Long time lurker, ready to become more involved

[Nitric_cowboy]

Hi! Over the last couple of years I’ve really taken an interest in refining silver/gold and recently started making small bars and buttons. I have roughly 408lbs of silver by weigh and maybe 3oz of gold. The vast majority of silver is junk coins that have no value beyond its weight and I’m really hoping to some day have all that turned into .999 stamped bars.

All the gold is junk jewelry, ranging from 10-18K and 18lbs pounds of plated junk with unknown base metals.

I’ve got an 80gal propane tank that I hooked up a regulator and setup to give me a steady flame. I have everything needed to melt metals and pour.

I’ve got most of the basic chemicals and lab equipment needed to refine gold and silver.

What I’m missing is experience and knowledge.

 

[4metals]

Welcome to the forum. You can find everything you need to know here on the forum. Just start slow, ask lots of questions if you are unsure, and enjoy yourself.
It is quite a thrill to produce your own gold and silver bars.
Follow the link in my signature line to the library and start by reading Hoke’s book, a book written long ago and tailored to the non chemist. A great place to start.

 

[nickvc]

Welcome to the forum.
Just to advise you if you have coins keep them as they are as they are readily valued as the silver content is known , if you refine them you do end up with fine silver but with no easy way to prove the assay you claim.
If you have flat ware or junk silver jewelry then refine those items to learn the process.

 

[eaglekeeper]

18lbs pounds of plated junk with unknown base metals.

You may already know these things, but just in case....

Test each piece...especially ear rings. Most people look for the markings on the main body of the piece, but I have some that are marked on the stem and without a loop you can't see it...at least my old eye's can't.

As others have mentioned, if you destroy the markings it becomes a little more difficult to sell if you need the money in a hurry. If you have a good relationship with a refinery, pawn shop, jeweler...etc and they understand what you do, then maybe it will be easier/faster to sell.

As for the silver coins, have you checked them for key dates, rare mint marks or errors. Some collectors pay good money for some of those. If you have foreign coin silver, those are not usually 90% silver. (or 40% in the case of war nickels/Kennedy half's)

Sterling flatware, candle holders....etc are usually filled with weight material and will needed to be separated out.

 

[Heavy-Black-Sand]

The vast majority of silver is junk coins that have no value beyond its weight and I’m really hoping to some day have all that turned into .999 stamped bars.

I wouldn't melt the Junk Silver ... premiums on Junk Silver soar aggressively when Silver goes into a bull market ... you can buy fractional LBMA silver bars for closest to spot price if you want to play around with making bars.

 

[Nitric_cowboy]

You may already know these things, but just in case....

Test each piece...especially ear rings. Most people look for the markings on the main body of the piece, but I have some that are marked on the stem and without a loop you can't see it...at least my old eye's can't.

As others have mentioned, if you destroy the markings it becomes a little more difficult to sell if you need the money in a hurry. If you have a good relationship with a refinery, pawn shop, jeweler...etc and they understand what you do, then maybe it will be easier/faster to sell.

As for the silver coins, have you checked them for key dates, rare mint marks or errors. Some collectors pay good money for some of those. If you have foreign coin silver, those are not usually 90% silver. (or 40% in the case of war nickels/Kennedy half's)

Sterling flatware, candle holders....etc are usually filled with weight material and will needed to be separated out.

Aye, I’ve been watching a guy “sreetips” on YouTube and has a video where he is taking gold plated junk, cutting it and testing each piece. I appreciate the advice and hope you might provide your opinion on if he is a good source to learn from (if familiar with him).

 

[Nitric_cowboy]

I wouldn't melt the Junk Silver ... premiums on Junk Silver soar aggressively when Silver goes into a bull market ... you can buy fractional LBMA silver bars for closest to spot price if you want to play around with making bars.

A large portion of these coins are so worn down that are border line to losing value as a known quantity, as in one may suspect they are aren’t original or have been altered to reduce its silver percentage. Edging gone, face barely recognizable, etc. I actually suspect myself some of the coins have had silver leached from them. I got them 15% below spot many years ago and tested every 20th coin, not enough to be positive of what I have overall.

 

[eaglekeeper]

Aye, I’ve been watching a guy “sreetips” on YouTube and has a video where he is taking gold plated junk, cutting it and testing each piece. I appreciate the advice and hope you might provide your opinion on if he is a good source to learn from (if familiar with him).

Sreetips is a very reliable source, you'll find that he's on the forum from time to time.

I actually suspect myself some of the coins have had silver leached from them.

I don't think you can leech away the silver from coins. Did you buy them by weight/silver content or by the coin (2 times of face value...etc). I only buy coins by weight/silver content because it accounts for any wear on the coins.

 

[goldshark]

We had a very frugal personality in our town quite a few years ago. He would go to the bank for pennies, back when they were made from Copper. He would leach a bit off each one, put them back in the rolls, then return to the bank for a fresh supply. I don't know if he used the solution for plating, or if he did it just to get even with our favorite Uncle Sam.

 

[Nitric_cowboy]

Sreetips is a very reliable source, you'll find that he's on the forum from time to time.


I don't think you can leech away the silver from coins. Did you buy them by weight/silver content or by the coin (2 times of face value...etc). I only buy coins by weight/silver content because it accounts for any wear on the coins.

Good to hear you can’t leach silver out, I must of misunderstood something I read elsewhere. I/we bought by weight.

 

[4metals]

I've literally melted many thousands of ounces of coin silver. Cast most into anodes and dissolved some to make electrolyte. While I have never tried to digest a single coin, melting does not change the composition and I have digested coins that were granulated (which creates more surface area) many times.

So I do not believe you cannot leach Silver out of a coin. You cannot selectively leach Silver out of a coin but you can dissolve the alloy.

As far as Sreetips goes, I happened on a video of his recently where he said he learned everything he knows about refining here on the GRF. He has done a wonderful job of taking that knowledge and creating videos for the visual learners.

I guess this confirms what the Nitric Cowboy may have figured out by now. He has come to the right place.

 

[eaglekeeper]

You cannot selectively leach Silver out of a coin

That's probably how I should have said it...thanks.

 

[Thomas M Joseph]

My opinion:

There is no need to refine your coin. You already have the best assay available. The US mint. You can already sell to a major refiner for the assay value of your coin, minus their take. Either in cash or assayed silver. In the event you plan to become a refiner your self, the cash would equip a more than average lab. As a speculator in silver, there is no need to refine it as this will not change the value.

 

[Nitric_cowboy]

That's probably how I should have said it...thanks.

Appreciate it and happy to learn that.

 

[4metals]

There is no need to refine your coin. You already have the best assay available. The US mint. You can already sell to a major refiner for the assay value of your coin, minus their take. Either in cash or assayed silver. In the event you plan to become a refiner your self, the cash would equip a more than average lab. As a speculator in silver, there is no need to refine it as this will not change the value.

While this is absolutely true for coinage, and think of all of the time and chemicals and waste you won’t have to deal with, I still have this little demon sitting on my shoulder whispering in my ear “refine it, chemistry is fun!” And I’ll cave in every time!!!