With gold soaring to record highs in recent weeks, many cash-strapped packrats have had the same thought: Grandma's old gold teeth might have some value after all.

Gold crowns, wedding rings and broken chains, are flooding into Temple pawn and jewelry shops, traded by those who are emptying junk drawers and parting with heirlooms in an effort to trade old gold for some fresh green.

Johnny Lastovica said in his 35 years at Lastovica Fine Jewelers of Temple, he's never seen anything like it. On average, three to eight people a day come into his Temple shop clutching treasures for trade.