. Clasps, jump rings and solder joints often read differently from the body they are attached to, because they were never the same alloy. And a bag brought in as 10K will frequently have a 14K medal sitting in the middle of it.
None of that is a reason to price a country. It is a reason to test. So we read every piece on its own and write its karat beside it before a single total appears. When a piece reads above its stamp, it is paid at what it reads, not at what it says. When a piece reads below, we name that piece out loud, show you the reading, and pay it on the reading rather than quietly marking the whole lot down to match it.
Where a piece was made is not a purity. Mexico's own standard, NOM-033, requires a registered maker's mark and recognises a scale running 10, 14, 18, 21 and 24 karat. The reading is the answer, and you should be standing there when it is taken.
The Coin and the Bezel Are Two Different Golds
A Centenario hanging on a rope chain. A dos pesos set into a ring. A cinco pesos in a frame that has sat in a jewelry box for thirty years. These are two objects wearing one price tag, and they are not the same gold.
The coin is mint gold. The frame around it is jewelry, and in this market that frame is usually 10K or 14K. A buyer who drops the whole pendant on a scale and calls it 10K has bought mint gold at frame prices, and the difference is not small. So we do not weigh it as one thing. The coin is assessed as a coin, the frame as jewelry, the two numbers written separately and then added. If you would rather keep the coin, we buy the frame alone and hand the coin back.
There is a second version of this, and it runs the other way. Replica Centenarios sell by the thousand across Los Angeles, and a great many of them sit in a frame that is genuinely solid gold. The coin is plated base metal and we will not buy it as gold. The bezel around it is real, and we will. The pendant is half gold, and the honest thing is to tell you which half. Loose coins with no mounting belong with our gold and silver coins counter.
Mexican Gold We Buy for Cash
Worn, broken or immaculate, it makes no difference. Every category below is bought by the piece, at the karat it reads.
Chains & Bracelets
Cuban and Miami link, rope, herringbone, figaro and esclavas. Solid or hollow, worn thin or snapped at the clasp.
Coin Pendants & Bezels
Centenario, cincuenta pesos, dos pesos and cinco pesos in mounts. Coin and frame are always priced separately.
Religious & Milestone Gold
Guadalupe and San Judas medals, baptism and first communion pieces, quinceañera jewelry, crosses and saint pendants.
Rings, Earrings & Scrap
Wedding bands, single earrings whose pair is long gone, bent or unwearable pieces, and unmarked gold.
Sell Mexican Gold in Three Steps
Walk In or Text Photos
Come to 16916 Hawthorne Blvd in Lawndale with no appointment, or text photos to (310) 363-2697 for a first look before you drive.
Every Piece Read Separately
We test each item in front of you and write its karat beside it on the slip. Coin pendants are separated into coin and frame first.
Review the Slip and Get Paid
You see the itemized list before any total is offered. Accept it and you are paid at the counter. Bring photo identification.
South Bay Coin vs. Other Gold Buyers
Four kinds of business buy Mexican gold in this city, and they do not work alike. Two rows below are honest No marks against us.
| Criterion | South Bay Coin | Flat-Rate Gold Buyers | Retail Jewelers | Mail-In |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests before pricing, never by origin | Yes | No | Sometimes | No |
| Karat written beside each piece | Yes | Rarely | Rarely | No |
| Pays above the stamp when it reads above | Yes | No | Rarely | No |
| Prices a coin pendant as two items | Yes | No | Sometimes | No |
| Buys the solid frame off a replica coin | Yes | Rarely | No | No |
| You are present for every test | Yes | Sometimes | Sometimes | No |
| Buys replica coins as gold | No | Sometimes | No | Sometimes |
| Carries new Mexican gold to trade into | No | No | Yes | No |
| Licensed CA dealer with a public counter | Yes | Varies | Varies | No |
What Our Customers Say
Common Questions About Mexican Gold
Where can I sell Mexican gold jewelry in Los Angeles?
South Bay Coin buys Mexican gold jewelry at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd, Lawndale, CA 90260, open Monday through Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM and Saturday from 10 AM to 3 PM. No appointment is needed. We serve sellers from across Los Angeles County, and testing and appraisal are always free.
Is Mexican gold real gold?
Yes. Mexican gold jewelry is ordinary karat gold, most commonly 10K or 14K, and Mexico's own standard recognises a scale running from 10 up to 24 karat. The country of manufacture tells you nothing about purity. Only a test on the individual piece tells you what that piece actually contains.
Why do some buyers pay less for Mexican gold?
Many counters apply an origin policy, settling a Mexican lot a karat down before testing it, because the trade has seen some Mexican pieces read under their stamp. It is a shortcut, not a measurement. We read each piece individually instead, and we pay a piece above its stamp when it reads above.
What karat is most Mexican gold jewelry?
Most of what walks in is 10K or 14K, which is why those two dominate the conversation. But higher karat Mexican work exists and turns up regularly, especially in older religious medals and heirloom pieces. We never assume a karat from the look of a piece or the country it came from, so every item gets tested.
Do you buy gold jewelry that has no stamp on it?
Yes. An unmarked piece is not a problem, it just means the stamp cannot start the conversation and the test has to. A worn stamp, a stamp rubbed off a clasp or no stamp at all makes no difference to how we price it, because we are paying on what the metal reads either way.
What if my Centenario pendant turns out to be a replica?
It happens often, and it is not the end of the offer. Replica coins are plated base metal and we will not buy one as gold. But the frame holding it is very frequently solid 10K or 14K, and we buy that. We will show you which part is which before you decide anything.
Do you buy oro mexicano at the counter?
Yes, every day we are open. Chains, bracelets, rings, medals, coin pendants and broken scrap are all bought at our Lawndale counter. You are welcome to walk in without an appointment, watch each piece be tested and weighed, and review the itemized list before any offer is made.
Can I sell the gold frame and keep the coin?
Yes. Plenty of people want to keep a coin that meant something to a parent and have no use for the mounting. We price the coin and the frame separately as a matter of course, so buying the frame alone and returning the coin to you is a normal transaction, not a special request.
Do you buy religious medals and baptism jewelry?
Yes. Guadalupe and San Judas medals, crosses, baptism and first communion pieces and quinceañera jewelry are all bought here, and they are often a higher karat than the chain they arrived on. Each one is tested and written down on its own rather than folded into a bag total.
Do you buy gold plated or laminado Mexican jewelry?
Generally no, because a plated piece carries too little recoverable metal to pay for. We will still test it and tell you plainly what it is, at no charge, which is more than most counters will do. Bring it along with everything else and we will sort the solid pieces out of it.
Ready to Sell Your Mexican Gold?
Walk into our Lawndale counter with no appointment, or text photos for a first look. Free testing, itemized offers, cash paid on the spot.
