Sell Scrap Platinum in Los Angeles for Cash
South Bay Coin pays same-day cash for scrap platinum of every kind, from a snapped wedding band to dental and laboratory material. Platinum keeps its weight even when it looks ruined, and weight is what pays.
The Best Place to Sell Scrap Platinum in Los Angeles
Most people who sell scrap platinum in Los Angeles start the conversation with an apology. The band is bent, the setting is empty, the earring lost its mate years ago. None of that is a deduction. A scrap offer is assembled from two measurements, the fineness of the alloy and the weight of the metal, and neither measurement can see what the piece looks like. South Bay Coin has been buying platinum across the counter in Lawndale since 1980, and the ugliest lot of the week is very often the best paid one.
We are a licensed, bonded and insured precious metals dealer, and we refine precious metals in house. That matters more on platinum than on any other metal we buy. Most counters in Los Angeles do not price platinum at all. They send it onward to somebody who does, and the fee for that extra step comes out of the seller's offer. When the buyer and the refiner are the same business, that step does not exist, and the share of the metal's market value that reaches you goes up.
Every piece is tested and weighed in front of you, the arithmetic is explained before you decide, and nobody pushes you to sell. Bring a single broken ring or a tray of laboratory material. If something in the lot is worth more whole than melted, an early signed mounting for example, we say so instead of quietly putting it on the scale. Intact pieces are covered on our sell platinum jewelry page, and you can sell gold and sell sterling silver in the same visit.
Scrap Platinum Buyers Near Me in Lawndale
South Bay Coin
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Sat: 10 AM - 3 PM
Sun: Closed
How Much Is Scrap Platinum Worth Per Gram?
Platinum trades by the troy ounce, which is about 31.1 grams. To get from that headline figure to a gram figure, divide by 31.1, then adjust for the fineness of the alloy in your hand. Jewelry platinum is normally marked 950, 900 or 850, sometimes written PLAT, PT950 or a plain Pt. Bullion and laboratory material runs finer than any of those. A great many older rings, particularly Edwardian and Art Deco pieces, were never marked at all, so the mark is a starting point and not the answer.
Weight is where scrap platinum surprises people, and it surprises them in their favour. Platinum is far denser than the metals it resembles. The same plain band weighs roughly twice as much in platinum as it does in sterling silver, and appreciably more than it does in white gold. That is why a small platinum lot is worth the drive when a small silver lot may not be, and why a seller who judges a bag by its size will almost always underestimate what is in it. The scale is the only opinion that counts, and ours faces you.
The last variable is who ends up melting the metal. A counter that resells your platinum to a refiner has to keep a spread to make the trip worthwhile. We are the refinery, so there is no onward buyer to pay, and the offer reflects it. Nothing in that calculation is negotiable at the counter, which is the point. Fineness, weight, market. You can watch all three go into the number.
Does Scratched or Worn Scrap Platinum Sell for Less?
Gold and silver behave one way under wear and platinum behaves another, and the difference is money. When a gold ring is scratched, a little metal is carried off the surface and is gone. Repeat that for thirty years of dishes, door handles and steering wheels and a gold shank measurably thins. Platinum does not shed metal that way. It displaces. The metal pushed out of a scratch rolls up at the edge of it and stays on the ring, which is why the grey, softly beaten surface of an old platinum piece is called a patina rather than damage, and why jewelers use platinum for prongs that have to survive a century.
For a scrap seller that has a plain consequence. A platinum band worn every day since a wedding in the 1960s usually weighs close to what it weighed on the day it was bought. The gold band next to it in the same drawer does not. So the platinum piece that looks the worst in a lot is frequently the one carrying the most intact weight, and the instinct to leave it at home because it is beyond saving costs the seller real money.
Condition matters in one place only, and it is not the metal. It is what is done to a piece in order to test it. Some mail-in refiners state in their own terms that assessing an item may involve cutting into it and removing stones, and that the piece comes back damaged. Nothing here is cut, filed or dismantled to reach a number, and if you decide against the offer the lot goes home in the state it arrived in.
Types of Scrap Platinum We Buy for Cash
Marked or unmarked, whole or in pieces, jewelry box or workbench. Every item is tested and weighed on its own, and paid for on the platinum actually in it.
Sell Broken Platinum Jewelry
Bent bands, snapped chains, single earrings, emptied settings and worn rings. Breakage changes nothing about the platinum content, so it changes nothing about the offer.
Sell Dental and Medical Platinum
Crowns, bridges and clinic material, plus medical platinum such as wire and pins. Composite pieces are separated before weighing so you are paid on metal, not on package weight.
Sell Laboratory and Industrial Platinum
Crucibles and lids, thermocouple wire, mesh, gauze, electrodes and contacts. Bring what you can carry in and we will price it item by item at the counter.
Sell Platinum Bars, Shot and Grain
Melted bench bars, casting grain, shot, sponge and small ingots left over from production. Damaged bullion is bought as scrap on its fineness and weight.
