# What is this metal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095 "2017-06-28T22:59:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/21 "2017-06-29T00:06:26Z")
Time to look up gold prices, I’d say. And find a scale. Then look up hooker and blow prices. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/22 "2017-06-29T00:08:11Z")
My guess is also brass. Don’t look like gold shavings or iron pyrite. I do this weekly for a living. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/23 "2017-06-29T00:09:36Z")
You could try weighing it, then calculating its volume by measuring how much water it displaces. Gold is 19.3 grams per cubic centimeter. > **[How to Tell If Gold Is Pure Using Water Displacement](https://sciencing.com/tell-pure-using-water-displacement-8109592.html)** > > It may look like gold, but appearances can be deceiving. Fortunately, simple analysis performed in your kitchen can begin to reveal the truth. Elements have natural signatures that allow you to identify them and measure their purity. One such... ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/24 "2017-06-29T00:14:36Z")
[http://educatoral.com/density\_of\_substances.html](http://educatoral.com/density_of_substances.html) Brass is 8.55 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/25 "2017-06-29T00:18:09Z")
You know, you could improvise a balance scale with stuff lying around your house. You would need something for a fulcrum, something for a cross-beam, a way to hold them together without the cross-beam slipping but with the ability to tip to ether side. Balance it out with some sort of empty container on each side, fill one side with the metal, fill the other side with coins until they balance. Google up the weight of the coins. Then hopefully you have some sort of measuring cup or something precise enough to measure the volume of the metal. From that, you can (somewhat crudely) calculate the density. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/26 "2017-06-29T00:19:41Z")
Well they are quite old and still look shiny gold… then … it does look like gold, the way the flakes seem to be a natural formation. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/27 "2017-06-29T00:53:10Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > My guess is also brass. Don’t look like gold shavings or iron pyrite. I do this weekly for a living. We’ve now heard from an authority. When Authority speaks, make sure to listen! And then verify. But the smart money is on brass. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/28 "2017-06-29T00:56:03Z")
If it’s gold, then we have to ask why he was keeping it in a peanut butter jar, but if it’s brass, then we have to ask why he was keeping it at all. Not that my opinion is worth much compared to **samclem** ’s, but I’m guessing gold. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/29 "2017-06-29T01:10:03Z")
They don’t look like shaving period, they look like natural formations or possibly slag or casting waste material. Easiest test would be water displacement and weight to measure density. Then you could have at least a strong hint. I would go with gold until I knew otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/30 "2017-06-29T01:11:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If it’s gold, then we have to ask why he was keeping it in a peanut butter jar, but if it’s brass, then we have to ask why he was keeping it at all. Not that my opinion is worth much compared to **samclem** ’s, but I’m guessing gold. My WAG, if it is gold, is that it could possibly be even older than the grandfather. If the family had been in Washington long enough, it could be an heirloom from the gold rush. (If the pieces are brass, I don’t know why they are shaped that way. Google image search for brass filings and for gold flakes or gold placer–compare those images to the OPs.) ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/31 "2017-06-29T01:23:06Z")
Thanks for all the opinions. There is an assayer in town and I’m here for a couple more days. I’ll try to convince my dad to swing us by there. He seems far less interested than I am to find the answer, noting that it would be strange to keep the gold in a Skippy jar in the basement (while begrudgingly agreeing it would also be strange to keep brass filings there as well.) I will report back if I get an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Oddball\_92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b3f665/32.png) [@Oddball\_92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oddball_92)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/32 "2017-06-29T01:36:20Z")
