Gold Rush: Local Pawn Shops Bustle as Prices Hit Record High

For pawnshop owner Dave Baker, gold has nearly become a business all its own.

“We had a lady come in here whose dog had been wearing a gold collar for over a year,” he said. “It was worth $400. These are types of the things we are seeing every day.”

And with per-ounce prices hitting a record of $1,500 Tuesday—more than six times what it sold for 10 years ago—he doesn't expect things to slow down.

"It's completely separate from anything else we do here," he said, adding that business at his , 929 E. Ogden Ave., began to skyrocket when gold hit $1,300. "The growth this shop has done in the last two years … Let's put it this way, I don't have much room in back. It's shoulder to shoulder in there."

Baker's pawnshop has flashy electronics meticulously stacked on its shelves and cases of necklaces, bracelets and rings that look like they belong in an upscale jewelry store. Stones glisten and precious metals sparkle beyond the glass.

"Naperville is a great place for a pawnshop,” he said. “It’s really exploded here.”

He has been in the business for 15 years, he said. He manages two other Fast Cash and Pawn shops in the area—one in Aurora and one in Naperville. Another may be added soon.

The growth may be attributed in part to the fact that the price of gold has tracked steadily higher in recent months, peeking at $1,500.50 midday Tuesday and later settling at $1,495. Reports suggest the price of silver has also been affected, reaching a three-decade high of more than $43 an ounce.

That makes it a good idea to have your gold jewelry appraised if you haven’t in a while, or clean out your boxes of those old necklaces and rings you never wear.

“It’s nice when somebody bought a gold chain when gold was $300 an ounce in the 70s or 80s and they're able to sell it for more than they paid for it,” said Tom Brunzelle, owner of , 635 E. Ogden Ave. “That’s a nice thing. I like to do that for people.”

Brunzelle’s also noticed an uptick in business but believes part of that stems from the Naperville store being in the national limelight. It’s the focus of the.

When the store opened about two and a half years ago, it was the first of its kind in the city.

“Pawn Queens has certainly helped,” Brunzelle said. “But I don't think we've really seen the crux of it yet. … With gold prices escalating, things are bound to stay steady.”

Gold’s breaking $1,500 knocked down a psychological barrier for people, he noted.

“There’s a lot cookin’ there,” he said. “I think people are taking advantage of it. They’re digging into their jewelry boxes and that. Because if you think about it, a price jump from $1,400 to $1,500 isn’t that much, percentage wise. But people think about it and they feel like they have to look at what they have.”

Baker said gold is carefully assessed at his pawnshops. If a piece is nice enough to resell, they shine it up and place it in a case.

“But for the most part, we are scrapping about 80 to 90 percent of what we take in,” he said. “Melted down, things that are sitting around the house doing no good can be worth a lot of money.”

Catch Pawn Queens on TLC every Thursday in May at 9 p.m.