Many Cashing In On High Gold Prices

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Gold closed at $1,399.10 on Wednesday, just 90 cents below $1,400 and $10 less than Tuesday's record high. And with prices like that, how many people are cashing in?

The answer is plenty.

It's hard to miss the Gold Guys TV ads. But if she did, Kelly Cunningham got a bit of a push.

"My mom told me that she just came a couple weeks ago," said Cunningham. "And she got a pretty good penny for all her old stuff, so I gathered up mine and now I have some extra cash for the holidays."

In fact, it's a family affair. Her 5-month-old son is a little young to cash in, but Cunningham's father and sister did.

"So, we all have extra money for the holidays," she said.

And they have plenty of company.

The Gold Guys stores have been open for two years, and with prices going higher and higher, they keep getting busier and busier.

"When we opened our doors ... gold was $750 an ounce," said co-owner Joe Beasy, "And now it's $1400. If you're not paying attention to that now, when are you going to pay attention to it?"

It's the same story at pawn shops, which have a long tradition of trading gold for money.

"It's just been go, go, go, go," said Elliott Laughlin, who works at Max It Pawn in Crystal.

In fact, the company is planning to open an extra store in Minneapolis to deal with the traffic.

Laughlin said they've seen a lot of 20- and 30-year-old jewelry, for one obvious reason.

"Gold was $300 or $400 or $500 an ounce then. Now you're at $1500, people are getting more than what they paid for it that long ago," he said.