1lb 13oz Silversmith Silver Bar! (I think hehe)

[itzyoboyandrew]

Found this bar at an 1830s house, had been there before (but with a crappy metal detector...) Used my bounty hunter lone star pro today... (still not the best of metal detectors, but it works for my liking.) Found 2 more Ball mason jar lids (found 3 last time...) When i got a "Coin" signal.. Started digging.. and digging... 1ft down later, on the sides of the hole i hit this object, thought it was a can based on the tiny bit i saw. Pulled it out (well pried it out.) And i have this weight i thought, immediately thought lead because it was SO heavy for its size.. So i got home and decided to test it... (Mom said it didnt look like lead.. shes regretting saying that now because of my persistence! "

It passed a bleach tarnish test, acid test (my acid test is weird) and i tried melting it.. I took a lead weight and this thing, put the solder on the lead weight for 45seconds... it melted some off (not alot but it was noticeable..) did 45seconds on the bar, nothing. My dad said try to melt a shaved down part which i did... 45 seconds later... no melting...

I also think this was made by an actual sivlersmith. Why? Well it has a various amount of hammered dents on most sides.. Of varying sizes of hammers (or whatever tool was used.) Like someone was trrying to carve it? or shape it? Even if its not silver, still cool IMO..

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Note: If you have any tests for me to try, ill do them.. im intrigued..

 

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[screwynewy]

Definitely lead

 

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[itzyoboyandrew]

Soldering irons can melt lead.. I compared te results to a lead weight.. It melted the weight some, but not the bar...

 

[Jason in Enid]

Borrow someone's Ace 250 (or better) metal detector. Lead rings up on the low end on my Ace 250 (no higher than a penny signal), while silver rings up on the far right side of the display.

This is completely horrible advice. metal detectors don't have any idea what is under the coil. All they do is read the signal return which is based on composition, surface area and mass. That is why an aluminum can will read the same as coin even though a tiny piece of it will read as foil.

 

[Bass]

Sorry, I'm leaning towards lead. Most people wouldn't leave silver laying around like that these days and surely not over 150 yrs ago.(unless the place burned and they searched for the bar after the fire and couldn't find it). Rub it with your finger or buff it a few times with a rag. If it's silver, you'll know

 

[itzyoboyandrew]

Sorry, I'm leaning towards lead. Most people wouldn't leave silver laying around like that these days and surely not over 150 yrs ago.(unless the place burned and they searched for the bar after the fire and couldn't find it). Rub it with your finger or buff it a few times with a rag. If it's silver, you'll know

Your pushing aside the evidence that is not lead just because of the thought of burring silver...

 

[VacantEyesBass]

You might not know, but I do. If this IS silver, I wont post anything on Tnet for 2 months, how does that sound?

hahaha. that bar may be lead, but this thread is GOLD

 

[Jason in Enid]

I will say that I have dug a LOT of silver over the last 33 years, and I have never seen silver come out of the ground looking like that. It can be perfectly clean, grey, whitish, even black, but I have never seen silver look like your bar.

 

[Bass]

Your pushing aside the evidence that is not lead just because of the thought of burring silver...

Sorry, no harm intended but from way over here it looks more like lead than silver. I truly hope it is silver.

 

[itzyoboyandrew]

I will say that I have dug a LOT of silver over the last 33 years, and I have never seen silver come out of the ground looking like that. It can be perfectly clean, grey, whitish, even black, but I have never seen silver look like your bar.

You cant base something on looks... there are ALOT of metals that look like silver, because there all shiny grey color...

 

[Perses]

Alright, I need to identify this "silver" bar to silence the voices in my head. Could you please do a water displacement test so we could find the density of this thing? Its not that difficult, below is a link with steps:

http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/lessonplans/chapter3/lesson2

Let us know what you find out, until then everything on here is just guestimates.

 

[Nitric]

I think it's kryptonite!

 

[Rawhide]

try the dam test. Throw it off a dam into the water. Let is sink and fade away from my memory. This post actually hurt me and what little respect and intelligence i had left for even read so far into this post lol.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

This is completely horrible advice. metal detectors don't have any idea what is under the coil. All they do is read the signal return which is based on composition, surface area and mass. That is why an aluminum can will read the same as coin even though a tiny piece of it will read as foil

Sorry, you're wrong, yet again. EVERY lead item I tested rings up as a penny or to the left of a penny reading on my display. EVERY silver ring or pendant I tested rings up to the right of a penny signal.

Bottom line, it's lead. Getting this kid's hopes up is a rotten thing to do.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Soldering irons can melt lead

You must have one heck of a soldering iron! LOL!

 

[jerseyben]

Alright, I need to identify this "silver" bar to silence the voices in my head. Could you please do a water displacement test so we could find the density of this thing? Its not that difficult, below is a link with steps:

Finding Volume?The Water Displacement Method | Chapter 3: Density | Middle School Chemistry

Let us know what you find out, until then everything on here is just guestimates.

A density test would be the most conclusive test except for XRF analysis.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Test it with nitric acid and be done with it. All these silly tests mean squat compared to testing it with nitric acid.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Apology to Jason! Just tested a car battery and it rang up as a dime! You're right and I'm wrong.

 

[Perses]

Apology to Jason! Just tested a car battery and it rang up as a dime!

I just tested a 2008 Honda Accord and it rang up as a quarter!

 

[screwynewy]

Here is a video on how to determine the specific gravity of silver. This test should determine whether your chunk of metal is silver or something else. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Bass]

The above is a more precise test but you need a set of scales. If you don't have any, try this. Hold the bar in your hand and using one of the corners try to scratch a piece of white paper. Silver will not leave a mark but lead will