HELP! very large silver colored nugget.

[JoshuaG]

Found this inside a rock i smashed open awhile back. I have know idea what it is and kinda joined this place to find out. any help would be excellent. found it by a river in a mountainous region of washington. before i cleaned it up there were tiny little garnet looking crystals in a few areas. so tiny though you needed magnification to see them. its not magnetic. its not real heavy. and i couldnt melt it with a torch. dont even think it got red hot.

It would be a little smaller than a golf ball if you were to compress it some how. i believe i recall it weighing around 16 grams give or take. dont quote me on that though. hasnt tarnished since i got it. and i have handled it allot. little bits of blueish stone in a few areas still. ANY help would be greatly appreciated. im new so hello to everyone and thanks for checking it out.

 

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[Dixiegal]

If its lightweight its definitely not silver. Garnets are found in areas where there is gold and silver but not in gold or silver. Definitely puzzling. I would say take it to the Univ of Washington except they will steal it. My fiancee' has already been there and got that Tee shirt. Show it to a geologist if you can find one.

 

[JoshuaG]

yeah i thought about removing just a piece and sending it somewhere for fear of it being LOST or what have you. thanks for the help.

 

[the nuggeteer]

Were I'm from there is a gold buyer that xrf scans gold or silver so he doesn't hip himself but for 5 bucks will scan anything. Now an xrf which stands for x ray florescent scanner is not as good as an assay by any means and can show minor erroneous elements but will give you a lot better idea of it major elements. Should be good for silver, gold, copper, iron, tungston, lead anyway good luck. Call up gold dealers and ask if they have an xrf

 

[steelheadwill]

A golf ball at 16 grams is very light.
First thing I would do is hit one of those smooth areas with a small file to see if it is metallic or a vitreous glaze.
(of course you may be damaging a rare and valuable specimen, Just saying what I would do)
A $15 precious metal test kit will tell you if there are any significant amounts of metallic silver or gold, (search the online auctions to get one)
and you'll be ready for the next time you are wondering 'Is it gold? is it Silver?'
your statement 'i couldnt melt it with a torch. dont even think it got red hot' sounds like stone rather than metal, though it would depend
on your torch and the amount of time you heated it.
Neat looking piece,
Being found 'Inside a rock' is rather strange....
what made you smash open the rock?
I'll assume it was giving you a signal on your MD.
Keep us posted, HH, Herbie