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Record gold prices are giving a new purpose to old dental bridges and crowns. People are turning them in for cash, along with orphaned earrings, clunky old necklaces and rings they no longer wear.

The cash-for-gold craze has become so popular that Loree Ramona has witnessed residents whipping out their old dentures at "gold parties" that her company organizes. She's even coming prepared with the tools that cater to such transactions.

"I just take a hammer and knock out the teeth," said Ramona, of Sacramento-based All That Glitters Gold Recycling, which bought gold at two parties in San Jose last month. "The way the economy is, people are trying any way they can to get extra money."

Soaring prices for gold over the past several years -- hitting an all-time high of more than $1,800 an ounce in August -- have sparked a rash of new companies that buy gold from the public. From kiosks at the mall to gold parties in private homes to firms that do business in hotel suites from city to city, a brisk trade has popped up in swapping gold jewelry for cash. Some companies urge you to mail them your gold and say they will send you a check, but at least one Better Business Bureau has warned potential customers to be leery of that option....READMORE