Tony, once you and 4_H have figured this one out get over to relic lovers post "I can't even guess" and tell me if that thing could possibly be a fork to hold the contact wheel on a very old magneto square trip rod. You've got an engine or two so you might have some ideas.
If this indeed a copper specimen....its a very good melted specimen. Like others here have said I don't think you can produce that in a campfire. Copper melts at 1084 degrees C and 1983 degrees F. At these temperatures you would also be introducing other slag, dirt, and impurities into the sample. I believe it would take a forge or intentional furnace to create a nice sample like this other than "mother nature" herself deep in her bowels. Also copper in its Natural or Native state is crystalline in growth structure. This has met with some high heat in some manner or another....just not a campfire in my opinion.
Your pictures are looking prettier.....and prettier. I think you better go have some acid tests run combined with specific gravity measurements. It could be a combination of several minerals.
You definitely need to find out.
Remember...."none" of the examples of copper in "GG's website are "naturally" occuring specimens.
Every one is a piece of "natural" copper that has spent time in a "mill"....and one or two state that additional "hand polishing" was done. In a nutshell....."none" of these represent copper in its natural state and are "man made". If you want examples of "naturally occuring"....look at this site. http://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?cf..._pager_page=84
take it as You like TI ..put your examples in a creek bed for several hundred years & they will become rounded & smashed over as well.
your examples have not been exposed to harsh erosion ( found near the source & mostly cleaned of gange to expose the crystal forms)
One can look up native Gold specimans as well to see both crystaline examples as well as Worn nuggets.
When you see a worn Gold Nugget do you assume it was rescued for a Mill.Of Course Not.
My examples are to show Your crystaline Examples Will IN Deed turn out to look JUST like the OP's example after it has had exposure to creek/Glacier/landslide or what have you Erosion
For those in Doubt simply type "Copper Nugget" into Google images
Heres a way you could make a copper nugget that would resemble this. Place a Revereware pot on a electric burner on high and leave home for several hours. When you return your nugget should be ready.
I was looking at some of the copper nuggets online and some had some green on them.
When I found this it was blackish in color with a little copper and brass showing through.
It didn't look like this until I cleaned it for a couple hours in my rock tumbler.
I know some people have suggested its gold but doesn't gold usually come out of the ground
nice and shiny and clean? Here is a photo of the THING in its original condition.
Thanks for all the remarks its very interesting to follow the reply's.
take it as You like TI ..put your examples in a creek bed for several hundred years & they will become rounded & smashed over as well.
GG...... I don't dispute that Gold or Copper can achieve this condition and appearance over time...in nature. My point was that it also can be achieved by man through extreme high heat or physical manipulation as in a mill. You posted your example and stated..."This should show the people who THINK this is man made". Your examples "are" man made. My examples were of the other extreme,
made by nature and still in its virgin state. We hardly ever see Silver nuggets.... do we? We're on the same page...just stating the obvious different ways I guess.
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Originally Posted by goldguru
