How do you get from the Allenhurst train station to Farmingdale?
The borough's few shops cluster on Main Street, which is Route 71, beside the Allenhurst stop on the North Jersey Coast Line. From there head south on 71 over the Deal Lake bridge into Asbury Park and turn west onto Route 66, which meets Route 33 by the Parkway. Route 33 west carries you through Wall and Howell to Farmingdale, where the store sits at 68 Main St, Unit 3. Allow twenty to twenty-five minutes outside of beach traffic; on a July Saturday give it longer.
Parking in front of the shop is easy. We are open Monday through Friday from 10 to 6 and Saturday from 11 to 4, closed Sunday. If you want to ask about a piece before loading the car, call (732) 489-1314.
Why houses on the Allenhurst historic blocks hold older gold
Allenhurst began as the farm Abner Allen worked on the northeast shore of Deal Lake in the 1830s, where he also took in boarders. Once the railroad reached this stretch of coast, summer money followed, and the borough incorporated in 1897. Most of the big houses went up in a burst between about 1895 and 1910, Queen Anne, Shingle style, Tudor Revival and Victorian, and in 2011 that concentration was listed on the National Register as the Allenhurst Residential Historic District. Fewer than 500 people live here year round, on about a square mile between the lake and the ocean.
A family that has kept the same shore house for three or four generations tends to keep the same jewelry box too. What turns up from Allenhurst is often older than what we see from newer suburbs: rose and yellow gold from the early twentieth century, watch chains and fobs, lockets, cufflinks, signet rings worn thin, a set of sterling that came with the house. Old gold frequently carries no karat stamp at all, or a worn one, which is exactly why guessing at it costs sellers money.
What happens to a piece with no stamp
Nothing gets scratched, filed or dipped in acid. The XRF analyzer reads the alloy through the surface in seconds, so an unmarked bracelet is sorted by what it actually is: 10K at 41.7 percent gold, 14K at 58.5, 18K at 75. Rolled gold and gold filled pieces are identified as such rather than paid as solid, and solid pieces are never lumped in with them. Anything with a maker's name, an enamel face or a period setting is looked at as jewelry before anyone mentions melt, because some Edwardian and Art Deco work is worth more intact.
Sterling is separated from silver plate by the same reading, not by a hallmark someone half remembers. For a full house, the estate buyers service can come to you, and the New Jersey estate jewelry guide explains what to set aside before anyone else sorts the drawers.
Watching the test instead of trusting it
“The owner Sean was amazing. He explained the process of gold testing in detail. He is very knowledgeable. Honest and friendly. This will be my go to place when scrapping unwanted jewelry.”
Wendy Walton, five-star Google review of Cash 4 Gold Trading Post in Farmingdale
Diamonds from an Allenhurst ring box
A ring from the years the historic district was built may hold an old mine or old European cut, with a small table and a tall crown that look nothing like a modern round. Those stones are graded on their own terms under magnification for carat, cut, color and clarity, not written off for being out of fashion. The platinum or gold mounting is tested and weighed separately, so you get a line for the stone and a line for the metal. More on the diamond buyers page and in where to sell an engagement ring.
Which Allenhurst blocks do sellers come from?
The oceanfront houses along Ocean Place and the beach club, the historic streets between Main Street and the beach, the lakeside blocks facing Deal Lake, and the few shops around the train station. Sellers also make the same trip from Deal just to the north, Loch Arbour at the lake's mouth, Interlaken and Asbury Park across the water, and Ocean Township to the west.
What Allenhurst families bring inland
Whole, broken, single earrings, snapped chains and pieces nobody has worn since the 1950s. Each category below explains how that kind of item is judged.
Farmingdale, at the far end of Route 33
Allenhurst's Main Street and Farmingdale's Main Street are about a dozen miles apart. Walk in any time the store is open, Saturday included; the current hours are listed below.
Selling Allenhurst gold in one trip
Lay everything on the counter and it is sorted into piles by metal and purity, each pile weighed where you can read the scale. The offer is built from that day's live spot price, with anything worth more than its metal, a signed piece, a collectible coin, a diamond, priced on a separate line. Say yes and you are paid in cash before you leave. Say no and it all goes home with you, and nobody follows up with a phone call.
A grandmother's lockets, a watch chain, a drawer of sterling from the shore house? Bring it out Route 33 and watch each piece tested, free.
📞 Get a Free Appraisal: (732) 489-1314Allenhurst cash for gold: frequently asked questions
What is the nearest gold buyer to Allenhurst?
Our Farmingdale store at 68 Main St, Unit 3, reached from Allenhurst by Route 71 south, Route 66 west and Route 33 west, usually twenty to twenty-five minutes. The phone is (732) 489-1314.
My old jewelry has no karat stamp. Can you still buy it?
Yes. The XRF analyzer reads the alloy without scratching or acid, so an unmarked piece is sorted as 10K, 14K, 18K or whatever it actually is, and gold filled or rolled gold is identified instead of guessed.
Are antique or signed pieces only worth their weight?
Not necessarily. A maker-marked, enameled or period piece is looked at as jewelry first, and melt value only comes into it if that is the higher number.
Do you buy old mine and old European cut diamonds?
Yes. Older cuts are graded under magnification for carat, cut, color and clarity on their own merits, and the mounting is tested and paid separately.
Is the Farmingdale store open on Saturday?
Yes, from 11 to 4. Weekday hours are 10 to 6 Monday through Friday, and the store is closed Sunday. No appointment is needed.
Can someone come to an Allenhurst house to see an estate?
For a large estate, yes, by arrangement through the estate service. Smaller lots are simplest to bring to the counter.
What do I need to bring?
A government photo ID, which New Jersey requires for every precious-metals sale. Appraisals and boxes help but are never required.
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