Weigh in !!!

[robfinds]

These are yesterday's finds. Did well with the small medieval buckles. A tudor dress fastener, and a Medieval pendant also surfaced. Two hammered, the best a full short cross wiped out by the plough. Did though manage a nice cut half short cross. Off now to the scrap yard to have a Christmas weigh in. The copper and the lead scrap, is the result of the season so far. Waste not want not.

 

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[against the wind]

Back in the day, when I was actively making plumbing repairs, we would save the old brass until years end.
It was our Christmas slush fund. lol
Congrats on your finds.

 

[treblehunter]

I have buckets of brass and copper, I too need to hit the scrap yard. Wish I had some of those cut silvers! Congrats.

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

I think this would definitely qualify as a 'cut' silver' Rob!
The recyclables certainly add up don't they!

Dave

 

[robfinds]

I think this would definitely qualify as a 'cut' silver' Rob!
The recyclables certainly add up don't they!

Dave

Yep they sure do. Wish I had started weighing in years ago.

 

[ajaj]

Nice scrap buckets! Funny, some of the finds in the large bin (e.g., buttons) I keep instead of scrapping...sometimes I wonder why.

aj

 

[robfinds]

Nice scrap buckets! Funny, some of the finds in the large bin (e.g., buttons) I keep instead of scrapping...sometimes I wonder why.

aj

If the buttons are interesting, I try to sell them. As you know a lot of buttons, are not interesting.

 

[Plumbata]

Melt that lead into ingots and sell to end-users yourself, should be more lucrative than selling to the scrapyard. Last time I checked here in the US, the yards were paying 0.25 a pound for lead, when it sells for over 1.00 a pound on ebay. With our flat-rate box shipping options, 20 pounds can be shipped for 6 dollars, or up to 70 pounds for around 13.00.

Nice hammered BTW!

 

[robfinds]

Melt that lead into ingots and sell to end-users yourself, should be more lucrative than selling to the scrapyard. Last time I checked here in the US, the yards were paying 0.25 a pound for lead, when it sells for over 1.00 a pound on ebay. With our flat-rate box shipping options, 20 pounds can be shipped for 6 dollars, or up to 70 pounds for around 13.00.

Nice hammered BTW!

Never thought of that. What equipment would I need .?

 

[Westfront]

Good medieval day. I like that stuff, doesn't matter if it's a buckle or a hammered. Must be because it's rare in my hunting grounds.
Equipment? What do you think?

or

The idea i like most is casting toy soldiers without heads and feet and toss them in the fields for future hunters...

 

[Plumbata]

I use an old cast iron glue/tar pot heated on a propane stove (about 1 quart capacity), but you can just do it on coals in a fire or in a charcoal grill. A big spoon or metal skimmer to scoop off the dross and dirt that floats to the top, and if the pot doesn't have a pour spout a ladle to transfer the molten lead into any sort of mold, either specifically made for the job or old repurposed cast iron muffin trays, etc.

I used to collect gobs of lead from creeks and dumps that I sold as scrap, but figured processing it myself would be both fun and a good way to add value.

Casting fishing sinkers and whatnot to sell like westfront visually suggested would probably be even more profitable. Working with lead is a lot of fun, just stay upwind, heh.

 

[robfinds]

Nice one Westfront, I could keep my son in fishing weights.

 

[robfinds]

I use an old cast iron glue/tar pot heated on a propane stove (about 1 quart capacity), but you can just do it on coals in a fire or in a charcoal grill. A big spoon or metal skimmer to scoop off the dross and dirt that floats to the top, and if the pot doesn't have a pour spout a ladle to transfer the molten lead into any sort of mold, either specifically made for the job or old repurposed cast iron muffin trays, etc.

I used to collect gobs of lead from creeks and dumps that I sold as scrap, but figured processing it myself would be both fun and a good way to add value.

Casting fishing sinkers and whatnot to sell like westfront visually suggested would probably be even more profitable. Working with lead is a lot of fun, just stay upwind, heh.

Up wind Plumbata. Yes worried about the fumes. In Victorian times, hat makers would seal hats, using mercury and lead. Over time breathing the fumes would cause insanity. Hence the term " mad as an hatter"

 

[pepperj]

Great looking fastener and pendent, as well the short cross.

The thing with the lead is that you have a mix of real good lead mixed in the pile and as it's a sliding scale of quality. The lead from the Roman days is far the best as it's some of the oldest and the lowest levels of radioactivity. Lead extracted today is naturally contaminated with the isotope Pb-210 which isn't sought after by the electronic/scientific manufacturing sector and lead produced today can't achieve the quality of standard as the natural lead of ancient Rome. Most of the lead recovered that has reached this standard was from the oceans but still the lead that has been recovered in the fields is of higher quality. Not that a scrap yard will give you the added bonus nor do most care. Like others have mentioned is to ingot, or cast down the lead to a product. Lead on the open commodity market is around .76 US a pound down 1.35 US in 2010. It basically it's simple math any commodity price X5 will bring you to finished product price as a simple fishing weight would cost. Scrap yards should be paying 45-50 cents US for lead, so being in the business for many yrs if you want the better return sell it to an end user instead of the bottom rung of the ladder being the local scrap yard.

 

[PeteWmass]

if you want to make even more money - take a whole mess of those buckles/buttons/whatsits and put it on Ebay - "250 17th-19th century artifacts - bulk lot" - TRUST ME - you might even want to mention "steampunk" in the title - as those people like taking weird bits and bobs of old metal (especially things like gears...keys..) and making interesting things out if it....