OK guys, I'm asking for some advice.

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silversaddle1

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
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Location
Iowa
I collect old parade saddles. I think most of you know that already. Here's the deal. I just got a call about a saddle in kentucky that is supposed to be all gold plated. Now this saddle is by a maker I collect big time, and I have heard rumors about these "gold plated saddles" before, but have never seen one. Not only that, but I have two "gold colored" saddles by this maker already that are really just jewelers bronze. I have looked the photos over real good and the color looks right. It is supposed to be gold plating over nickel silver. My question to you guys is what would be a good, quick way to test on the spot to insure that this is indeed gold plated. I know, I have seen thousands of pounds of gold plated stuff in my line of work, but this is different, I don't know if I can test without damaging the set.

And then that would bring up my next question. If it is really gold plated as stated, wouldn't the plating have to be pretty thick to stand up to the abuse and wear? I would think that there would be some spots where the nickel would be showing thru after 50 years.

So, if all is as they say it is, and it is gold plating over nickel. My guess is it would have to be as thick or thicker than mil spec plating, so look at the pic and try to guess the gold amount.

P.S. The gal who has the saddle bought it new from the maker and says she paid a ton of money for it back in the 60's.


Here is a pic of one of our brass "gold" saddles. The one in question is the same style with all the matching parts.
 

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acid test may be out of the question. XRF hand held may do it if you have access to one you can borrow. of coarse the area tested would have to be bare metal with no polish or varnish.
 
Call up some of the local scrap yards and ask them if their XRF is programed for precious metals, then have them shoot the saddle if it does not check out positive for gold get a refund. Write it into your sales agreement.

Might try some of the pawn shops to see if any have an XRF, I'm only suggesting this in case the purchase is in the next State over and this would be quick and non destructive way to test.
 
SilverSaddle---

There must be some obscure place on there that you can rub a stone, and test the line with acid.

If the plating is thin, this could expose the nickel, but like you said, it surely must be fairly thick plating.

Gold would buff back up easily with a power buffer, probably a quick touch with a buffing wheel on a Dremel. But that might not even be necessary.

If it's thick gold plating, even a drop of nitric, removed quickly, shouldn't hurt it. If it turns out to be only "golden" base metal, it should buff back up where the drop was, also. Do it on the underside where it won't stand out. It should only take a second for the acid to tell it's tale, so if it's base metal it won't eat much.

Worst case scenerio is that it will end up with a small circle of nickel exposed, on the underside or some other obscured place. Then whoever ends up owning it will have a "proof spot," for future inquiriing persons.

Or, if you can trace it back to the original owner, you could see if the manufacturer has a record of exactly what it is. And if so, they should be able to say what the thickness is, also.

I suppose it could even be karated gold layered.
 
If it is the same style as the one you have, I would guess that it is made from the same material as the one you have. I would definitely do some accurate testing before I bought it.
 
Claudie said:
If it is the same style as the one you have, I would guess that it is made from the same material as the one you have. I would definitely do some accurate testing before I bought it.
Click to expand...


Well not really. This maker made saddles from many different metals, including sterling and gold.
 
According to this site: https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=3161&aid=25187&lid=7067093
there were only three know to be Gold plated, it is suggesting they are from around 1970. This one sold for $7000.00
 
Claudie said:
According to this site: https://www.proxibid.com/asp/LotDetail.asp?ahid=3161&aid=25187&lid=7067093
there were only three know to be Gold plated, it is suggesting they are from around 1970. This one sold for $7000.00
Click to expand...

I know all about those saddles. While no one knows for sure exactly how many gold plated saddles Ted Flowers made, there are rumors. I have been collecting Ted Flowers saddles and tack for 15 years. No mater how much I see, I always come across something different that he made. But the one thing I have never came across is anything made by him that was gold plated. So, if this saddle does indeed pan out, it will be an important find as it will confirm that Flowers did indeed build some gold plated saddles. Not only that, but it will be a great addition to our collection.
 
Many (or, all?) of the XRF units can be programmed for non-destructive plating thickness measurement although actual plated standards are probably required. An XRF metals reading would only determine the presence of gold. A thickness measurement would determine its value.
 

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