Is there an easy test to confirm silver?

[pshattuck]

I was panning some material from an area of Clear Creek in Colorado and every pan had pieces of a grey metal that is easy to bend. I assume it is silver, as the areas upstream were famous for silver deposits. Is there an easy way to confirm whether or not these little pieces of metal are silver?

 

[element47]

You can **BEND** little teensy pieces/flecks of metal...?

I believe I've read that most of the silver deposits in CO are heavy in Lead. Usually, mineralized silver is black, from sulfur, although there are rocks that appear light grey.

I am not an expert in this area, but I'd venture to say that there's no substitute for a real assay.

 

[Drewbie]

Bending suggests elemental metal rather than a metallic looking crystal mineral.

Make up some Schwerter's solution. Pink says silver, yellow says lead (or tin?) something in between says something in between.

 

[peter i]

- dissolve a flake in a few drops of nitric
- Add a drop of hydrochloric acid
A white precipitate indicates silver, lead (or mercury)

If the precipitate can be dissolved in a large excess of concentrated ammonia solution, it is silver chloride.

 

[butcher]

schwerters solution.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=984&bih=508&q=schwerters+solution&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&safe=active