[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township
of Franklin 12-28-2011 by Ord. No. O-19-2011. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
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:
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.
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.
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 Township of Franklin 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; fineness in terms of karats for gold, and sterling
for coin or 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 or the officer in charge for the Township of Franklin, within two days from the date of purchase, on a form approved by the Township of Franklin, the information contained in Subsection A above, plus the following:
(1)
A physical description of the seller.
(2)
The receipt number.
(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 or officer in charge of the Township of Franklin or
his designated representative for a period of seven days from the
date the information required above is received by the Chief of Police
or officer in charge 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 seven-day
period has expired. During this seven-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 officer in charge or Chief of Police or his representative
in order that it may be photographed and, if deemed necessary by the
officer in charge or Chief of Police or his designated representative,
an investigation be implemented. The Chief of Police, officer in charge
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 open to investigation by the Township of Franklin Police Department.
No merchant within the Township of Franklin 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 same shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed
for the violation of this chapter.
