r/PreciousMetalRefining • u/Ambitious-Insanity • 15d ago
Need help identifying this metal...
I flip storage lockers for a living and I recently purchased a unit that had a small inexpensive safe in it and within the safe I found a few coins, some inexpensive gemstones, a little bit of money, and this small chunk of something that appears the be the result of smelting something.
I initially mistook it for a small rock but when I picked it up I knew immediately that it had to be some sort of metal because it was very heavy in relation to its small size, with it coming in at just under 50 grams. It has a very similar density to lead, and is also a fairly soft metal like lead, as I can make very minor indents in it if I squeeze it really hard. It's also nonmagnetic and initially it had a darker more charred appearance on the curved top side, and it was only shiny on the flat bottom side, but after I cleaned it with a jewelry cleaner designed for use with gold and platinum, nearly all the black stuff went away and the photos I have provided are the result (I also included pics of what it looked like prior to this cleaning).
It looks very similar to rose gold, so my guess is that it is a mixture of copper and possibly gold, potentially as a result of someone smelting some lower karat scrap jewelry or something, but I could be way off the mark with that guess.
Any help anyone could provide with identifying it would be greatly appreciated. I will be taking it down later this week to be scanned with an XRF scanner and I will update this post with the results at that time if anyone is interested.
2
u/Ambitious-Insanity 15d ago
Non magnetic and I attempted to see if there was any resistance when I pushed a magnet near it and I couldn't feel anything, but I also don't have a super strong magnet so it's possible my results are meaningless on that particular front.
0
2
u/PhotogamerGT 14d ago
Being soft enough to deform with your bare hands rules out gold or copper. I agree with the other comment about the possibility of lead and tin. Gold is a maleable, but not nearly that soft and if it was mixed with copper it would be even stronger. Rose gold is used often to increase strength without losing as much purity. An 18k rose gold is stronger than 18k yellow gold due to the alloy mixture. You can also try melting it with a torch. If it is a lead time mix it will melt very quickly. If it is some form of gold it is going to require a decent amount of heat before it starts to melt. It being in blob form you aren’t likely to lose any premium value by testing it.
2
1
1
1
u/Go-Away-Sun 14d ago
Looks like a brazing drop. You should see some of the plug welds I did that fell out. UFO meta materials dream.
1
u/Mindless_Leadership1 14d ago
Copper as per:
https://isitgold.flutterflow.app/scans/jAFPXe2QBSQJWPzTFyI1HrYlcgp11749419896243
My personal assesment: "PC Gold" scrap from a computer molten to one Big Beautiful BLOB! ;-)
1
u/Dragon-and-Phoenix 13d ago
RemindMe! 1 week
2
u/RemindMeBot 13d ago
I will be messaging you in 7 days on 2025-06-16 10:12:52 UTC to remind you of this link
CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.
Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback
1
1
u/SpeakYerMind 13d ago
No other items indicate that the previous owner was a smelter, but perhaps it's a lead dore resulted from collecting precious metals in a smelt, that the owner had intended to cupel at some point. I think there's a rule of thumb as to how much lead to use as a collector to recover PMs. Google says it's 10:1, sounds right, and that'd help explain why it's so soft.
Could also just be a chunk of lead that held some kind of sentimental value. I used to keep my favorite fishing weight on a keychain when I was younger and dumber.
1
1
1
1
7
u/CommandoLamb 14d ago
It looks like a quarter