oredigger62 Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 It seems as if everything you find raises more questions than answers , so here is a new one for me. My apologies if it has been asked before , i didn't see it in the forums. Polly is the proud owner of her first gold nugget. A little baby thing that weighs 1.0 grams. Anyway , is there a way to tell the quality of raw gold , since it's not a ring thats stamped on the inside ? Thanks in advance for your thoughts. It's been a great time in arizona so far. 3 weeks and we have a house , jobs , a little piece of baby gold , some silver , 2 gold rings , and table overloaded with misc. finds and rocks galore. Just wish they would put out the fires so we could get out to some claims already. My apologies for the crappy pics but took them with my phone . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I think you can have an X-ray anyalysis done on it. It should be able to narrow down the composition and percentages of the metals involved in the nugget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oredigger62 Posted May 19, 2012 Author Share Posted May 19, 2012 Thanks Adam ,she wanted me to use the value calculator to find out how much it was worth , but not knowing K purity it wouldn't work. The info will be useful maybe if we ever find something large , but not on this baby nuggy. Thanks again , now maybe she will leave me alone about it ( LOL ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Oh I see,Actually people buy nuggets normally based on weight then aesthetics more so that purity. Most nuggets contain impurities ( such as silver or Iron ) and thats just a general rule. I sell nuggets on ebay , and that nugget , I would value at todays market between 63.00 to 73.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oredigger62 Posted May 19, 2012 Author Share Posted May 19, 2012 Thanks a million Adam.!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefire Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 You could aways use the streak and acid test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Au Seeker Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 You could aways use the streak and acid test.What Homefire posted is what I would recommend, take Polly's nugget to a jeweler and they should have a simple test kit that consists of a scratch plate and bottles of varied strengths of acid, they will rub the nugget on the plate to create a golden streak and then start with the weakest acid solution and continue with the stronger acid solutions until the streak disappears, each acid solution is label by karat value and the last one that didn't affect the streak will tell you that your nugget has a karat value of between the last 2 acid solutions.You can also buy these same test kits online to be able to do the test yourself, prices start at around $10 for a minimal kit and go up to $75 or more for better jeweler grade kits that actual have test "needles" that have gold tips to confirm your acid solutions are working correctly, you should be able to find a gold testing kit at a good prospecting supply store as well.The acid solutions can be bought separately if you need replacement solution. If you decide to purchase a acid test kit use caution not to get the solutions on your skin, if you do rinse thoroughly with water on the area. There are also electronic gold/precious metal testers that do a good job on determining the purity of your gold and other precious metals but they cost a lot more. http://www.goldtests...e=index&cPath=4 http://www.nationalj...l=MSN Gold_Test Skip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefire Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Don't know what the gold runs in AZ but here in NM it's quite qood. 20-22K for sure.Some locations have a high silver content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oredigger62 Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 Thanks again guys ,I think i will buy a good electronic tester and probably an acid kit as a back up verifier. Seems like that makes the most sense to me... you know boys can never have too many toys ! Thanks again . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Microderm corp manufactures the Beta Ray Backscatter that will do karat analysis. Scratch test with jewelers needles,gold coated pieces of metal showing colorations of differing karats, is as accurate as needed. On big specimens a specific gravity test is usually sufficent but thisn' too small-tons a au 2 u 2 -John PS-nice nugget that would make any miner proud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim mcculloch Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 MOST raw gold nuggets from the western US assay out at from 84% to 92% pure, with MOST AU averaging 89% pure, thus a bit over 21 karat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Nope as shasta county dog creek/clear creek goes as high as 24kt as analyized and published in state geo reports on shasta county and trinity as well-John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim mcculloch Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 John, while it is true that SOMETIMES pure gold exists in nature, as mentioned "MOST... gold assays at 89% pure." I just sold 10.1 oz of smaller AU to a refiner, it assayed at 88.8% pure. During the Gold Rush, the private minting firm of Moffatt & Co., managed by Augustus Humbert, produced gold coins of unfined AU which the Philadelphia mint declared "illegal" because they assayed at "only" 88.9%. Never mind that most of the remaining 11.1% was silver, thus making them more intrinsically valuable than US produced 90% AU. HH Jim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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