"gold tree"

[jhamner]

GOLD TREE

I can’t say I found this metal detecting, but I DID find it today at a local estate sale. The item is a tree–shaped object with acorns and leaves. Although it’s been chemically or otherwise darkened, if you rub the metal with a bit of silver polish, it becomes bright gold in color. That fact, plus the sheer weight of the object led me to believe that it just might be gold or gold vermeil. Sure enough, after testing it, it turned out to be 22 carat (to my amazement!)(P.S.--the lightened areas were already there as found--I chose not to polish the piece, but to leave it as original as possible)

At the base of the tree is a small gold plaque announcing a couple’s fiftieth anniversary along with a list of their children. It is dated 1865. In my many years as an antiques collector, I have never seen anything like this item!
An internet search came up empty also.

If you have seen one of these “trees” or know of the purpose or use of it, PLEASE let me know – I would LOVE to find out something about it.
P.P.S.--On the underneath sides of the branches are small holes--possibly put there for casting, or...possibly to attach something to it--another mystery!!!

Thanks! Jack.

 

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[Doc Arey]

Wow! Whats the weight of it??

 

[jhamner]

Wow! Whats the weight of it??

Thanks, Doc--it weighs 7.94 troy ounces.

 

[UnderMiner]

Wait, the whole tree is solid gold?

 

[foreverRich]

Now that's one unique find. It would be interesting if you could come up with it's origin. Congratulations!!! Don't blame you for not wanting to clean it up too much. Looks perfect just like it is.

 

[jhamner]

Wait, the whole tree is solid gold?

I took the small nut off the bottom, and found that the tree itself is hollow, but other than that, it's all gold!

 

[g-olden years]

Never seen anything like it. Sentimentally, it adds up: family tree is a traditional concept or phrase, oaks are strong and long-lived, and when a child or grandchild seems similar to the older generation in style or antics, often people used to say, "The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree" Oops! Maybe that was "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? lol. Could some parts of this piece be gold while other parts are brass or bronze? Let us know what else you discover, & thanks for sharing this historical piece. Andi

 

[jhamner]

Now that's one unique find. It would be interesting if you could come up with it's origin. Congratulations!!! Don't blame you for not wanting to clean it up too much. Looks perfect just like it is.

Thank you!!!
Yes--I would LOVE to know! The full inscription unfortunately doesn't show up in the picture but reads " William and Elizabeth Powell on their Fiftieth Wedding Day from their children Henry//William//James//Lizzie Cincinnati , Tuesday, September 26, 1865."
Further research into this family came up empty too, although I'm not very good at geneaology!(sp.)

 

[Argentium]

That is an extremely interesting find (haven't seen one before !) it's hard for me to imagine that it's solid 22 K ,( but it may well be) -
at 22K those leaves would be very pliable if you were to gently bend them with just you fingers - fascinating find !

 

[jhamner]

Never seen anything like it. Sentimentally, it adds up: family tree is a traditional concept or phrase, oaks are strong and long-lived, and when a child or grandchild seems similar to the older generation in style or antics, often people used to say, "The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree" Oops! Maybe that was "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"? lol. Could some parts of this piece be gold while other parts are brass or bronze? Let us know what else you discover, & thanks for sharing this historical piece. Andi

Thanks so much--I like your reasoning as to the family concept. I think I have tested just about every branch and leaf in disbelief and thinking any time now I will wake up and the whole thing has turned to chocolate and melted right into my hands...but despite the dark color seen throughout the piece, it all tests 22k. I think this one will go down in history as my best find ever, not just because it's made from precious metal, but because it represents a real-life family and the children's love of their parents, not to mention the fact that it occurred right at the end of our American Civil War.

 

[jhamner]

That is an extremely interesting find (haven't seen one before !) it's hard for me to imagine that it's solid 22 K ,( but it may well be) -
at 22K those leaves would be very pliable if you were to gently bend them with just you fingers - fascinating find !

