scrap rate
n.— «Warner said she has even customers asking her to appraise a roll of nickels for the metal content. But because most dealers pay for what is known as the scrap rate of the day, would-be sellers might not be making quite the pretty penny they thought at first. “If you paid $200, say, for a wedding band, you’re not going to come and get $200 for it,” Warner said. “When they come in to sell it for scrap, basically, we’re paying them only for either the silver or the gold content—not the craftsmanship.”» —“Gold rush?” by Doug Howard Herald Journal (Monticello, Indiana) Mar. 15, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
When there’s no evening meal planned at home, what do you call that scramble to cobble together your own dinner? Some people apply acronyms like YOYO — “you’re on your own” — or CORN, for “Clean Out your Refrigerator...
A librarian opens a book and finds a mysterious invitation scribbled on the back of a business card. Another discovers a child’s letter to the Tooth Fairy, tucked into a book decades ago. What stories are left untold by these forgotten...