BANGOR – As the price of gold topped $1,002 an ounce on the world market, Mainers looking for a quick infusion of cash are rummaging around in their jewelry cases and safety deposit boxes.

The price of gold has soared by 32 percent during the past year, jumping 20 percent just in January. It topped $1,000 for the first time last week on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The huge advance is mainly the result of a weaker dollar and record-high crude oil prices. The dollar fell below 100 yen Thursday for the first time in 12 years and hit another new low against the euro, while oil traded above $110 a barrel, according to The Associated Press.

The weak currency has made gold more attractive because the metal is a hedge against inflation.

Tina of Pittsfield, who asked that her last name be omitted, started looking through her jewelry when she saw the prices going through the roof.

“This was an opportunity for me to get good cash for jewelry that is out of date, broken or that I just didn’t like any more,” she said.

A half-hour search netted her enough gold to take $717 home from a pawnshop.

“This time of year, with gas and oil so high, that money is really coming in handy,” she said.

She’s planning on going back this week with two gold coins she inherited from her father, and she’s bringing her cousin, who is selling her old jewelry.

“I’m taking a gamble that it could go higher,” Tina admitted, “but I’d be stupid not to take advantage of this.”

Although area pawnshops report business is not as brisk as they expected given the high gold prices, plenty of people are bringing in their gold, oftentimes saying they need the money for survival expenses.

“It’s amazing how many people follow these prices,” Lee Ann Shawley of The Money Shop in Newport said. “I am seeing lots of people who are bringing their jewelry in just because the price is so high, not because they need the cash.”

Shawley said an ounce of 24-karat gold was going for $652 last summer. Silver also has risen, she said, up from $6 a troy ounce two years ago to more than $20.

Orlando Frati Sr. of Frati’s Pawn Shop in Bangor, which was founded in 1903 by Frati’s grandfather, said he has been getting wedding rings, gold chains and other jewelry, but many of his customers are disappointed when their gold doesn’t rate the $1,000 payment.

“That’s only for 24-karat gold,” Frati explained this weekend. “We can’t pay that here. We don’t even know what the market will be tomorrow.”

Frati said one woman thought it was a good time to clean out her jewelry box with prices so high, while another customer hocked his wedding ring because he needed to buy heating oil. “A lot of people are living hand to mouth right now,” he said.

“One gal came in a couple of days ago, and I was able to offer her $300 for her necklace. She was quite pleased, since she paid $200 a few years ago,” Frati said.

Al Shell has operated Val Shell’s Pawn Shop in Waterville for 28 years. “We are a traditional pawn shop. We are not here to buy your gold, but to loan you a percentage of its value and you pay about 25 percent interest,” he said.

But that isn’t deterring those from turning in their gold. “We’ve actually been encouraging it with a small ad in the newspaper and word of mouth,” Shell said. “I’ve had several customers say they needed to buy oil, and we do the best we can.”

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