(1) Definitions:

(a) Precious metals. Items of gold, silver, platinum, and their alloys, including, but not limited to, jewelry, but excluding coins and bullion.

(b) Dealer in precious metals. An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other business entity including an itinerant merchant doing business in the City of Philadelphia which purchases or makes appraisals of precious metals and their alloys for resale to refiners, brokers, or the public.

(2) Licenses. No person shall engage in the business of, or be employed as a dealer in precious metals unless he or she first obtains a license from the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

(a) No license shall be issued unless the applicant furnishes the Department with an application setting forth:

(.1) the name, home and business address and telephone number of the dealer in precious metals;

(.2) the exact location(s), if other than the business address of the dealer, where transactions in precious metals are to be conducted;

(.3) the former business address of the dealer for the preceding three years; and

(.4) such other information as the Department may require.

(b) The licensee shall notify the Department, in writing, within seventy-two (72) hours, of any changes in the information supplied to the Department.

(c) The applicant for a license hereunder shall pay an annual license fee of $45.00.[567]

(d) The license shall be prominently displayed on the premises.

(e) All licenses shall be conditioned upon continued compliance with the provisions of this Section.

(f) Employees of a dealer in precious metals purchasing precious metals on the business premises exclusively for their employer shall not be required to obtain a separate license, provided that the employer has a valid dealer's license from the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Any persons exempted from licensing under this subsection shall comply in all other respects with the provisions of this Section.[568]

(3) Weighing Devices. All scales or other devices used by dealers to weigh precious metals must be of a type approved for commercial use in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and must be inspected and sealed by the Bureau of Weights and Measures.

(a) The dealer in precious metals must notify the Department of Licenses and Inspections, Bureau of Weights and Measures whenever a weighing device is moved from one location to another.

(b) All weighing devices shall be so positioned that their indications may be accurately read and the weighing operation observed by the seller.

(4) Price Posting. The dealer shall post a conspicuous sign in proximity to the place where weighings are made quoting the prices offered for the various units and fineness of precious metals.

(5) Records Required. All dealers in precious metals shall maintain records of each transaction in which they purchase precious metals from the public or give a statement of appraisal. Such records shall be retained for a period of two (2) years from the date of the transaction and shall be available at the place of issuance for inspection by Weights and Measures during reasonable working hours. These records shall include:

(a) the date of the transaction;

(b) a description of the precious metal or metals involved in the transaction including:

(.1) net weight in terms pounds Troy, ounces Troy, pennyweight (Troy) or kilograms/grams;

(.2) fineness in terms "karat" for gold and "sterling or coin" for silver;

(c) legal name and address of the purchaser or appraiser;

(d) the seller's name and address;

(e) the seller's motor vehicle operator's number, or Social Security number, or other comparable identification number; and

(f) the seller's left thumbprint.

(6) Compliance with State Law.[569] All dealers in precious metals shall comply with all provisions of applicable state law, in particular the Act of February 24, 1984, Pa. Laws 92, No. 17, as amended (codified at 73 P.S. § 1931 et seq.)

(7) Penalties and Cease Operations Orders. In addition to the penalties provided in Section 9-105, any dealer in precious metals who violates any provisions of this Section shall have his license revoked for ninety (90) days for the first offense and for a period of one (1) year upon each succeeding offense.

(a) During any period of license revocation, the business shall cease operation as a dealer in precious metals. The Department shall issue a Cease Operations Order for the business location of the revoked license in accordance with the same procedures as set out in Section 6-103 of the Health Code, provided that the Cease Operations Order shall identify the prohibited operations and shall state that the applicable license has been revoked for violation(s) of the Code. The Cease Operations Order shall be in force for the full period of any license revocation, and shall set forth this period in the Order. The Department shall not remove any posted Cease Operations Order until the Department is satisfied that all revoked licenses have been restored, or the property interests in the location have changed so that neither the person under a license revocation nor any member of his immediate family retains a pecuniary interest therein.

(b) No new dealer in precious metals license shall be issued for a business location posted with a Cease Operation Order, so long as any person under a license revocation, or any member of such person's immediate family, retains a pecuniary interest in the property at that location.