mystery silver rock 4 jewelers cannot ID

[RayHeezy]

So first off let me apologize for the rough pics, I still use an old school phone :S

I use a Tracker II by Bounty Hunter, it is by no means an awesome detector but it does have minimum features such as Tone, Disc., and Sensitivity. So while messing around in my yard using Tone, I get a high pitch. This little mystery came out of about a 4" hole.


Now for the interesting part, I have taken it to 4 different gold/silver stores and had them do their own acid tests, and stare at it through the magnifying glass for 25 minutes just to tell me in a very puzzled way they have no idea what it is. 2 have said it is not a precious metal. I have gotten a few different possibilities but can rule out 2 right away.
Melted Aluminum - In pictures ive seen these are usually smooth in texture
Iron Pyrite - Iron would come up as a low tone on my tone mode, and iron wouldn't even sound on max disc. The rock however does high tone on both.

There was no discoloration to the dirt surrounding the rock. When using a metal file the rock is extremely shiny. The dust it creates is light grey/silver in color and shiny.
I will attempt to upload some better pictures tomorrow after work.

 

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[ohiowhiteguy]

could you take better pictures...try putting them on a solid color surface..
those are cool...
someone on here should know...
OWG...

 

[RayHeezy]

I will try getting some High-def pics up tomorrow for sure, but heres 2 more against my black mousepad.


As for a location reference, im in the tri-state area of PA, DE, and NJ

 

[ohiowhiteguy]

are they kinda heavy? I'm thinking they might be pewter..
i found a larger piece before and it looks similar to me..
good luck and happy hunting...
OWG..

 

[RayHeezy]

its about the weight of 2 pennies. would pewter show up as a high tone on a MD though? also is pewter usually shiny when filed?

 

[ohiowhiteguy]

have you tried putting a magnet to it? if so what happened...
owg...

 

[RayHeezy]

A magnet test failed, it is not magnetic at all.

 

[taz42o]

You can do a specific gravity test. I would use thread instead of a paper clip.

Quick Test Method for Determining Specific Gravity of Mineral Specimens

Solids and Metals - Specific Gravities

 

[GatorBoy]

Looks like melted aluminum like a can in a campfire type thing

 

[RayHeezy]

Hey all! Thanks for the suggestions and taking time to look at the thread, but its still a mystery to me. My scale isn't good enough to do the specific gravity test or I would! Great idea though and I bookmarked the site for future use
I feel like it could possibly be pewter but I have no experience in that at all and any research I've attempted has been in vain/
but here are some more descriptive pictures, as always any help/advice would be great!

 

[GatorBoy]

What makes you think it's not melted tin or aluminum?

 

[GatorBoy]

Here's a big piece of aluminum specific gravity

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

My guess is melted aluminum or some type of slag.

 

[GatorBoy]

Agreed

 

[Sentrom]

I am curious. You say you brought it to four different jewelers. Each jeweler ran acid tests on the specimen. Two claimed it was not a precious metal which leads me to believe that the other two jewelers test came back positive. What were the results of the two that were positive?

 

[RayHeezy]

One the jeweler did not run the acid test on but merely stared at it for a solid 15 minutes under different types of magnifying glasses and told me she thought it could be sterling silver that was melted then met an ill fated attempt at a forge.
She told me to take it around to corner to another place down the street and mention that she sent me and what she had told me about it.
After showing it to the second jeweler she put the acid droplets right on the rock, rather than doing the scratch test like the previous had, then washed it off with water and examined it. She told me she thinks it could be silver because there seemed to be a feint whiteness to it but I would have to file down the middle of it and bring it back.
With that being said I don't know much about acid tests and don't really hand the funds to go get a play kit and learn it all, but I have not had a chance to take a dremel to it
or a file for that matter.
I will try to do the specific gravity test on a work scale tomorrow. but no promises as the accuracy of those things varies so much :S

 

[GatorBoy]

Here's an easy acid test for you.. Drip a little muriatic acid(pool acid) on it.. If it has any kind of reaction its not silver

 

[GatorBoy]

You say this just came out of your yard ...does your house happen to sit on some sort of property that would make you think some historical metal forging was going on? Or is it way more likely that it's a piece of melted tin can or aluminum something much more logical?

 

[Sentrom]

Perhaps finding a jeweler with knowledge of metals would be your next move.

You have a rock or some melted metal, grayish silver in color. This leads to four possibilities.

1. White gold, an alloy of gold or a gold compound.
2. Silver
3. Platinum
4. A non-magnetic, non-precious metal.

At the two who did a scratch test, how many tests did they perform and what were they testing for?

The third who tested for silver and washed it before looking at the results you said showed a hint of white. Sterling would turn the spot a creamy white color. The only reason I can think of to why she would want a grove cut into the rock is to make sure it wasn’t plated.

 

[RayHeezy]

Ive attempted to find out where my house sits in historical reference but to no avail. Im in a suburb city that has been changed a million times haha.
I don't think its a gold compound as gold usually rings up as a low tone on my MD (yes how awesome to have to dig all strong low tones >.>). The two jewelers who scratch tested it attempted a magnet first and then just one acid droplet, I can only assume for silver.
But the last one who put the acid straight on it said she noticed a hint of white. Would the creamy white spot remain there after water had been run over it? I was slightly confused as to why she dropped it straight on there and then ran it under water immediately.