1oz Silver Ingot Underwater, Sterling ring, 2 wheats and a Hair Tonic Bottle

[RatherBeDigging]

I zeroed in on this place because of the Victorian bridge and ability to get into the water easily. Well I have yet to find anything actually Victorian. But did score a brass buckle, a 1930s hair tonic bottle, a 925 ring (diamond is fake), bunch of clad, fishing lures, fishing weights ( I like the two home made ones) and what believe it or not is a 1oz silver ingot! Was in about a foot of water with strong current. Not easy to swing a detector. High tone maxed out at 38 on the equinox. But then jumped to iron. Hmmm. I was intrigued and tired of digging clad so I gave it a shot. Iron ended up being a bolt from the bridge. But the high tone stayed and jumped between 33 and 36. Out came a non discript bar of a heavy metal. Pretty pitted from knocking around the waterway in the rocks and gravel for who knows how long. Absolutely no signs of markings. But a few science experiments confirmed it's silver. I was a physics major in college so without a proper test kit this is what I came up with. It weights just over 1 oz, tarnishes almost instantly if you put a dot of bleach on it, melts ice really fast a room temperature and displays paramagnetic behavior. So we have a highly thermally conductive metal, non magnetic but displays paramagnetic properties, weak magnetic attraction in strong magnetic fields ( I slid bar down a 295 pound pull neodymium magnet and it slides very slowly) and it oxidizes really fast in the presence of sodium hypochlorite. Seems like silver to me. Have no idea how it got there but I'm going with Victorian carriage robbery Haha.

 

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[Lenrac2]

Congrats! That ingot is a great find! I really love the old fishing weights too!

 

[pepperj]

Well done on the recoveries of the silver ring and ingot.

Another test for silver is to rub your finger on the piece, should leave a dark stain on the skin, and smell like sulphur.
Another is to just wet-wrap it in tin foil, should heat up right quick and stink like rotten egg farts real quick.

 

[RatherBeDigging]

Would really love to know how it got there. Going back today to look for the rest of the bars and maybe a gold one Haha. That'd be a major find a pile of silver ingots. It's kind of a hike and I'm working 4 to midnight now so if I go anywhere farther away b4 work it's a Monday when I can go to bed early Sunday.

 

[Hunk-a-lead]

cool finds, amazing to get a silver ingot, way to go!

 

[oldmxrat]

That's a great score, congrats!

 

[Digger RJ]

Very Nice!!! Congrats!!! Cool science idea!

 

[Corvus]

The silver bar may have been originally in a bezel frame and worn as a pendant. I found a 1oz round with the same on a sterling chain - for Weight Watchers.

 

[RatherBeDigging]

Thanks everyone. Was not expecting it at all. Melts ice faster than a 90% silver quarter so it maybe a higher purity though I'd have get the acid test kit to be sure. Went back yesterday. Sadly no silver bar spill. The usual clad, lead fishing weights and bullet fragments but found a nice brass buckle. Miles of creek to cover so I've got a lot of ground to walk. Especially near the older home sites.

 

[crashbandicoot]

That,s just too dang cool!!!

 

[crashbandicoot]

Well done on the recoveries of the silver ring and ingot.

Another test for silver is to rub your finger on the piece, should leave a dark stain on the skin, and smell like sulphur.
Another is to just wet-wrap it in tin foil, should heat up right quick and stink like rotten egg farts real quick.

pepperj,rotten egg farts?Really?

 

[ajaj]

Nice finds, but a simple silver acid test would confirm or deny.

aj

 

[RatherBeDigging]

Yes. Still plan on getting a tester. No magnet, ice cube or bleach will tell me what the purity is.

 

[islamoradamark]

thats a good spot nice finds

 

[RatherBeDigging]

thats a good spot

It is. Because it flooded a week ago and something incredible happened there yesterday. Queue suspenseful music. Will be a new post though.