Silver Ingot?

[Charles (Sabre)(Tx)]

I purchased this item from a pawn shop about 5-6 years ago. The owner of the shop told me he thought it was solid silver. The story goes that it was found under and old church that was torn down many years ago. I can't substantiate any of this but I thought maybe someone has seen something like it before.

Here's some info on it:

Weight... 330.78 grams.
Diameter... 2.25 inches
Thickness... 0.5 inch

It looks like it may have been melted down silver that was poured in a drum bung hole to me. It has what looks like threads on its side. The interesting note is 3 crosses stamped in the top. Could this be something of historic value?

I don't know the metal content for sure but I'm certain that maybe since I have the weight and the size I could calculate what a silver round this size should weigh. Anyone seen anything like this before? Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks...Charles (Sabre)(Tx)

 

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[pegleglooker]

I think the guy you want to talk to is Gollum. He has done a lot of research on old silver and gold ( I think ). I'll send him a pm to check out this post...

PLL

 

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[gollum]

Hey Charles,

PLL Asked me to take a look at your silver round. I have never seen any OLD silver or gold bars that look like that.

I don't think Kansasipi is correct about pouring from several crucibles. I have seen lots of silver and gold bars, and NEVER seen the "wafer effect" before. Actually the molds could be made out of adobe, sand, cast iron, and occasionally wood.

I think your round is threaded because from the picture it looks like there are six "wafers" on one side and five on the other. here is your test; take a pencil, and start at the bottom. Put the pencil in a groove, and turn the round. See if it leads the pencil towards the top. I'll bet it does.

My guess would be something more modern (not Spanish). Could be from the 1800s or even the 1900s. No way to tell without metallurgical testing, and I doubt you want to spend that much money. The three crosses make it into an interesting conversation piece. When I was about 14 years old, I melted three of my Grandmother's Sterling Silver Water Glasses in a cast iron skillet on the stove 8) (I can't begin to tell you how bad a beating I got for that), and poured the molten silver into a pan of ice water. It made a round similar to yours. It wasn't as thick, but was about as big as the palm of my hand. If I had poured the silver into a threaded cap of some sort, it would have been identical (except for the three crosses).

Without seeing it in person, it is almost impossible to say anything for 100%, but like I said, I have seen lots of Spanish gold and silver bars. If it had been in the ground for 200-300 years, it would have most likely shown much more mineralization as well.

Best-Mike