With gold fetching a high price at the moment, unscrupulous dealers are looking for bargains at the expense of gullible members of the public. Many people are going through their jewellery boxes to see if they can find anything to sell off in the current climate of ever-increasing gold prices, and adverts saying "Top prices paid for old gold" can be seen everywhere.- All too frequently however, the price paid way below the real value.
 
The Neue Zuger Zeitung conducted an enquiry of its own. Last Friday, two dealers went round Menzingen on the look-out for gold. Three rings, gold teeth fillings and a small clock were offered for sale and their value estimated, with CHF 260 offered for the lot. The items were subsequently inspected by the goldsmith and artist Urs Bischof who valued the items himself at CHF 757 - more than three times the some offered by the rogue dealers who are currently scouring the area. "The best advice is to take the items to a specialist you can trust," said Bischof, " if you want to be sure of getting a fair price."