# testing silver



## sassafrass1958 (Aug 9, 2009)

I have some silver looking tea pots with 800 written on the bottem of it. What is the best way to test silver on the spot. I was told to scratch some material on a gold stone and put 18k salution on it and if it turns milky looking is has silver in it. Sounds a little funky to me. Any sure fire way to test other than an assey? Thanks PD


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## Harold_V (Aug 10, 2009)

It is fairly safe to assume that the 800 designates 800 fine silver. The item likely hails from one of the Scandinavian countries, but not necessarily. The UK, and the US, tend to make such items of sterling, or coin, each of which would be marked 925 or 900 respectively. 

If you'd like to do a test, there's nothing better than Schwerter's testing solution, but you can also do a test with a drop of nitric acid. Apply it to an area that won't show readily (bottom, for instance) and allow it to work. The resulting solution should turn a light green color, and will precipitate silver chloride if you add some salt, or HCl, after it has done its work. Nitric will work faster and better if it is dilute, half nitric, half water. Tap water should be discouraged for testing, so use distilled or de-ionized.

Both of these tests are not without damage to the piece, although it's not usually major. Don't perform a test on something that you don't want degraded. 

If you're not familiar with Schwerter's, you might have success doing a search on the forum. It has been discussed considerably. For guidance, it's a testing solution made of reagent nitric acid, distilled water and potassium dichromate. It reacts blood red to silver. 

Harold


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## qst42know (Aug 10, 2009)

While some silver items may be 800 silver, 80% pure. If they are not European in origin the 800 may designate a pattern number not a purity of silver. To my knowledge 800 silver was never a standard for silver in the USA though quite a bit has been imported.

This common pattern from Wm Rogers is pattern #800 and is only silver plate.

http://www.tace.com/i/20594.html

Do you have a photo of the items and mark?


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## Fournines (Aug 10, 2009)

You can use 18k gold testing acid just as you described. If it turns a milky white there is silver. It's not a perfect test, but should be fine for what you want to do.

Using either the scratch test, or Harold's test, try to do it in a spot that is hidden, or on something you won't mind damaging.


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## Harold_V (Aug 11, 2009)

I got off on a tangent with my reply, assuming that the piece in question was, indeed, 800 fine. Truth be told, it may not be silver at all, not even silver plated. I apologize for assuming what I did, although, if the piece is, indeed, 800 fine, the information is very credible. 

The most reliable test to determine if an object is made of silver is a nitric acid test. It is a destructive test, unfortunately. A deep notch is filed in the piece in question, then a drop of nitric is applied to the filed notch. If the item is primarily silver, the reaction will be a relatively clear solution, although it will have a hint of green (less so with sterling or coin). If the item is silver plated, the notch will yield a profuse greenish/blue color. Do not be deceived if the base metal appears to be white. The alloy used is often a very white one, so when the silver is worn off, the piece is still somewhat the same color. That is not true of all pieces. Some are made of copper. 

Silver, when tested with nitric, ends up with a rather cream colored surface, and as has been already mentioned, the resulting solution will yield silver chloride by the addition of chlorine. It's hard to not see the resulting silver chloride, so it's a fairly reliable test. 

Harold


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## BSGMiner (Aug 17, 2019)

Fournines said:


> You can use 18k gold testing acid just as you described. If it turns a milky white there is silver. It's not a perfect test, but should be fine for what you want to do...


I think I just found the case where this doesn't give visual proof that something is silver... Silver-_plated_, that is! More specifically, E.P. on _Steel_.

I found the 18k solution advice very useful for cheaply plated trays, which I was finding too hard to distinguish with the usual silver testing solution since it might barely flash a reddish hue before it got to the base metals and instantly turn bluish-green. So, I was almost ecstatic over finding an easy way to have lasting proof in the form of a whitish precipitate as conclusive evidence that it was silver-plated.

Now, this is where it gets interesting... All was going well until I got to a tray that happened to be stamped "Silver Plated E.P. on Steel". For some dufus reason (Doh!), it didn't hit me until I got the same lack-of-whitish-precipitate-result with one of those old 1988 Reader's Digest FREE Silver-Plated Coasters, which was still in the package--yeah, I know I could've sold it on eBay for more than the value of its silver content --that I had an "Aha moment" and realized that the iron in the steel had to be taking the chloride instead of the silver since it's higher on the reactivity scale.

EUREKA! This proves what I've been wanting to do recently on a super-small scale--just like Hoke said to do --with all of my de-plated silver that I've been talking about in other threads: The Sulfuric-Iron method of converting silver chloride back to silver.

Oh, man, I can't wait. This is gonna be awesome.


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## anachronism (Aug 17, 2019)

Just buy some silver test solution for 5 bucks.


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## BSGMiner (Aug 17, 2019)

anachronism said:


> Just buy some silver test solution for 5 bucks.


That's what I was referring to when I said that it was hard to tell with the usual silver test solution since the silver plating is so thin that it eats right through it into the base metals and almost instantly turns blue-green.


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## FrugalRefiner (Aug 17, 2019)

BSGMiner said:


> anachronism said:
> 
> 
> > Just buy some silver test solution for 5 bucks.
> ...


And that, too, tells you something. On heavy plating, like higher quality flatware, silver testing solution (Schwerter's Solution) can give a consistent, red color, even when testing on the same spot several times. Thinner plating, like cheap platters, can turn red, then quickly change to the blue green typical of copper base metals. The more you test, the more the results can truly tell you.

Dave


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## BSGMiner (Aug 17, 2019)

Oh, they're cheap trays for sure. I get them for a few bucks each, but I've just been accumulating them until now. It's probably high hopes, but I'm hoping for at least a gram or two from the big trays.


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