San Diego's Gold Refinery Is Running at Full Tilt as Gold Crosses $5,000 Per Ounce

On a weekday afternoon in February, General Manager Josh Morelock was feeding gold rings, bracelets, coins, and chains into an induction furnace running at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit at Gold Refinery of San Diego's Mission Gorge Road facility. Whatever those pieces had once meant to their owners, at that moment they were worth their weight in gold — and gold had never been worth more.

A Historic Moment for Precious Metals

Gold crossed $5,000 per ounce in January 2026 — a price point that would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago. Silver hit a record of approximately $120 per ounce the same month. By late February, gold was trading around $5,150 and silver had settled near $88 per ounce. Analysts point to sustained inflation, aggressive purchasing by central banks, and deepening geopolitical uncertainty as the structural drivers behind the move — not a temporary spike, but a fundamental reassessment of how institutions and individuals view hard assets.

For Gold Refinery of San Diego, the impact has been immediate and dramatic. Owner Carmine Mannino has been in the precious metals business for over 20 years, and he says this moment is unlike anything he has seen before.

Clients aren't just selling a ring or a few coins anymore. They're bringing in entire collections. The reasoning, as Mannino describes it: "It's just time to sell it all and really cash in and take advantage of these all-time highs." People are watching the news, seeing gold at $5,000, and deciding this is the moment.

What Happens When You Sell to a Refinery

Gold Refinery of San Diego occupies a specific and important position in the precious metals chain. By coming directly to a refinery, sellers skip middlemen — and the difference in payout can be significant.

The facility on Mission Gorge Road blends into its strip mall. Inside, a brightly lit buying office displays live spot prices for precious metals. Private transaction rooms offer sellers a no-pressure environment. Every transaction is transparent: gold is tested and weighed in front of the seller, and an offer is made at up to 99% of market price. No obligation, cash on the spot.

The Smelting Process: What Really Happens to Your Gold

For many sellers, there's an assumption that their jewelry or coins will end up displayed in someone else's case. The reality is more industrial. "We melt it down. It gets destroyed," Mannino said plainly.

In the smelting room — on site — Josh Morelock loads gold items into the induction furnace. Several minutes later, he pours the molten liquid into a mold. Once cool, each bar is weighed and tested for purity. On a single February afternoon, three bars came out of that room worth approximately $369,000.

The process is efficient, precise, and runs continuously. "Once the smelter gets up to temperature, we can feed in as much gold as we want," Mannino noted. To handle the current surge, he has doubled both the number of refining sessions per month and the volume of each session.

Why Gold Refinery of San Diego Stayed Open During the Silver Freeze

The surge in precious metals demand has created a significant bottleneck across the industry. Larger refineries have slowed intake, extended turnaround times from days to weeks, and in some cases paused shipments entirely. This has created cash flow challenges for pawn shops, jewelers, and coin dealers who are buying more inventory than ever but struggling to offload it quickly.

Gold Refinery of San Diego took the opposite approach. In November 2025, when many refineries across the country paused or restricted silver purchases — a period that became widely known in the trade as the "Silver Freeze" — Mannino issued a public statement confirming the refinery remained fully open, buying silver coins, bars, sterling flatware, and sterling tableware at competitive market prices with same-day payouts. The statement was picked up by major financial news outlets including Barchart and the Globe and Mail.

That same posture has continued into 2026. While competitors face backlogs, Gold Refinery of San Diego has scaled up. "We are receiving a lot of new onboarding requests from pawn shops, coin dealers, and jewelers," Mannino wrote. "It doesn't take much extra time for us to process more volume."

3 Tips for Selling Gold and Silver in Today's Market

Based on over 20 years in the industry, Carmine Mannino offers straightforward guidance for anyone looking to sell in the current environment:

1. 1

   Shop around before you sell. Get several quotes from different buyers before committing. Payouts can vary dramatically between a pawn shop, a jewelry store, and a refinery.

2. 2

   If you can meet the minimum, sell to a refinery. "If you are able to meet the minimum and go to a refinery, you're skipping the middleman and you're going to absolutely get the most money." Our minimums are ½ oz net gold or 50 oz net silver.

3. 3

   Consider your personal situation, not just the market. If you have gold or silver you're not using, and you need the cash for something important, the current all-time highs may be a compelling reason to act. Nobody can time the top perfectly.

The Outlook: Is Now the Right Time?

Mannino, even after 20 years in the business, is a self-described believer. He is buying and holding gold at today's prices. "I'm in the gold business because I love gold," he said. "I want to own gold. I like buying gold. I like silver. I am willing to take the risk and hope for the best." He has learned to ride the cycles: "If you have a bad year, it'll be OK because the next year will be a good one."

For sellers, the calculus is simpler. Gold jewelry that isn't being worn, coins sitting in a drawer, silver flatware inherited but never used — at today's prices, those items have real, significant cash value. The window may not stay open indefinitely.