Go to a pawn shop. They have the test kits for gold. They might charge you a small amount to test a sample, but at least you would know. Oh, and let us know…! ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/33 "2017-06-29T15:05:31Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > We’ve now heard from an authority. When Authority speaks, make sure to listen! And then verify. But the smart money is on brass. Well it wouldn’t be the first time a self-proclaimed expert here got it wrong. And what exactly does he do “weekly” for a living that makes him some sort of an expert in identifying brass? He offers no facts or reasoning behind his opinion. The texture of the substance in question does not match any type of brass I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t look anything like the chips that result from machining brass, nor does it resemble globules from melted brass, nor does it look like anything like the particulates that form from grinding brass. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/34 "2017-06-29T15:25:09Z")
> [@yearofglad](#): > > [snip] … We don’t have a scale to accurately weigh the amount shown above, but to me it seems fairly heavy - heavier than both my dad and I expected … [snap] I’d be looking for “profoundly heavy” if it was gold … it should make a lead fishing weight seem light in comparison … lead is 11.34 g/cm[sup]3[/sup], gold is 19.3 g/cm[sup]3[/sup] … almost double … ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/35 "2017-06-29T15:28:03Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Well it wouldn’t be the first time a self-proclaimed expert here got it wrong. And what exactly does he do “weekly” for a living that makes him some sort of an expert in identifying brass? He offers no facts or reasoning behind his opinion. IIRC **samclem** is a coin dealer. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/36 "2017-06-29T15:33:34Z")
Missed edit window … If the battery was solid gold, it would weigh over a half a pound … 1 cm diameter x 4 cm long = 12.5 cm[sup]3[/sup] … x 19.3 g/cm[sup]3[/sup] = 241 g = 0.53 lbs ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/37 "2017-06-29T15:42:46Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > IIRC **samclem** is a coin dealer. If that’s the case he may have had past experience with hucksters trying to sell him iron pyrite claiming that it’s gold, but that’s a completely different situation than what we have here. The OP isn’t trying to sell us anything, and therefore has no incentive to misrepresent the substance in question. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/38 "2017-06-29T16:05:11Z")
I have people bring in things that look much like this about every other week for the last 20 years. We have a $25,000. “gun” which analyzes metals, giving a digital printout to a hundredth of a percent for each of the main ten elements(assuming there are that many). Their mystery treasures are quite often in jars of various former uses. The pictures were just so so, and I just gave my opinion. If I had the metal in front of me, I could probably tell visually what I thought it was, then I would test it with the gun. I see iron pyrite about ever month. If the mystery metal WAS iron pyrite, then someone smashed what are usually rocks into little pieces. Could be. And, yes, brass shaving usually look a bit different. The grains didn’t strike me as being panned gold, either nuggets or flakes. I’ll be interested to see what they turn out to be. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/39 "2017-06-29T16:21:18Z")
I was curious about this “smell test” and found this somewhat dubious answer: [“Why can we smell copper?”](https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/7916/why-can-we-smell-copper) – Chemistry Stack Exchange … Just so no one thinks I’m being facetious when I suggest taking a little bit and peeing on it … see if that brings out the brass smell … ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095/40 "2017-06-29T17:27:11Z")
Here are more, hopefully closer, photos. [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7mua0hsufhsyjt5/2017-06-29%2012.13.44.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/7mua0hsufhsyjt5/2017-06-29%2012.13.44.jpg?dl=0) [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yp0qet4c41jtk88/2017-06-29%2012.13.53.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/yp0qet4c41jtk88/2017-06-29%2012.13.53.jpg?dl=0) [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/dlelcejgnsaouf0/2017-06-29%2012.15.59.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/dlelcejgnsaouf0/2017-06-29%2012.15.59.jpg?dl=0) [![](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/q4uggivdak3mz3f/2017-06-29%2012.16.05.jpg?dl=0) ](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/q4uggivdak3mz3f/2017-06-29%2012.16.05.jpg?dl=0) Six pieces in distilled vinegar overnight still shiny, no change in appearance. Pounded a piece with a hammer (one of the single pieces in the photos) - it flattened, no breaking. After I took the photos, smashed the other single piece shown, same result. There are some “cylindrical” pieces that look more like filings might - some of those may be visible in the photos. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re going to get tested while I’m here. My dad has no interest in doing it (we were at the mall where the assayer is and he didn’t mention it - we didn’t have the substance with us or I’d have just gotten it done.) We’ll see. Edited to add: Actually, it looks like I neglected to take a post-hammering photo, but the result still stands. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-metal/790095.md?page=3)