FOUND! CACHE OF 5 SILVER INGOTS!!

bronzecannons

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Gentlemen,

Today I found a cache of 5 Silver Ingots weighing a total of 5.5 lbs! It was less than a foot deep. 20200514_143824.webp

INGOT DETAILS
1. 0.85 lbs. 1.750 inches diameter​
2. 1.25 lbs. 1.850 inches diameter​
3. 1 lb. 1.755 inches diameter​
4. 0.90 lbs. 1.70 inches diameter​
5. 1.30 lbs. 1.92 inches diameter​
Total Combined Weight of 5.5 lbs.

Has anyone ever seen Silver ingots like this? I wanted to confirm if they are Silver but due to the COVID-19 all the pawn shops seem to be closed. All I know is that they are very heavy size. Non-metalic (magnet doesn't stick). Possibly even PLATINUM?? LOL.. wishful thinking.

Can anyone help me identify this rusty can they were buried in?

Thanks in advance.
TW
 

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Upvote 40
I love how the Wilson can use still kickin around.

As far as far fetched posts go, this one has some meat on the bone!

Really hoping They are the treasure you seek !
 

looking at the condition of the can, silver would have been tarnished, no?

Those balls are bright!

specific gravity test will get you pretty close to the composition.

Looking at the can for comparision, a tennis ball is 2.7" dia, so those look like 2" diameter balls

Look up zinc balls...these are 2" balls (450 to 500 grams each) That equals between 5 and 5.5 pounds
Zinc_Balls.webp

That amount of silver would weigh a little over 8 pounds.
 

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I figured they should be black with tarnish too.....or at least have some rust from the can staining them. Maybe someone cast them to make some custom shift lever knobs? :dontknow:
 

I figured they should be black with tarnish too.....or at least have some rust from the can staining them. Maybe someone cast them to make some custom shift lever knobs? :dontknow:
I do need a shift knob since you brought it up. lol
 

Gentlemen,

Today I found a cache of 5 Silver Ingots weighing a total of 5.5 lbs! It was less than a foot deep.View attachment 1833745

INGOT DETAILS
1. 0.85 lbs. 1.750 inches diameter​
2. 1.25 lbs. 1.850 inches diameter​
3. 1 lb. 1.755 inches diameter​
4. 0.90 lbs. 1.70 inches diameter​
5. 1.30 lbs. 1.92 inches diameter​
Total Combined Weight of 5.5 lbs.

Has anyone ever seen Silver ingots like this? I wanted to confirm if they are Silver but due to the COVID-19 all the pawn shops seem to be closed. All I know is that they are very heavy size. Non-metalic (magnet doesn't stick). Possibly even PLATINUM?? LOL.. wishful thinking.

Can anyone help me identify this rusty can they were buried in?

Thanks in advance.
TW

Cool ! keep me updated on What ya Find Out
 

looking at the condition of the can, silver would have been tarnished, no?

Those balls are bright!

specific gravity test will get you pretty close to the composition.

Looking at the can for comparision, a tennis ball is 2.7" dia, so those look like 2" diameter balls

Look up zinc balls...these are 2" balls (450 to 500 grams each) That equals between 5 and 5.5 pounds
View attachment 1833833

That amount of silver would weigh a little over 8 pounds.
Zinc makes the most sense to me.
 

It seems the easy way to tell is what did it read VDI on your detector. I hope its a precious metal that would be an amazing find. Tommy

Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, a metal detector CANNOT tell you what kind of metal you have. Pretty much any large target will give a "silver" signal. Detectors merely measure the conductivity of the earth below the machine and look for anomalies which are caused by conductive materials like metal. Most detectors then use a computer program to determine what the target is made of but the program is based on coin sized objects so it is really just guessing as to what the target is made of. Any large piece of iron, aluminum, copper, even zinc will give detectors a "silver" target ID. I agree with Cru that the items look like zinc (which by the way can easily be as hard as silver).
 

