Ceramic IC — gold lid + gold legs

White ceramic body + yellow gold lid + gold legs — all three. Purple CERDIP with tin-dipped legs is a tier down. Black-top ceramic is a tier down. If the 'gold' lid is silvery it's a solder-sealed lid, lower again.

Au 3–8 g/lb wholeAg 0.5–3 g/lbBase Kovar

eBay typical$500–650per lb

Refiner pays$350per lb

Metal in it$656per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencemedof the yield figures

How to spot it

Side-brazed ceramic DIP or flatpack: white/tan alumina, gold-plated Kovar lid, gold legs, gold braze pads on the sides. Markings scream military and industrial — MIL-STD-883, JAN, M38510, SMD drawing numbers, /B or /883B suffixes, 70s–80s logos from AMD, National, Fairchild, Harris, RCA, Signetics, TI.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Gold	3–8 g/lb whole	lids alone run 2.4–7.8 wt% gold
Silver	0.5–3 g/lb	seal braze
Base metal	Kovar, alumina

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $656 per pound of contained metal — Gold 5 g = $653, Silver 1.5 g = $2.85. A refiner paying $350 returns about 53% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Preheat 250–280 °C / hot air 350–380 °C

Preheat the board to 250–280 °C and pull with pliers, or hot air at 350–380 °C. Sell whole. Prying lids off only makes sense at volume with a buyer who wants lids specifically.

Hazards

☠ Lead — dust more than fume

NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.

Before you scrap it

Vintage logic and CPUs in ceramic are often worth far more to collectors than to a refiner. Check the part number — 8080s, 6502s, early AMD and military parts have real money in them.

The common trap

A widely circulated figure of 0.5 g recoverable gold per 5 g CERDIP implies 10% gold by weight — implausible; treat it as a typo. Most gold-coloured lids are gold-plated Kovar carrying milligrams, not gold-brazed.

Questions

How much gold is in ceramic ic — gold lid + gold legs?

Gold: 3–8 g/lb whole. Silver: 0.5–3 g/lb. At current spot that is about $656 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify ceramic ic — gold lid + gold legs?

White ceramic body + yellow gold lid + gold legs — all three. Purple CERDIP with tin-dipped legs is a tier down. Black-top ceramic is a tier down. If the 'gold' lid is silvery it's a solder-sealed lid, lower again.

How do you remove ceramic ic — gold lid + gold legs safely?

Preheat the board to 250–280 °C and pull with pliers, or hot air at 350–380 °C. Sell whole. Prying lids off only makes sense at volume with a buyer who wants lids specifically.

Is ceramic ic — gold lid + gold legs worth more working than as scrap?

Vintage logic and CPUs in ceramic are often worth far more to collectors than to a refiner. Check the part number — 8080s, 6502s, early AMD and military parts have real money in them.

Related in ICs & chips

Gold flat packs (military / aerospace) ICs & chips · $400–900/lb Au 3–10 g/lbAg 1–4 g/lb S Thick-Film Hybrid Microcircuits ICs & chips · $15–90/lb Au 1.5–4 g/lb packaged; 5–10 g/lb stripped substratesAg 0–15 g/lb on Ag/Pd conductor variantsPd present in Ag/Pd pastes S BGA with gold tab / gold-corner BGA ICs & chips · $60–110/lb Au 1.0–2.0 g/lbAg 0.3–1 g/lb A Ceramic BGA / CCGA ICs & chips · $120–250/lb Au 1–3 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lbBase alumina A Ceramic CCD/CIS Image Sensors ICs & chips · $150–400/lb Au 0.02–0.15 g per ceramic package ≈ 1.8 g/lbAu under 0.001 g per mobile/webcam moduleBase Nd-Fe-B in VCM actuators A Ceramic IC — gold legs OR gold lid (not both) ICs & chips · $200–400/lb Au 1.0–2.5 g/lbAg 0.5–2 g/lb A

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