Its not gold?

[aa battery]

I found this at a local lake but i am not sure what it is.A coin dealer told me it wasnt gold but he had no idea what it was.My question is does copper form like this?

 

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[Nashoba]

It seems to me that gold should be much brighter. I have seen very high copper content gold that was a lot like what you have there. Do the pieces bend?
~Nash~

 

[aa battery]

It doesnt bend at all and is heavy.Its about 2in. by 4in.thanks

 

[Montana Jim]

I'll be watching this piece to see what it is! Interesting...

 

[TomNWMI]

I found this at a local lake but i am not sure what it is.A coin dealer told me it wasnt gold but he had no idea what it was.My question is does copper form like this?

HI... I lightened up the pic and toned down the color a bit... is this close to the true color?

Tom

 

[aa battery]

Thats a little closer but not too light.Some of the younger members dont think it might be crystaline copper or gold combined

 

[EggyOG]

It sure looks like copper crystal to me. Don't clean it or acid clean it, taking off the patina will destroy the value!!!
This is a specimen from the Seaman Museum in Upper Michigan http://www.museum.mtu.edu/Gallery/Jpegs/cop551.jpg

 

[DCMatt]

I've never heard of copper crystal. Learn something here everyday... Another picture.

DCMatt

 

[TreasureTales]

It doesnt bend at all and is heavy.Its about 2in. by 4in.thanks

It doesn't bend? Hmmm, weird. Sure looks like it would, or snap at one of the joints. Can you find a spot on it where you can try nicking it with a knife blade? If it can be then it could be copper. Also, will a magnet stick to it?

Here's a site for some photos of copper crystals. They don't seem to have one specific form. http://www.museum.mtu.edu/Gallery/copper.html

 

[Eu_citzen]

http://www.ridderborg.se/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=2254
thres another pic of copper.

Else it could be some form of Iron ore with oxides.

 

[TreasureTales]

aa battery, I see you're from CA. Did you find this thing in a lake in Nevada County? Copper was mined there in the 1870s or so. Also, in Del Norte County there are many streams that have copper mines along them. Might help us if we knew the general whereabouts of your find.

 

[aa battery]

It was found in Millerton lake when the lake was low.At the bottom of the lake there was a town named Friant in Fresno county.Theres only gold mines in the area no copper that i know of.I just tried a magnet on it and it wont stick.