Artifact question?

[HistoricEvidence]

Hello to all my question is can a gold artifact break or shatter easily if its been in the water for many years? We were at a beach looking for items to start a saltwater aquarium digging in sand about knee deep in the water and my buddy found a circle piece it looked like a medalion or a disk it was encusted but you could see in a few parts of it the top right had an octopus also it had what looked like a tear drop the visible parts had like a copper shine maybe gold but when he flexed it it shattered into pieces and he threw it back in the water.

 

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[Cablava]

Gold does not change, what you see now is what they saw all those years ago.

Shame he threw it back though, just cause it is not gold does not mean it is not treasure.

 

[CaribbeanDiver]

Bring your buddy to our house for a group beating...

Makes me shudder

 

[Michigan Badger]

Gold can take on a sort of ultra thin surface patina after being buried for say 100 years in mineralized soil. It can also attract encrustation and rust from the ocean floor. But, it wouldn't do what you described.

Your friend most likely found a gold plated object. However, these can be very old. In fact, even the ancients coated inferior metals with gold and silver. The process they used remains a mystery to this day.

The next time your friend finds something like that in the ocean, drop it into a box and mail it to me Those of us who absolutely love the ocean will do some serious bartering for such items regardless of condition. People who live on or near the ocean don't realize that most people never see an ocean first hand.

 

[HistoricEvidence]

Its to bad my friend was so stupid thanks for your replies it may have come from that Jupiter wreck off jupiter inlet even though thats about 2 miles south of where this was found.