Lead that shines?

[pcolaboy]

I found this huge blob of melted metal last weekend (sorry for the huge pic). It was encased in a shroud of tar, sand, and some sort of textile material. My Bounty Hunter is reading this in the silver range. I took a rubber mallet and gave it a few mild bumps. Most of the outer encrustation shell broke off revealing what you see in the picture below. This is exactly what it looked like without any washing or cleaning whatsoever.

Link to full-size pic: http://members.cox.net/tempfl/blob1.jpg

I realize that odds are it's lead but it doesn't have the weight or dull grey appearance of my previous lead finds. This object weighs somewhere between 1 - 1.5 lbs. The item was found in a pre-Civil War brick kiln that was actually destroyed by the retreating Confederates and nothing else has been in operation anywhere near this location ever since. Any ideas on how to distinguish if this is lead or silver?

Pcolaboy

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[Monty]

If you can scratch it with your fingernail it is lead for sure. Monty

 

[Daisy]

It kinda looks like whats left behind after I sodder.
Messy sod I am. hehe
I don't know what it would be doing in a brick kiln though...
HH Daisy

 

[dugupfinds]

You can buy a cheap silver testing kit on ebay.

 

[warsawdaddy]

Pewter?? Left over from mold?

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HOLA PC, try this. On line "C" that should read 'wipe the soloution off and check color on the metal".

Tropical Tramp

p.s. these are both corrosive and potentially dangerous chemcals so please handle in accordance wth the instructions that will come with them, which should be thoroughly read and understod. Incidentally you should also do this with ALL of your household chemicals, especilly with cleaners and Insecticdes. None are harmless.

 

[packerbacker]

If you can write with it, it's lead. Looks like a glob of solder to me.

 

[Ant]

If you can write with it, it's lead. Looks like a glob of solder to me.

was going to say that too. And you should be able to bend it, should be soft like a lead fishing weight and it should also scratch easily.

It would be hard to mistake a hunk of metal that big for not being lead if it where lead. The weight of lead would tell you right away.

HH

 

[pcolaboy]

Here are the results of some of the simpler tests:

Can I write with it? NO

Does it bend? NO...not even the thinner lobes of it

Can I scratch with fingernail? NO

Can I shave it with a knife or chisel? With great difficulty, YES

I will see if I can locate a cheapo test kit. The thing that is most baffling is why this specific article was wrapped in some sort of heavy duty cloth...my guess is burlap. and then encased in tar. None of the other debris in the area had any sign of textile material. Just this. Some of the other debris found very close by were old bricks, corroded sheets of tin, heavily oxidized and broken bits of iron.

I'll keep checking.

Pcolaboy

 

[Kansasippi]

Tin or altimothy (prolly not correct spelling)

 

[pcolaboy]

Tin or altimothy (prolly not correct spelling)

Why would this blob of Tin be in 'mint' condition while the other adjacent Tin debris be corroded? I'm certainly not nearly up to speed on metallurgy but it would seem that the same forces of nature would be at work.

Pcolaboy

 

[Kansasippi]

Why would this blob of Tin be in 'mint' condition while the other adjacent Tin debris be corroded?



Because it was bound up and covered by tar and I think you wrote burlap. But tin was added to various metals to harden bronze and to make items more durable so it would be commonly used in a forge or blacksmith shop. I am just guessing but I do have a forge and one of my hobbies is pattern welded steel.

 

[pcolaboy]

Yeah that makes sense. I just never thought tin even in this massive blob could weigh as much as this does. I have a friend that does some forging stuff with broken gold and silver jewelry. Maybe he can give it a once over as well.

Thanks for the great replies....

Pcolaboy

 

[Alchemy]

I was thinking tin as well.

If it were silver I would think it would be somewhat tarnished (like the silvers we pull out of the ground) or at least have areas where it's begun. But, it doesn't have that tarnished look at all,

 

[pcolaboy]

I was thinking tin as well.

If it were silver I would think it would be somewhat tarnished (like the silvers we pull out of the ground) or at least have areas where it's begun. But, it doesn't have that tarnished look at all,

Very good point. It's not every day that I unearth something as gleaming as this stuff is...except of course the items that have "Hops and Barley" printed on them.

Pcolaboy

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI: line "C" should read -wipe the soloution off and observe the color left on the metal
.
SS Potassium, put more of the Pot. Bich. into the distilled water than can go into soloution, just dump in a lot hehehe.

Potassium Bichromte is inexpensive and can be purchased in a Photograpy store.

The Nitric acid can be purchased in a hobby or chemical store.

Very easy to make and simple to use. Why guess when you can be reasonably sure? Keep it in a brown bottle for future finds id.

Tropical Tramp

 

[Oro]

pcolaboy,

I was going to post my own "what is this? " but I saw your post and looking at your pictures I see the same material as my find. My find has the same colors, silver, black and yellow parts but is the size of a quarter. I found this in the beach (Miami,FL). Notice that the hole at the top has a star form.

Note: the Blur in the picture is due to my scanner. I used a scanner instead of a camera. :-)

Oro

 

[hollowpointred]

pcolaboy, if it were lead it wouldnt ring in as silver on your detector i dont think. could it be a blob of melted aluminum?

 

[TreasureTales]

pcolaboy, your description of the materials covering this blob seem to me like someone was doing some basic assay work. I've seen somewhat similar "residue" (for lack of a better word) on the inside of assayer's crucibles. Burn off the junk to get to the precious metals.

 

[Cubfan64]

With all due respect (because I've read many of Realde Toyopa's posts and I believe he is an excellent source of information), do yourself a service and don't mess with chemicals like potassium dichromate (or bichromate) and concentrated nitric acid without informing yourself of potential hazards and safety in handling first!!

I am a chemist, and can tell you that concentrated nitric acid can cause very bad skin burns and potassium dichromate is a toxic and cancer causing chemical. As with any other chemicals (like many of the cleaners you use in your home and probably don't take the time to read and adhere to the warnings), they can easily cause harm if mishandled through negligence.

I'm not trying to scare anyone away from using them because indeed it is a good and accurate test, but being careful and wearing protective things like the proper gloves and perhaps goggles is imho necessary for even professionals dealing with these things much less the average Joe.

Do yourself a favor and do a quick search on nitric acid and potassium dichromate and make sure you understand the hazards and are fully prepared before you start working with them!!