If you have an old TV lying around, you might be aware that these devices often contain gold in some of their parts. The cathode tubes and some of the circuit boards and connectors do contain some gold. These gold parts were key to the function of the TV during these other eras of construction before plasma and LCD TVs.
TVs do not contain that much gold. Cheap TVs might also have gold plating rather than real gold in their parts. TVs usually contain a very small amount of gold that might amount to about $1.00 or less in value. It can be quite a lot of work to get to the gold inside your TV as well.
Why is There so Little Gold in Old TVs?
Gold is quite costly. You probably know this if you are thinking about trying to access the gold in your TV to make some money. The trouble is that manufacturers used as little gold as possible to keep their margins down, even when making very old TVs. This means that you will only be able to pull a very small amount of gold out of any TV.
The process of removing all the other parts from your TV to get to the gold is really time-consuming and can involve the use of harmful chemicals like acids. You are much better off just recycling the TV if it no longer works or giving it away to someone who might be able to use it if it still works. There is no reason to think that a major amount of gold is hiding in any TV that you have in your home.
Each ton of electronic scrap usually has only about 12 ounces of gold. This should tell you just how much work it would be to extract an almost meaningless amount of gold from your old TV and its parts. Most televisions use only trace amounts of gold or gold plating as well, which reduces the value of every part that has gold in it.
Computers have only marginally more gold in them than old TVs, so this is also not a great bet for making money off your old electronics. Most of these items have more value for their parts than for the precious metals they might contain.
Old TVs Have a Small Amount of Gold in Them
Old TVs do have a small amount of gold in them, but it is not enough to make it worth you parting out your TV. You will want to just be sure that you recycle your TV correctly so that you are not harming the environment. These are the kinds of items that often linger in landfills and are damaging to the groundwater and habitats of many animals. Even if your TV does not have a lot of gold in it, please do be sure that you give it away or take it to a proper recycling center for disposal.
This article was last updated on January 19, 2023 .
