Caliche Chris Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 A friend of mine gave me a vial with about a gram and a half of gold in it. There were two good size pickers and some small stuff. I was pretty excited. That is until I got home and started checking out the big pieces with a loupe. There is a pretty obvious spot were the two pieces were cut with wire cutters. Also I scratched it and there seems to be a color under there that isn't gold. What do you guys think this stuff is? i thought they looked a little weird as soon as I saw them. But I've only mined New Mexico gold so I just figured it looked a little different being from a different area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimshot Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Look's real to me. I don't think anyone could shape it like that. JMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Rim, yea I am a bit stumped. I am just wondering why they would've cut the pieces? It is pretty easy to see in the first pic, the same marks/pattern that's on any wire when it's cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilishjim Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 May have gotten cut when it was dug up. It looks the same as other pics posted here. Friend needs to go back and dig up the piece he cut off ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Yea Jim, it does look pretty dang close. But I also notice when I have it in the vial with stuff I know is gold, these pieces look more shiny and glossy than the real stuff. I've seen slight variations in the color/and shade of gold though so I'm not sure about these.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilishjim Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 (edited) Stop in at a Jeweler , you should be able to find out fast I would think. Now the friend I prospect with has some real ugly nuggets that I would have considered plain old rocks.edit: I noticed a big difference in gold from Quartszite compared to what I found above Congress Edited October 26, 2014 by devilishjim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Yep, i am so used to New Mexico gold that these threw me off A little and made me wonder.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoser John Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Heat'm up outside,hit with a drop of nitric or take to a pawn shop for positive ID. Plated or electroless is quite a bit brighter usually. Too much quartzy material,and small,for a specific gravity test. Lotza luck. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoran Dave Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Maybe they were earrings at some point? Could have been specimens that someone had mounted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Cool, i will try the acid test and see if it alters them at all good idea John. You might be on to something Dave! They both had that wire on the middle of them that had been clipped off, I can see how they could've been earrings, they are the same size too. That is a good possibility! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) Chris looks to me to be small gold nuggets gold soldered together?. or they had jewlery mountings heated and pulled off. AzNuggetBob Edited October 27, 2014 by AzNuggetBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 Thanks guys, I do believe I am going with the earring theory. I am keeping these so I am not going to do the acid test because I don't mind if it's not pure gold. Too bad I allready gave one away to a buddy to use for a test nugget on his gold bug. I will have to swap it out so I can have the matching nugs again. i wish they hadn't cut the mounts off I could've given them to my mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 I just reread my last post and realized its kind of contradictory. By "keeping them" I just meant I wasn't selling them because I don't know there purity or where they came from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpuisis Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 (edited) Chris' why can't you just ask the friend that gave them to you where he/she got them from ? Edited October 28, 2014 by jpuisis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Hey J, I did ask him. He goes to yard sales a lot. He found them at a yard sale in a little vial with a few other pieces and got almost two grams for 5$ because the lady didn't know what it was. The vial had a sticker on it that said " panned at knots berry farm" wether or not any of it came from knots berry I do not know. But that's the story I got from him. He is not a prospector so I know he didn't find them and definitely didn't "make" them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDdesertman Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Chris looks to me to be small gold nuggets gold soldered together?. or they had jewlery mountings heated and pulled off. AzNuggetBob^^^ I'd agree 100%. I've handled quite a few fakes over the years, they generally don't look that real. Yours Look like 2 genuine nuggets that had loops soldered onto them to make jewelry that were later cut off. It pretty much ruins them from a collectors standpoint, but it's still gold most likely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzNuggetBob Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 (edited) IDdesertman I think you have some jewelery making experience too. I agree I think the nuggets are genuine and it does take the value away as quality nugget jewelry when the gold solder bleeds across the nuggets. If I had to guess Id say the maker just decided to clip the posts for re-use and scrap the nuggets. I have to say when I first started making nugget jewelry I had to scrap a few. AzNuggetBob Edited November 1, 2014 by AzNuggetBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LipCa Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Just a thought, couldn't a jeweler just "touch" the nipped spot with some heat and help it look more natural? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliche Chris Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 I missed the last few responses somehow, just now seeing them. Cool, thanks guys. I appreciate the input. I am glad to hear the look like real gold. I am using the one I kept for a test nugget too. I could never bring myself to glue one of my dry-washed pieces to a poker chip. I am gonna listen to this one at different depths and hope it helps me in the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDdesertman Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Just a thought, couldn't a jeweler just "touch" the nipped spot with some heat and help it look more natural?It would still most likely have the same appearance, its pretty tough to hide that sort of thing once its been done.If they were mine and I was trying to sell them, I'd put some posts back onto the nuggets.. I'm not sure why someone snipped the posts off in the first place, but turning them back into earrings will probably make them worth more than just scrapping them. Once in a while I acquire a larger nugget that has a snipped end where a pendant loop was on it. I just put a loop back onto it.Or just use em as test nuggets like Chris is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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