No doubt, it takes a load of chutzpah for Cash4Gold to horn in on both the National Hockey League’s and National Basketball Association’s championship seasons by:

- Appraising the Stanley Cup at a “melt value” of $7,500, based on photographic examination and an assumption that it’s made of solid silver. (Obviously, not only did the company not get a hands-on chance to examine hockey’s most hallowed hardware, but it also didn’t bother to do basic research via the Hockey Hall of Fame, which clearly specs the Cup as 34.5 pounds of silver-and-nickel alloy.)

- Similarly valuing the Tiffany-made silver-and-gold Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy at $3,500 in melted form.

Probably the first time in a long while that the NBA came in second to the NHL in terms of financial valuation. At least both leagues know where they could liquefy their fancy assets for some quick cash, should the bottom ever fall out of sports entertainment…

Given these shoddy appraisal methods, I’m not sure I’d trust C4G to give me a fair price for my cast-off jewelry. Still, I’ll admit that they made a decent attempt at manufacturing a little marketing buzz, with a natural synergy between the big-league shiny prizes and the precious-metal salvage game.