The title of this chapter shall be "Precious Metal Merchants'
Responsibilities and Requirements."
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
MERCHANT
One who purchases precious metals from the public and sells
or otherwise exchanges or trades the precious metals to refiners or
brokers or makes appraisals of the precious metals or otherwise conveys,
melts down or alters said precious metals in any form.
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold, silver, platinum and their alloys as defined in N.J.S.A.
51:5-1 et seq. and N.J.S.A. 51:6-1 et seq.
PURCHASE
Not only the exchange of money for precious metals but the
exchange or trading of any other tangible or intangible property for
precious metals.
Every merchant within the Borough of Clayton shall, upon the
purchase of any precious metals from the public, be required to do
as follows:
A. Record on a numbered receipt the name, address and telephone number
of the purchaser; the name, address and telephone number of the seller
or sellers; the time and date of the transaction; the net weight in
terms of pounds Troy, pennyweight (Troy) or kilograms/grams of the
precious metals; and fineness in terms of karats for gold, and sterling
or coin for silver, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 51:5-1 et seq. and
N.J.S.A. 51:6-1 et seq.
B. Supply to the Chief of Police of the Borough of Clayton, within two days from the date of purchase, on a form approved by the Borough of Clayton, the information contained in Subsection
A above, plus the following:
(1) A physical description of the seller.
(3) A full description of the item or items purchased, including, but
not limited to, marks, numbers, dates, sizes, shapes, initials and
monograms.
(4) The price paid for the item.
(5) The form must be signed by the seller and initialed by the clerk
who made the transaction.
C. The precious metals are to be made available for inspection by the
Chief of Police of the Borough of Clayton or his designated representative
for a period of five days from the date the information required above
is received by the Chief of Police on the approved form. The precious
metals shall remain in the same condition as when purchased and shall
not be changed, modified, melted or disposed of by the purchaser until
the five-day period has expired. During this five-day period, the
precious metals shall be placed in public view at the purchaser's
place of business. If the property is such that it would create a
hardship on the merchant by holding the precious metals for such period,
the merchant may present the property to the Chief of Police or his
representative in order that it may be photographed and, if deemed
necessary by the Chief of Police or his designated representative, an
investigation be implemented. The Chief of Police or his designated
representative has the authority to grant the merchant a waiver of
the requirement under this section.
This chapter shall not apply to purchases made by jewelers or
other merchants from wholesalers or other suppliers, but shall only
apply to those purchases made from the public or other retail purchases.
The merchant shall keep records of all wholesale purchases for a period
of six months from the date of such purchase, which records shall
be opened to investigation by the Borough of Clayton Police Department.
No merchant within the Borough of Clayton shall purchase any
precious metals from any person under the age of 18 years.
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punished by a minimum fine of $100 or a maximum of $2,000
or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a period
of community service not exceeding 90 days. Each and every violation
shall be considered a separate violation. Any person who is convicted
of violating the provisions of this chapter within one year of the
date of the previous violation and who was fined for the previous
violation may be sentenced by the court to an additional fine as a
repeat offender. The additional fine imposed as a repeat offender
shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine provided
herein, and the same shall be calculated separately from the fine
imposed for the violation of this chapter.