11 Jewelry Marks to Check at Estate Sales (2026 eBay Prices)

Two chains sold on eBay less than a week apart, and both listings say eighteen K. One sold for fifteen hundred fifty dollars. The other sold for fifty-six dollars, because two more letters came after the eighteen K. So in this video: eleven jewelry marks you'll find at estate sales, what each one really sold for on eBay, and the quick check before you pay. One mark goes on pieces that look exactly like solid gold, and they aren't. One brooch signature hides in costume jewelry boxes, and the best one I found sold for just over a thousand dollars. And one bracelet has no mark at all, so the test is the mark. Let's jump right into it.

So first, where to look. On a ring, the mark is inside the band. On a chain or a bracelet, it's usually on the clasp or a little tag next to it. On a brooch, flip it over. Bring a ten-times loupe, the same power GIA grades diamonds with, because these stamps are tiny. There are two kinds of marks. A quality mark tells you the metal, like fourteen K or nine twenty-five. A maker's mark tells you who made it, a company name or an artist's initials. Under federal law, whoever stamps a gold or silver quality mark is supposed to put their trademark or name right next to it. The FTC's own advice for gold: if you don't see a trademark along with the karat mark, don't buy it. And here's something to be wary about: a mark is a claim, not proof. I'll come back to that at the end. Number one is the mark everyone should know: fourteen K, or the number five eighty-five. Five eighty-five means about fifty-eight and a half percent gold. On eBay, the middle half of thirty-two recent sales of vintage fourteen K gold rings landed between about two hundred seventy-five and six hundred sixty dollars, and the typical one was around four hundred fifteen. Even a four-gram fourteen K band with no stones sold for two hundred fifty dollars on November third. An amethyst and diamond ring sold for one thousand ninety dollars the same day. Price follows the gold weight, plus the stones. So at the sale, pick up every gold-colored ring and read the inside of the band.

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Number two is eighteen K, or seven fifty, which means seventy-five percent gold. And with solid gold chains, the price follows the weight. A thin chain marked seven fifty, two point eight grams, sold for three hundred fifteen dollars. A nine and a half gram rolo chain sold for fifteen hundred fifty on November fourth. And a new twenty-four gram anchor chain went for two thousand four hundred fifty-nine dollars and fifty cents. The middle half of twenty-five solid eighteen K sales ran from about five hundred fifty to fourteen hundred dollars. So a little pocket gram scale is worth carrying. Number three is the one from the start, the marks on pieces that look exactly like gold: the plated marks. G F is gold filled. R G P is rolled gold plate. H G E is heavy gold electroplate. And you'll see things like one twentieth, twelve K, G F. Under the FTC's jewelry guides, gold filled means a layer of at least ten karat gold that makes up at least one twentieth of the metal's weight. Rolled gold plate only needs one fortieth. And plain gold electroplate only has to be about seven millionths of an inch thick. That chain listed as eighteen K G F sold for fifty-six dollars, and all thirteen gold-filled chains on that same page sold between twenty-seven and sixty-seven dollars. And a ring listed as fourteen K gold shell sold for forty-five dollars, the day after a four-gram fourteen K band sold for two hundred fifty. Any extra word after the K is a reason to slow down. So read every letter after the K. And a fourteen K clasp on a chain only tells you about the clasp.

Number four: nine twenty-five, which means sterling, ninety-two and a half percent silver. Look for Mexico and nine twenty-five, and often the word Taxco. William Spratling, who helped revive Mexican silver, opened his first workshop in Taxco in nineteen thirty-one. Older Mexican pieces may carry an eagle stamp, used from the late nineteen-forties until about nineteen eighty. After that you'll see codes like T E forty-three: the T means Taxco, and the next letter is the first letter of the maker's last name. Most vintage Taxco sterling cuffs sold between forty and a hundred fifty dollars, sixteen of twenty-two sales. A heavy seventy-five gram leaf bracelet sold for two hundred nineteen dollars on November third. Weight and a maker's signature are the money. Number five: Tiffany and Company. Return to Tiffany goes back to nineteen sixty-six, when Tiffany started selling key tags that read Please Return to Tiffany and Company, New York. Today you'll find that line on heart tag bracelets. More than half of the heart tag bracelet sales I counted in October landed between a hundred forty and two hundred fifty dollars. A boxed toggle bracelet with eBay's Authenticity Guarantee sold for five hundred forty-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents on October twenty-sixth. eBay says eligible jewelry priced at five hundred dollars and up gets authenticated for free under that guarantee. But a Tiffany stamp alone isn't proof, so if you can't confirm it's real, don't list it as Tiffany. Number six is tiny: James Avery. It started in nineteen fifty-four in Kerrville, Texas, and the mark is a little stamped candelabra with the letters J and A. The company officially retires designs, and retired ones brought the top prices. Twelve of nineteen single charm sales over two days in late October landed between forty and a hundred fifteen dollars. A sailboat charm listed as retired sold for a hundred seventy, and a retired enamel teapot charm sold for four hundred twenty-five dollars on October twenty-eighth. A key charm went for twenty.

