Know your metal, know your money.

Read it: bright salmon-red, no coating, bends without breaking. Heavy for its size.

Lives in stripped wire, new plumbing pipe, coil offcuts.

Read it: brown or green tarnish, solder or fittings attached, still ≥94% copper.

Lives in old plumbing, water heaters, AC coils.

Read it: copper under a plastic jacket. The thicker the cable, the richer the ratio.

Lives in construction sites, rewiring jobs, decommissions.

Read it: saturated yellow-gold, heavy, non-magnetic. Rings like a bell when struck.

Lives in faucets, valves, fittings, shell casings.

Read it: light, silver-grey, non-magnetic, drawn into clean consistent profiles.

Lives in window frames, doors, blinds, vehicle trim.

Read it: rough, grainy, moulded shapes. Lighter than the hand expects.

Lives in engine parts, gearboxes, cookware.

Read it: bright, rust-free, weakly magnetic at most, smooth to the touch.

Lives in kitchens, sinks, industrial piping, tanks.

Read it: dark grey, startlingly heavy, soft enough to mark with a fingernail.

Lives in batteries, wheel weights, roofing. Handle with care.

Read it: bluish grey; galvanized coatings look dusty; die-cast comes in regular shapes.

Lives in die-cast parts, fittings, galvanized steel.

Read it: grey to rusty, strongly magnetic. HMS 1 runs ≥ 6 mm thick.

Lives in structural steel, tanks, heavy equipment.

Read it: boards, chips, drives, servers. Value swings hard on what is inside.

Lives in IT refresh cycles, offices, data rooms.

Read it: a bit of everything from a clean-out. We sort it, then pay on the ratio.

Lives in demolitions, renovations, shop clean-outs.