# need some help



## Anonymous (Oct 5, 2009)

Hello everyone, this is a first post for me and i am fairly new to buying scrap k gold, i will be going to look at some gold later this afternoon that is Egyptian handmade 18k gold all are heavy pieces no stamps or hallmarks total grams is going to be around 500+ i tested a couple of pieces and it looks ok, my question is have any of you come across this type of gold and is there anything special i should look out for as this will be a large outlay and don't want to get burned! any help would be great!

thank you

jon


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## jimdoc (Oct 5, 2009)

Jon,
If you are buying it as scrap, pick parts at random to file into deeply, cut in half, do what ever you have to do so you know you will not get burned. If they want to sell it as 18K scrap, and it isn't they will have damaged goods when you are done. And if it is 18K you will buy it. Let the buyer know that is the only options.
Jim


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 5, 2009)

Vending,

How did you test the pieces?

This assumes the metal is yellow. If you file a deep notch, as jimdoc suggested, put a drop or two of nitric acid in the notch. If it fizzes and the liquid turns deep blue or green, it is not solid karat gold. It is either plated or gold filled. If the metal turns brown, it is 10K, or less. If the metal is unaffected, it is greater than 10K.


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## Anonymous (Oct 5, 2009)

hello, the 3 pieces i did test was with a scratch test on stone and a notch test with file with the stone 18k acid test gold stayed on the mark with a slight fade over time and notch test not much bubbles slight brown color change no green

thank you


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## Anonymous (Oct 5, 2009)

sorry, Yes all yellow gold


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 5, 2009)

Sort of sounds OK, from what you say. I don't like the brown or the bubbles on the notch. Did you use 18K test solution for that or did you use nitric? The 18K solution is a weak aqua regia. That may be overpowering it. I would prefer nitric. The aqua regia would give off bubbles on 18K but plain nitric wouldn't.


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## Harold_V (Oct 6, 2009)

goldsilverpro said:


> Sort of sounds OK, from what you say. I don't like the brown or the bubbles on the notch. Did you use 18K test solution for that or did you use nitric? The 18K solution is a weak aqua regia. That may be overpowering it. I would prefer nitric. The aqua regia would give off bubbles on 18K but plain nitric wouldn't.


Yep! Use nothing but nitric! It won't lie to you, assuming you do your testing properly. 

It's important that you get to the core of material. It isn't uncommon for a gold filled object to have an uneven covering of gold on the surface. File deep if you suspect gold filled. The slightest notch will serve for plated goods.

Gold from that part of the world tends to be rather high karat, (22K) although it can be made very light in weight because it is thin. Remember that gold is heavy---so if the pieces don't feel unusually heavy, keep both eyes open unless they are, indeed, very thin.

Harold


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## Anonymous (Oct 7, 2009)

Hello Thank you for the great information i have put the seller on hold for a few days and he is fine with it. when i first looked at what he had it is all heavy yellow 18k, and yes i used 18k test acid, if you think nitric would be better them i will try to get my hands on some.mostly my concerns are that the pieces are mixed karat meaning that he has 18k chains and 14k lobster clasps 18k rings that have been re-sized with 14k and on and on.this is why i wanted to cut it up but he was hesitant to let me do that. Also one more question on the nitric acid, should it be pure or diluted to a specific strength? 

thank you for all your help


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## jimdoc (Oct 7, 2009)

I think if you have 14K testing acid that should be nitric and not aqua regia. That sounds like a hassle to test if he has all different karat stamps put together, that means that any part could be mis-stamped or not gold. Just take your time so you know what you are buying. Jim


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 7, 2009)

I think that 14K acid has some HCl in it. According to the formulas I have, the only one that's just nitric is the 10K - 3/1, nitric/distilled water. That's strong enough to use on the notch.


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## Anonymous (Oct 8, 2009)

Hello, Now i'm a little confused, are you saying that i can notch the 18k gold and use 10k acid on it? what reaction would i be looking for in that test? And then why cant i use 10k acid when i do a scratch test on a stone?

thank you


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## eeTHr (Oct 8, 2009)

vending;

By cutting the deep notch, you are testing for base metals _under_ the gold surface.

goldsilverpro is telling you that the 10K test solution is three parts nitric and one part water, so it doesn't have any hydrochloric acid in it at all, and so it would be the better of your test solutions to do this notch test for base metals.


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## goldsilverpro (Oct 8, 2009)

The notch test is see if it's solid gold, or not. Then, you find out what karat it is with the touchstone.


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## Anonymous (Oct 8, 2009)

Got it! thank you!


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## Anonymous (May 17, 2010)

after you dissolve gold in auqua regia what are the steps to reclaiming the gold can someone help plz? is there a video on this?
also if you say put computer parts in nitric acid how do you reclaim the gold .......... i am so new to this i plan to keep on reading for mnths before i try any thing could some one help me get started
thank you


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## rfd298 (May 17, 2010)

A good place to start would be to read Hoke's Book:

"Refining Precious Metals Wastes by CM. Hoke"

http://tinyurl.com/mfnyhs


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## Harold_V (May 17, 2010)

viper4861 said:


> after you dissolve gold in auqua regia what are the steps to reclaiming the gold can someone help plz? is there a video on this?
> also if you say put computer parts in nitric acid how do you reclaim the gold .......... i am so new to this i plan to keep on reading for mnths before i try any thing could some one help me get started
> thank you


Before you seek outside guidance with these questions, it's wise to gain a basic understanding of the refining process, and why it is done as it is. There's precious little in print that can help you to better understand these things than reading Hoke's book. Do that before you start asking redundant questions---for her book will detail, not only how, but why, plus it will teach you how to test, and to make test and standard solutions. No one should attempt to refine until there basic things are understood. They are the life and blood of refining. 

Hoke does not discuss processing of e scrap, because in her time there was no such thing. However, when you understand refining principles, you will also understand how you can process e scrap. Get a copy of Hoke and start reading.

Harold


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## gold4mike (May 28, 2010)

Vending,

Do a search on the forum for "Pawnbroker Bob" and you'll find a link to an excellent pdf file that will teach you how to test karat gold.

I think this link will get you there as well:

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1765


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## Anonymous (Aug 22, 2010)

hi. i have nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, and i don't know how to do the big drop or well said to filter the gold from aqua regia, could you help me please ? Thanks for advices. Cheers


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## goldsilverpro (Aug 22, 2010)

iulian25 said:


> hi. i have nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, and i don't know how to do the big drop or well said to filter the gold from aqua regia, could you help me please ? Thanks for advices. Cheers



I hate to keep repeating this, but everything you need to know has been written in great detail many times on the forum.


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## Harold_V (Aug 22, 2010)

Read Hoke.

Harold


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