Drawn to true relative scale — the variants above are directly size-comparable.
Pogo Pins & Spring-Loaded Test Probes
Push the plunger in and let it out — a live springy probe with an unworn deep-yellow barrel is worth more sold than melted; one worn through to grey nickel or missing its spring is scrap and nothing else.
How to spot it
Miniature telescoping barrel 5–35 mm long and 0.5–3.4 mm diameter with a spring-loaded plunger and a crown, spear, chisel, flat or conical tip, usually paired with an unsprung press-fit receptacle. Deep yellow-gold overall; series codes such as 100-PRP-, S-1-, P50-B1, 0.68 mm and 1.02 mm appear on packaging rather than the pin. Densest source by far is bed-of-nails ICT/FCT fixtures holding 200–3,000 probes each.
Metal content
| Metal | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1.4–3.0 g/lb | 0.7–1.5 mg per probe, 20–50 µin hard Au-Co over ~0.5–1.0 cm²; near the peer-reviewed 3.58 g/lb fully-plated ceiling |
| Copper | ~330 g/lb | Cu-Be plunger and barrel, Be 0.4–2% |
| Base metal | steel springs, ~15% of mass | Remove them or they cut assayed grade 15–20% |
At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $265 per pound of contained metal — Gold 2 g = $261, Copper 330 g = $3.53. A refiner paying $270 returns about 102% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.
Safe removal
Working temperature: No heat — mechanical extraction only
Pull probes straight out of their receptacles by hand or with an extraction tool, then push the receptacles out of the drilled plate from the back with a pin punch; inverting and tapping the plate works in bulk. Springs come out by pulling the plunger past its stop. Do not drill, mill or sand the plate — that is the beryllium-generating step.
Hazards
NEVER put BeCu in a grinder, a sandblaster, or a melt.
NEVER dry-cut boards indoors without extraction.
NEVER dry sweep or use compressed air on a scrapping bench. HEPA-vac or wet-wipe only.
Before you scrap it
The common trap
Questions
How much gold is in pogo pins & spring-loaded test probes?
Gold: 1.4–3.0 g/lb. Copper: ~330 g/lb. At current spot that is about $265 of contained metal per pound.
How do you identify pogo pins & spring-loaded test probes?
Push the plunger in and let it out — a live springy probe with an unworn deep-yellow barrel is worth more sold than melted ; one worn through to grey nickel or missing its spring is scrap and nothing else.
How do you remove pogo pins & spring-loaded test probes safely?
Pull probes straight out of their receptacles by hand or with an extraction tool, then push the receptacles out of the drilled plate from the back with a pin punch; inverting and tapping the plate works in bulk. Springs come out by pulling the plunger past its stop. Do not drill, mill or sand the plate — that is the beryllium-generating step.
Is pogo pins & spring-loaded test probes worth more working than as scrap?
Roughly break-even with scrap — unusual on this list. 2,000 branded ATE probes at $0.25 each is $500 against $171–376 scrap, so resale wins if they are a common series in good condition. Best play is to sell the bed-of-nails fixture whole at $50–500 rather than harvesting it.
Related in Contacts & relays
Get this offline → The full guide runs in your browser with no signal, and you can add your own photos.