How to Sell Scrap Platinum in Three Steps
Bring In or Text Your Platinum
Walk into the Lawndale showroom at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd with no appointment, or text photos of the lot to (310) 363-2697 before you make the trip.
Get a Free Platinum Appraisal
We confirm the fineness of each piece, weigh it in grams on a display facing you, and explain how the day's platinum market turns that into an offer.
Get Paid the Same Day
Accept and you are paid by cash or check before you leave. Most visits run about fifteen minutes. Bring valid photo identification.
Scrap Platinum Buyers vs Pawn Shops vs Mail-In Refiners
Platinum is the metal that separates buyers, because most of them do not price it themselves. Here is how a walk-in visit to our Lawndale counter differs from the alternatives, including the two rows we lose.
| Feature | South Bay Coin | Pawn Shops | Jewelry Stores | Mail-In Refiners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices platinum separately from white gold | Yes | Rarely | Sometimes | Yes |
| Refines precious metals in house | Yes | No | No | Varies |
| Tests and weighs in front of you | Yes | Sometimes | Sometimes | No |
| Nothing is cut or dismantled to test it | Yes | Usually | Usually | Varies |
| Buys dental and laboratory platinum | Yes | No | No | Varies |
| Unmarked platinum accepted and tested | Yes | Rarely | Sometimes | Yes |
| Same-day payment in cash or check | Yes | Yes | Varies | No |
| Publishes a standing scrap platinum buy rate online | No | No | No | Yes |
| Takes bulk industrial lots on an assay contract | No | No | No | Yes |
| 45+ year track record in the South Bay | Yes | Varies | Varies | Varies |
What Our Platinum Selling Customers Say
Questions About Selling Scrap Platinum in Los Angeles
How much is scrap platinum worth in Los Angeles?
Three things set the number: the fineness of the alloy, the weight of the metal, and the platinum market on the day you sell. Nothing else enters the calculation, which is why condition does not lower it. We weigh in grams, apply the tested fineness, and show you the arithmetic before you decide.
Where can I sell scrap platinum near me?
South Bay Coin, at 16916 Hawthorne Blvd in Lawndale, buys scrap platinum from Torrance, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne and the rest of Los Angeles County. Walk in during business hours with no appointment, or text photos to (310) 363-2697 first if you want a sense of the piece.
Does scratched or worn platinum sell for less?
No. Scratched platinum has not lost metal the way scratched gold has. Platinum displaces under wear instead of abrading away, so the metal pushed out of a scratch is still sitting on the piece. A ring worn daily for forty years usually weighs close to what it weighed new.
What purity of platinum do you buy?
All of it. Jewelry platinum is usually marked 950, 900 or 850, sometimes written PLAT, PT950 or Pt. Bullion and laboratory material runs finer. Plenty of older rings carry no mark at all, especially early twentieth century pieces, so we test rather than guess and price the alloy we actually find.
How do I know if my ring is platinum or white gold?
Weight is the usual tell. A platinum band feels heavy for its size, roughly twice what the same band weighs in sterling silver and noticeably more than the same band in white gold. Marks help when they exist, though they are easy to misread. Bring it in and we will confirm which metal it is.
Do you buy dental platinum and laboratory scrap?
Yes. We buy dental platinum, clinic and laboratory material such as crucibles, wire and mesh, and platinum left over from bench work. There is no minimum. Small quantities of high fineness material are often worth more than sellers expect, and commercial sellers are handled discreetly at the counter.
How is scrap platinum priced per gram?
Platinum trades by the troy ounce, which is about 31.1 grams, so the per gram figure is the ounce price divided by 31.1 and then adjusted for the fineness of your piece. We weigh in grams on a scale you can see, so small pieces are measured accurately rather than rounded.
Do you buy platinum from catalytic converters?
No. California restricted converter transactions in 2023, and purchases are limited to licensed dismantlers, automotive repair dealers and documented vehicle owners. We are none of those, so we do not buy detached converters. Everything else on this page, including industrial and laboratory platinum, we do buy.
Do I need an appointment to sell scrap platinum?
No appointment is needed. Walk into the Lawndale showroom Monday through Friday between 10 AM and 5 PM, or Saturday between 10 AM and 3 PM, and bring valid photo identification. Most visits take about fifteen minutes, and payment is made by cash or check as soon as you accept.
How does selling scrap platinum compare to a pawn shop?
Pawn counters price gold well and platinum poorly, because platinum sits outside their normal inventory and is easy to mistake for a white metal of far lower value. We buy platinum as platinum, refine it ourselves rather than reselling it onward, and have been doing it in the South Bay since 1980.
Ready to Sell Scrap Platinum for Cash?
Bring your broken, dental or laboratory platinum to our Lawndale counter for a free appraisal and same-day payment. No appointment, no pressure.
