lazersteve said:
Imagine if I had earned a 1/2% royalty from everyone that ever used the AP process to recover gold foils from escrap since the day that I demonstrated it years ago. :shock:
Steve
Not to diminish in any way, your contributions to the process, but I feel I could say pretty much the same thing about the process of cleaning precipitated gold.
When I started on this forum, I never saw gold from any of the early members that could be considered (at least by my measure) as acceptable. I had an objective of high quality, so, to that end, I had worked hard on improving the end product. I had developed a washing procedure that I felt had merit, and while it was similar to that taught by Hoke, it was distinctly different.
I also championed the idea of a second refining (hardly something new, but not commonly practiced by the vast majority of members at that time), as well as eliminating base metals, to limit drag-down of unwanted substances. All too many simply dissolved everything with AR, then precipitated and melted. Shocking, but true.
I promoted these processes in the hopes that others would benefit. I, at no time, had any expectations of profiting from what I posted. Had I expected to do so, it would have never been offered freely, as it has been.
In life, we reap rewards in many ways. I enjoy trying to help others. Some are grateful, while others resent the intrusion. Some even grab the freely offered information and pretend it belongs to them. That's not at all uncommon. My washing procedure, for example, has been promoted by others on a regular basis, often with no mention that it may have come from me. That's the price we pay for sharing. Some folks are highly principled, while others don't have a grasp of the concept.
When I'm gone from this world, I can hope that others that may have benefitted from me will remember me in that light---that I tried to help, and expected nothing in return.
Harold
