Gold Price Per Pennyweight (dwt) by Karat
$202.44 per pennyweight of pure gold
18K $151.83 · 14K $118.09 · 10K $84.35 per pennyweight
Gold spot $4,048.80/oz · updated
Quick answer: Pure gold is $202.44 per pennyweight at live spot. A pennyweight, written dwt, is one twentieth of a troy ounce, or about 1.55517 grams, so the figure is simply the $4,048.80 ounce price divided by 20. Karat gold is less: 14K is $118.09 per dwt and 10K is $84.35.
Selling by the pennyweight? Treat these numbers as a ceiling, since they are melt value at spot and not an offer from any buyer.
Buying instead? Read where to buy gold for coins, bars and premiums.
Pennyweight value for every karat
The table below applies each karat's purity to the pure-gold dwt price. Read across to find the karat stamped on your piece, then multiply by the number of pennyweights on the scale.
| Karat | 1 dwt | 5 dwt | 10 dwt | 20 dwt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10K | $84.35 | $421.75 | $843.50 | $1,687.00 |
| 14K | $118.09 | $590.45 | $1,180.90 | $2,361.80 |
| 18K | $151.83 | $759.15 | $1,518.30 | $3,036.60 |
| 22K | $185.57 | $927.85 | $1,855.70 | $3,711.40 |
| 24K | $202.24 | $1,011.19 | $2,022.38 | $4,044.75 |
For the same karats priced per gram, see the gold price per gram table. The values are the same metal, only the unit changes.
Why jewelers and pawn counters still say dwt
The pennyweight comes from the old troy system, which gold has always used. A troy ounce splits into 20 pennyweights, and each pennyweight into 24 grains. Traders found that counting in dwt gave convenient numbers for rings, chains and scrap, which tend to weigh between a fraction of a dwt and a few dozen.
That habit stuck at pawn counters, scrap buyers and refiners, so a quote of "so many dollars a dwt" is still the normal language of a counter. It sounds exotic, but the math is plain: dwt price times dwt weight.
Grains matter less today, but they explain the pattern: 20 dwt times 24 grains gives 480 grains in a troy ounce. If an old receipt or catalog lists grains, divide by 24 to reach pennyweights, then use the table above.
Converting between dwt, grams and ounces
Keep three relationships in mind.
- 1 dwt is about 1.55517 grams.
- 20 dwt make one troy ounce.
- One troy ounce is 31.1034768 grams.
To go from grams to pennyweights, divide by 1.55517. To go from pennyweights to troy ounces, divide by 20. A scale set to grams therefore needs one extra step before you use a dwt quote. If you prefer to skip it, the gold value calculator accepts grams, pennyweights or ounces directly.
Remember also that the troy ounce is heavier than the everyday ounce on a kitchen scale; the gold price per ounce page spells out the gap.
Reading a buyer's per-dwt quote
Here is a concrete case. Suppose you have 12 dwt of 14K scrap. At live spot its melt value is $1,417.08. A buyer who quotes $89 per dwt for 14K is paying 75% of the $118.09 melt figure for that karat. That is an example, not a typical or guaranteed rate.
Ask the buyer three things. Which karat did they assume? Is the quote per dwt or per gram? And do they weigh the item before or after removing stones? If any of those is vague, ask for the number in writing before you hand anything over.
A smaller case shows the lower end. Eight dwt of 10K has a melt value of $674.80. You can compare that against the 14K example above by pulling up the 14K gold price per gram and 10K gold price per gram pages, where the same pieces are priced per gram.
Trade reports describe a wide spread of payouts: refiners about 90 to 98% of melt, mail-in and online buyers 70 to 90%, local shops and jewelers 60 to 85%. These are ranges reported by the trade, never quotes.
Where this page sits in the gold value chart
This is one slice of the gold value chart, which tracks live spot and turns it into every unit a seller or buyer is likely to meet. If you only need a rough sense of what a scrap piece is worth, one multiplication here is enough.
What this chart can't tell you: melt value ignores stones, craftsmanship, collector interest and the buyer's costs. It is where a conversation starts, not where it must end.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know dwt to sell gold?
No, but it helps you check a quote. Convert your gram weight once, compare the buyer's per-dwt number with the table, and you can see how much of the melt value the offer represents.
Is a pennyweight the same as a gram?
No. A pennyweight is about 1.55517 grams, so a dwt holds more gold than a gram does at the same purity.
How do I get from a dwt price to a gram price?
Divide the dwt price by 1.55517. Going the other way, multiply the gram price by 1.55517.
Why does my buyer quote a lower dwt price than this table?
The table is melt value at spot. A buyer has to test, refine or resell, and keeps a margin, so the quote sits below it.
Data sources: Spot price via api.gold-api.com · COMEX futures (GC=F) via Yahoo Finance. Prices are for informational purposes only and may be delayed. Figures on this page were generated . Gold is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce.