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With gold still holding strong, there’s been some crazy stories of people popping out their gold teeth and fillings and selling them at pawn shops. Kinda gross, but if you’ve got material in your mouth worth thousands of dollars, I guess it make sense to cash in on it. But when exactly did putting gold in your mouth become popular and has the practice declined?
For a very long time, gold has been highly coveted and a symbol of wealth and status. In the E. European countries especially, flaunting gold by way of sticking it in your mouth was highly regarded. Dentists would even cover a perfectly healthy tooth or grind one down, to replace it with a gold one. It caught on in the US as a fashion statement in the 1960’s.
Aside from fashion though- gold proved to be very adequate at filling teeth. It’s incredibly malleable and strong. It also resists corrosion, making it a leading choice for fillings as it lasts 40+ years. It’s been used for awhile and is still available. The process used to be tedious though, involving a complete removal of decay and hammering tiny pieces of gold foil into the tooth. Now, silver and Amalgam are the most widely used for fillings. Gold fillings can be up to 10 times more expensive than the others.
With gold prices hovering around $1600-$1800 an ounce, it’s easy to see why people are scrambling to pull out their gold fillings and trade them in for cash. Although some people are skeptical in the value of the paper dollar and holding fast to their fillings.
Do you have any gold items that you’d like a free appraisal on? Come by West Seattle Coins and we’d love to meet with you and evaluate your things.