Well ...that's just insane! Quite payday you have there. Congratulations!
 

I am hoping they are silver. But silver is very hard so the sprue would have to be cut while its still fairly hot. Really neat find I wonder why they were cast in balls like that. Perhaps that was a mold for a small canon???
 

Oh you can buy Silver Test solution pretty cheap. On silver it turns red, Low grade silver (a lot of Mexican Jewelry is closer to .750 even when marked Sterling or .925) Will turn red then green. The solution does go bad after a while and stops working (usually turns dark form the Red color of new solution). That would be a pretty sure way to find it out. Here is an ebay link to the stuff you need. ( https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silver-Tes...091697?hash=item4acba3d531:g:zesAAOSwf-VWYyfG ) WEAR GLOVES when you use it. it and the other acids will blister or burn your skin. They also have gold acid test kits on ebay as well. For gold you'll need on with a test stone (usually frosted black glass).
 

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Yes, wierd!
Great find, though....
There are other ways to test for silver, without damaging them.
What does your machine say on one of them...?
The can doesn't look too old, but if those are silver - that's plenty of money...!
 

Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, a metal detector CANNOT tell you what kind of metal you have. Pretty much any large target will give a "silver" signal. Detectors merely measure the conductivity of the earth below the machine and look for anomalies which are caused by conductive materials like metal. Most detectors then use a computer program to determine what the target is made of but the program is based on coin sized objects so it is really just guessing as to what the target is made of. Any large piece of iron, aluminum, copper, even zinc will give detectors a "silver" target ID. I agree with Cru that the items look like zinc (which by the way can easily be as hard as silver).
I didnt realize how big those were. Hope we can find out what they are very interesting find for sure
 

Very interesting find, I sure hope the mystery is solve soon. :icon_thumleft:
 

Definitely not Zinc. Based on his measurements and weights, it can not be Zinc (unless they are hollow). Zinc weighs only .258 pounds per cubic inch. So, on his 1.850 diameter ball: 3.32 CI x .258= .857 pounds yet it weighed 1.25 lbs, which is dead nuts on Silver at .379 pound per CI. It could be lead too if its not uniformly round or overly porous as lead comes in at .41 per CI. Assuming they aren't hollow and are uniformly round, it can't be aluminum, magnesium, Zinc, nickel, Titanium, iron, tin etc. These balls are far too heavy for those metals.

Note: Ingot 1 seems to be an outlier weight wise. Math says it should weigh 1.06lbs, but comes in at .85. Perhaps air pockets or its not uniformly round? All 4 others weights are consistent with silver or secondly, lead.
 

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Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, a metal detector CANNOT tell you what kind of metal you have. Pretty much any large target will give a "silver" signal. Detectors merely measure the conductivity of the earth below the machine and look for anomalies which are caused by conductive materials like metal. Most detectors then use a computer program to determine what the target is made of but the program is based on coin sized objects so it is really just guessing as to what the target is made of. Any large piece of iron, aluminum, copper, even zinc will give detectors a "silver" target ID. I agree with Cru that the items look like zinc (which by the way can easily be as hard as silver).
Exactly! I don't know how many times I've fallen for that, get a sweet high tone, good pretty much consistent dime, quarter, half dollar readings relatively shallow while swinging. In pinpoint mode I'm lead to believe coin at say 2 1/2" down. At 6 or 7 inches I unearth a flattened aluminum beverage can. Fell for it twice Monday this week in an old abandoned house yard, will fall for it again I'm sure. Misshapen,heavy melted metal from a house fire on a former home site the same way, grrrh.
 

Just saw this... so I am late to the party.

IF those were silver they would be black as night. *** IMO

With that said... I would be VERY careful handling them until you know exactly what you are holding.

There are other metals which would resist corrosion / tarnish... one of which would be white gold of course.

Silver is ruled out simple by the lack of tarnish... but something of more value is now in the sights.

Just hoping what you have found is not an element that was put there to "dispose" of due to dangers.
 

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