Old Silver AND Old Gold?

[PlzBSeated]

Found a Barber dime today. And 3 feet from that I pull up this monogrammed cuff-link. It is an older design. It is not marked, and I don't have a tester, so I can't officially proclaim it to be gold. However, the VDI reading, it's weight relative to size, and it's overall cleanness given it's age, give me confidence that it's the real deal.



Today's finds...

1901 Barber Dime
Gold (?) Monogrammed Cuff-link, appears to be Victorian or Edwardian
(1) Buffalo Nickel, date illegible
(3) Wheat back pennies, 1920, 1939, 1945
Silver plated utensil, not sure it's use. Maybe someone out there knows what it was used for.

PBS

 

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[CoinsAndThings]

Nice!

 

[Hbot37]

Looks gold from here, nice work! I still havent found my first bit of gold.

 

[jewelerguy]

very nice!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Excellent finds !

 

[Digger RJ]

View attachment 2088004

Found a Barber dime today. And 3 feet from that I pull up this monogrammed cuff-link. It is an older design. It is not marked, and I don't have a tester, so I can't officially proclaim it to be gold. However, the VDI reading, it's weight relative to size, and it's overall cleanness given it's age, give me confidence that it's the real deal.

View attachment 2088005

Today's finds...

1901 Barber Dime
Gold (?) Monogrammed Cuff-link, appears to be Victorian or Edwardian
(1) Buffalo Nickel, date illegible
(3) Wheat back pennies, 1920, 1939, 1945
Silver plated utensil, not sure it's use. Maybe someone out there knows what it was used for.

PBS

Very Nice!!!! Congrats!!!! Keep Us updated on if it tests to be Gold!

 

[oldmxrat]

Nice finds, congrats!
You can get a gold test kit on fleabay for $15

 

[Silvermonkey]

From your pic, I'd say that's gold all day long. Congrats on a great hunt!

 

[Lenrac2]

Sure looks gold! Congrats!

 

[Trezurehunter]

Nice finds. I like that Barber.

 

[scruggs]

Love the Barber and the cuff link!

 

[Emil W]

Nice finds. That style cuff link, when unmarked, are usually gold-filled. If you test with acid (standard gold test kit), gold-filled usually tests as solid gold because the outer gold layer is relatively thick so you're really only testing this outer layer (for gold-plated, the test works well because you very easily rub through the thin plating). When a scrapper tests these old unmarked cufflinks they always cut a small notch, usually using a file, to be sure to get deep enough so they're testing the inside of the item. You can usually see the color difference between the outer gold layer and the inner copper core, and if you drop the acid in the cut, if it's gold-filled the acid bubbles and turns green. If it's solid gold the acid does absolutely nothing.

 

[lenmac65]

Very nice mix of finds. Congrats!

 

[PlzBSeated]

Very Nice!!!! Congrats!!!! Keep Us updated on if it tests to be Gold!

Did find someone with a tester. Cuff-link tests as 10K.

PBS

 

[Gare]

Nice finds

 

[Emil W]

Did find someone with a tester. Cuff-link tests as 10K.

PBS

Do you know what test they preformed? Acid or electronic? And if electronic, how did they prepare the surface? Although I believe most know that acid tests only test the metal at the depth of the scraped area (which is why for vintage and antique pieces, scrappers always cut into the piece since gold-filled can have a rather thick gold layer), I don't think many understand the same applies to electronic tests. Even XRF testers only read the surface, not any underlying layers if there are any.

Here's a link to the National Pawnbrokers Association page discussing the different testing methods:

GOLD TESTING TECHNIQUES - National Pawnbrokers Association

SPONSORED CONTENT by Rafael Amador, United Precious Metal Refining, Inc. When it comes to testing and buying gold, most pawnshops have already figured out what works best for them. There are a number of options out there for testing gold (and silver) jewelry from the traditional acid test to the...

www.nationalpawnbrokers.org