found this detecting

1637

Bronze Member
May 26, 2011
1,792
2,458
tujunga ca
Detector(s) used
xlt mxt gmz and now a gmt whites
any guesses on what is it make of? stones? how old?
thanks brad IMG_20190504_125304 (1).jpg
 

Last edited:
The stone looks like amethyst
 

Upvote 0
Have no idea but I like it. Looks like the stone might be set in silver. Nice find. Congrats
 

Upvote 0
It's Made in India. Silver, amethyst and "marcasite". The little stones are faceted pyrite (marcasite). When new, the marcasite is really shiny. Yours are oxidized from being in the ground.
 

Upvote 0
What Kray said, often called "Black Diamond". Misnomer extraordinaire!
 

Last edited:
Upvote 0
age? cost?
thanks brad

Well Brad, when I used to buy that stuff from India ( to resell ) 10+ years ago, a piece like yours cost me around $5. Of course, it was nice and shiny, and I would sell it for around $20. Age on yours is probably 1 to 20 years if I had to guess. It's really impossible to clean up, with the marcasite, so I would scrap it. A couple dollars, maybe. Good luck. The amethyst is pretty, but it is low grade and valueless, unfortunately. You could try buffing it up a bit, and give it away, but those marcasite are usually glued on, and have a tendency to fall off when buffing.
 

Upvote 0
I'm sure Papa's right! But it just occurred to me that this looks like a mourning pin. Have you looked for hall marks? Resembles silver.
 

Upvote 0

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top