Number seven is the brooch from the start: Eisenberg Original, signed on the back. Eisenberg started as a Chicago dress maker, and the jewelry began as trim on the dresses. Collectors date the Eisenberg Original mark to about nineteen thirty-five to forty-five, and from nineteen forty-three, during the war, some pieces were made in sterling. The middle half of thirty-eight sales landed between ninety-five and three hundred dollars, typical around a hundred fifty-five. And the sterling ones went highest. A sterling pin with red stones sold for six hundred eighty-five with twenty bids, and a sterling fur clip with a big aqua glass stone sold for one thousand nine dollars and ninety-nine cents on October thirty-first, with twenty-two bids. These prices are for pieces signed Eisenberg Original only, not later Eisenberg. Number eight: Miriam Haskell. She opened in New York in nineteen twenty-six, but most Haskell from before about nineteen fifty isn't signed. On signed necklaces, look for her name on the back of the clasp. Signed Haskell necklaces: the middle half of forty-two sales ran from forty-six to a hundred twenty-five dollars, typical around seventy-two. A choker listed as nineteen-forties sold for nine hundred forty-nine dollars with forty bids, but that's one sale, not the norm. A choker listed as found went for twenty-nine. Number nine is a smaller one: Weiss, from Albert Weiss and Company in New York, nineteen forty-two to nineteen seventy-one. It's a real mark, just a modest one. Most single signed Weiss brooches sold between twenty-six and sixty dollars, typical around thirty-five, and the top one, a colorful flower pin, sold for a hundred ten. Fake Weiss pieces have been sold online too, so judge the quality, not just the name.

Number ten has no mark at all: Bakelite. Leo Baekeland invented it in nineteen oh seven, and a lot of the colorful jewelry collectors call Bakelite is a close cousin, cast phenolic, sold in the United States from nineteen twenty-seven. With Bakelite, the test is the mark. Resellers rub a hidden spot with a cotton swab and Formula four oh nine, then wash it off, and a yellow swab usually means Bakelite. Or run it under hot tap water and smell it. But real pieces don't always pass, black and many reds often don't react, and Simichrome polish can give a false yellow. And skip the hot pin test. It damages the piece. Bangles listed as tested Bakelite: the middle half of forty-three sales ran from twenty-five to a hundred thirty dollars, typical around forty-seven. Carving and dots are the money. A bangle with yellow polka dots sold for two hundred ninety-nine, and a deeply carved snakes clamper sold for four hundred twenty-five dollars on October twenty-sixth. Number eleven is an artist's hallmark on Native American sterling and turquoise. Signed vintage cuffs listed as Navajo: the middle half of forty-one sales ran from ninety-seven to three hundred twenty dollars, typical around two hundred ten. Named artists and big stones went higher. A cuff listed as signed by Frank Yellowhorse sold for five hundred fifty, and a cuff listed as a signed nineteen-seventies piece with Bisbee turquoise sold for eleven hundred fifty dollars on October twenty-second. Those are the sellers' descriptions, not mine. And this is the one where the wording is the law. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act makes it illegal to offer or sell anything in a way that falsely suggests it's Native American made. For an individual's first offense, fines go up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars when it's offered or sold for a thousand dollars or more, with smaller penalties below that. So only call it Navajo, or name an artist, if you can document it. Otherwise, describe what you can prove: Southwestern style, maker unknown. I'm not a lawyer, so check the rules yourself.

Now, the warning from the start. A stamp is a claim, not proof. That's why the law sets penalties for false marks. Gold and silver aren't magnetic. So if a magnet grabs the piece itself, not just the clasp, it isn't solid gold or sterling. But if it doesn't, that proves nothing, because brass and copper don't stick either. Before you sell anything as solid gold, get it tested, with an acid test or an X-ray metal test at a jeweler or a gold buyer. And never list something as gold, sterling, Bakelite or a designer piece unless you've checked it. So here's the quick check at the sale. One: flip it over and find the mark. Two: read every letter after the K. Three: look for a name or initials beside it. Four: if it's sold as gold or silver, try a magnet. And five: look up the sold price on eBay, not the asking price, before you pay.

So, what's the best piece of jewelry you've found with a mark you almost missed? Tell me the mark and what you paid in the comments. And if this helps you spot one, a like helps it reach more resellers. Have a blessed day.