I agree--I, too, was blown away by this whole thing! Despite their thickness, the leaves as well as the rest of the structure are amazinly sturdy--they will bend, but not without some resistance. I was in disbelief, too, but we run a jewelry shop and I carefully tested several spots with the 22k acid solution. It held it's color on the touchstone for several minutes, The only flaw in my tests may be if the acid has gotten old and weak, but we use it a lot and a bottle seldom lasts over a couple of months.

 

[Argentium]

Jhamner , Did you get a smoking deal on it at the estate sale ? by my quick reckoning that piece if entirely 22K - at nearly 8 troy
ounces - would have precious metal value of nearly $9000. That's pretty nice (I know it isn't about the bucks - just saying )

 

[UnderMiner]

Historical significance aside, if this tree is really close to 8oz of 22K you are in possession of possibly the biggest golden treasure ever posted to this site! But I have my suspicions. 8oz of gold in 1865 was an exorbitant sum. Who at the end of the economically damaging Civil War could spare the funds to commission such an item? Can it actually be sterling silver plated with gold? This would explain the tarnished color of the leaves. Gold plating was much thicker back then compared to today and may account for your test results. Just a thought. The little plaque looks like it's solid gold however.

 

[jhamner]

Jhamner , Did you get a smoking deal on it at the estate sale ? by my quick reckoning that piece if entirely 22K - at nearly 8 troy
ounces - would have precious metal value of nearly $9000. That's pretty nice (I know it isn't about the bucks - just saying )

It was priced at $40 which seemed a lot at the time, but once I examined it, I was pretty sure it was gold. I figured even if it wasn't, it was a truly unique piece which I had never seen the likes of before. The weird part is that it sat there on the table for a full six hours before I noticed it! I came at 9:30 when the sale started and bought a few pieces of silver, then left to go to our jewelry store. Once I finally finished up it was 3:30 in the afternoon. I decided to go take one more look and that's when I spotted it! I can't believe no one else pounced on it, but in retrospect there aren't many people in our community out there looking for gold trees!

 

[jhamner]

Historical significance aside, if this tree is really close to 8oz of 22K you are in possession of possibly the biggest golden treasure ever posted to this site! But I have my suspicions. 8oz of gold in 1865 was an exorbitant sum. Who at the end of the economically damaging Civil War could spare the funds to commission such an item? Can it actually be sterling silver plated with gold? This would explain the tarnished color of the leaves. Gold plating was much thicker back then compared to today and may account for your test results. Just a thought. The little plaque looks like it's solid gold however.

Agreed! I will do some further testing, although I want to be careful as not to damage the piece. If it turns out to be silver under gold, please accept my profound apologies, but I am pretty certain that is not the case.

 

[UnderMiner]

Agreed! I will do some further testing, although I want to be careful as not to damage the piece. If it turns out to be silver under gold, please accept my profound apologies, but I am pretty certain that is not the case.

I hope you confirm that it's gold, that would be awesome!

 

[chkn]

That must have been some old tradition. I remember going through my mother's things and seeing a family tree book one of my SIL's had done many years ago. It's a nice thing to do. Might be interesting to find out what the history is.

 

[jhamner]

I hope you confirm that it's gold, that would be awesome!

Thank you. Further testing still indicates all gold, but that's not what gives it value to me, plus I would probably never sell it unless one of us really needed the money! That really makes the gold content of little consequence, even though we are far from rich!

 

[bdsawyer]

Amazing find. I still can't believe that this sat at the sale for forty bucks and no one bought it before you! Great eye and a great reminder to always trust your intuition.
Another note, is it possible the date is when they were married, and it was made in 1915 or shortly after?

 

[jhamner]

That must have been some old tradition. I remember going through my mother's things and seeing a family tree book one of my SIL's had done many years ago. It's a nice thing to do. Might be interesting to find out what the history is.

Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to do research on my behalf! If there's a family tradition or something here, that would be awesome! I still keep thinking about what UnderMiner said though--that's a tremendous amount of gold for one family to come up with! My only guess would be that maybe they were miners or something....but Cincinnati doesn't strike me as a mining town.