Most pawn shops generally do not accept gold-plated, gold-filled, or vermeil jewelry (including 14k gold-plated items) because the actual precious metal content is microscopically thin and holds virtually no salvageable melt value. Gold plating consists of an extremely thin microscopic layer of 14K gold bonded over a base metal core like brass or copper. Since pawn shops evaluate items based on precious metal weight and purity for resale or melting, gold-plated pieces offer negligible return value, leading most pawnbrokers to decline them.