Assay Offices

Stand Watie

Jr. Member
Mar 24, 2012
99
34
Greenwood SC
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Are assay offices run by the government, state or federal?

How does one go about finding them and what services do they offer?

I've never seen or heard of one in my area here in South Carolina. I've read about them in old stories about prospectors, etc. If I do find one do they rate the purity of the gold I have and will they buy my gold?

I'm not to the point yet where I have any gold to sale but I'm the eternal optimist. So I'm trying to find out everything I can about this new hobby in advance of striking it rich.

If everything works out the way I have it imagined in my head my next questions will be something akin to which is the best private jet I should buy and do any of you know any Caribbean Islands for sale. :laughing7:
 

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Hoser John

Gold Member
Mar 22, 2003
5,854
6,721
Redding,Calif.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Private biz only for public use. Go to ICMJ website and plenty of them left--but a vanishing breed. There are many ways to test purity,streak test,needles,microderm,spectrographic analysis,gas chromophotography and on and on-BUT--The methodology utilized in sampling is far more important for accurate analysis--tons a au 2 u 2 -John
 

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Stand Watie

Jr. Member
Mar 24, 2012
99
34
Greenwood SC
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thanks again Hoser John. From what I could find it looks like all or almost all of them are in Western states.

You mentioned a needle test, is that one a person could do themselves? If not, what would be the easiest DIY test a person could do to assay their own material? Or is that possible?
 

Hoser John

Gold Member
Mar 22, 2003
5,854
6,721
Redding,Calif.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Needle test is like a set of samples plated onto metalic stripson a key ring of the varying karat values to do a rough comparison for purity-also done after the streak test-scratch on tile and hit with nitric to remove junk and then compare-tons a au 2 u 2 -Funny factoid is that gold fever was originally back east in Georgia and the famous phrase"There is gold in them thar hills started there and NOT kalif as usually credited to-John
 

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