Yes, old TVs contain precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in small amounts on circuit boards, connectors, and wires, along with valuable copper, aluminum, and rare earths, but extracting them is complex due to hazardous materials like lead and mercury in CRTs, making specialized recycling better than DIY for most. While a single TV has little, large volumes of e-waste can yield significant amounts for "urban miners" using specialized methods.
Televisions: Old CRT (cathode-ray tube) TVs contain significant amounts of gold on their circuit boards and connectors. The gold content of televisions ranges between 0.2 and 0.3 ounces. Gold is also found in other consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, DVD players, and gaming consoles.
A television contains copper, quartz, iron, gold, platinum, and silver in its parts.
Not in the traditional sense. Most televisions – whether old cathode-ray tube (CRT) models or modern flat screens – are made from a mix of materials. You'll find metals like copper, steel, and aluminium inside, but they're wrapped in layers of plastic, glass, and sometimes hazardous substances such as lead or mercury.
A typical set from the 50s might sell for $50 or so. Philco Predictas, DuMont Royal Sovereigns, and a few other sets are exceptions, and sell for several hundred dollars. 1960 and newer Black and White Sets. These sets are virtually worthless.
Pawning or selling is a personal choice. It boils down to two options: wanting to get items back or not wanting them back. If customers want their items back, then pawning is the best option. But if they want to get rid of their items, selling is the better choice.
Trading in a TV
You may be able to trade in your TV with a retailer and get cash or money off the cost of a new set. Larger brands such as Samsung occasionally run special offers where they may take your old set and give you a discount on a new TV, or vouchers towards other purchases.
Right now, copper is generally the most valuable scrap metal due to high demand for its conductivity, followed by brass, aluminum, and precious metals found in electronic waste like gold and silver, with specific prices varying by grade, location, and current market. Clean, stripped copper wire and plumbing pipes fetch the highest prices, while brass (found in fixtures, doorknobs) offers good value, and even everyday aluminum cans and car batteries (lead) contribute to profits.
In televisions, especially older CRT and flat-screen models, gold is used in connectors, circuit boards, and sometimes in display components. The amount of gold in a TV varies by model and age, but on average, a standard television contains between 0.001 to 0.02 grams of gold.
Gold has maintained a high financial value, reaching over $2,000 an ounce. At these prices, a skilled recycler extracting gold from electronics can expect to receive over $10,000 worth of gold from just one ton of computer circuit boards.
Among consumer electronics, computer components are the richest in gold. Circuit boards, especially motherboards, feature gold in their connectors and pins. CPUs are particularly valuable, with older processors containing 0.2 to 0.5 grams of gold each.
Pawn shops that buy TVs will also pay more for a bigger screen. If your TV's screen is less than 26 inches, you'd be lucky to get over $50 for it. If your screen is greater than 42 inches, though, a pawnbroker like GEM might offer you over $200, provided the TV is one of the brands mentioned above.
It's true there's often silver, platinum, palladium and gold in our damaged or outmoded electronics, not to mention plastic, glass and other materials that have some scrap value.
A single aluminum can weighs about 14 grams. To make 1 kilogram, you would need approximately 71-72 cans.
To get rid of your old television, you can take it to a local recycling centre or arrange a pick-up with a collection service. Collect My Electricals offers a hassle-free solution, collecting old TVs and ensuring they are recycled or disposed of responsibly.
Like many old electronics, you can make money off of your old TV. Put it up for sale on your local yardsale site like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or Nextdoor. Even if it's not the latest technology, you might find someone who doesn't mind an older TV or there could be someone looking for TV parts.
Yes, major investment banks like Citi and Bank of America predict copper could reach or surpass $15,000 per ton (or tonne) in the near future (2026-2027), driven by surging demand from AI, green energy transitions, and constrained mine supply, leading to significant market deficits. Goldman Sachs also sees high prices, though with a longer-term target, while Ivanhoe Mines notes $15,000/ton is needed to spur new mine development.
Yes, but the value varies based on how you prepare it:
Selling unstripped insulated wire is easier and faster but earns less. Stripping insulation requires effort but significantly increases your payout. Even small amounts of copper wire can be sold, but accumulating more scrap is usually more profitable.
Radiators are common items that often end up in scrap yards when they fail or need to be replaced. Their copper and aluminum materials can be quite valuable as scrap metal. If you have an old radiator to get rid of, it's easy to prepare it for recycling and receive some cash in return.
For a $1000 item, a pawn shop will typically offer you $250 to $600 (25% to 60%), depending on the item's resale demand, condition, and market value, with luxury goods, precious metals, and high-demand electronics getting higher offers. You'll get less if you're selling outright versus taking a loan, as pawnbrokers need profit margins and room for resale, aiming for around half the market value for a loan.
The "dark side" of pawn shops involves predatory lending with high interest rates, exploiting the desperate for quick cash by offering lowball offers on valuable items, facilitating the sale of stolen goods, and facing discrimination against minorities, creating a cycle of poverty and loss for vulnerable customers who risk losing their collateral. While they offer a service for those without traditional banking, their business model can be exploitative, with interest rates far exceeding legal limits and loan amounts far below the item's true value.
Are Antique TVs Worth Anything? Rarity largely determines this answer. Antique TVs can range from under $100 to $20,000—depending on the model. There are two types of rarity: production rarity and age rarity.