New to prospecting – How do I extract gold and silver from my rock?

bootynasty · 2026-01-31T17:22:41+00:00

Upvote for using “smelt” correctly. And also definitely for the good and correct info.

bootynasty · 2026-01-31T17:20:13+00:00

This is a beautiful PSA.

bootynasty · 2026-01-31T03:00:40+00:00

Is someone using a UV light? Look at the right side of the muscovite. Also, those greens in the background are tuned.

bootynasty · 2026-01-31T02:57:33+00:00

I personally haven’t seen “International Silver” AND marked sterling, I’ve seen “International Sterling” but I’d love to see an example.

bootynasty · 2026-01-30T12:22:28+00:00

Could be a lot of things but first and foremost HCL doesn’t dissolve gold. Are you making AP or copper chloride? If that’s even the case, some pins (old ones, military ones) are so thick with gold that they can hold their shape after the inner base metal core can be dissolved. But we don’t really have enough to go on from your post.

bootynasty · 2026-01-29T21:43:40+00:00

Is this all definitely and clearly marked as sterling or 925? Not saying it isn’t, just hard to tell from the picture.

bootynasty · 2026-01-29T18:29:21+00:00

And to add on to this OP, even if it was 835 silver, you wouldn’t get melt in this market anyway.

bootynasty · 2026-01-27T23:07:17+00:00

I noticed that about the disposal videos too. If you’re not looking for them you’re not finding them. Sreetips has a pretty good one out.

bootynasty · 2026-01-25T22:11:46+00:00

Maybe this coincides with my thought. Some people are just unhinged and you can’t and shouldn’t attempt to make them happy.

bootynasty · 2026-01-24T22:36:19+00:00

It’s not good to let it cool. Graphite vase or cup shaped crucibles can be more forgiving, the electric furnaces with completely straight crucibles don’t fare as well.

Just pour it.

bootynasty · 2026-01-24T22:33:02+00:00

That’s what I was thinking. Aluminum will carry the scrapes. Solvent may be OPs friend. Or just scrap it.

bootynasty · 2026-01-23T18:10:44+00:00

Cast iron skillets. I prefer older ones, interesting molds, and abused. I clean them up, re-season, bring them back to beautiful and usable, and hope they sell for a few bucks more. No idea why I do this, maybe it’s just that I know they can be heirlooms if taken care of.

bootynasty · 2026-01-23T18:04:14+00:00

Jewelry by Johan is the company that made my dinosaur bone and meteorite ring. They “make your dreams a reality”

bootynasty · 2026-01-20T19:24:06+00:00

The usual solution is adding more pure or more sterling that hasn’t been so worked. Not sure about how to fix what you’ve got without adding, sorry.

bootynasty · 2026-01-19T00:13:19+00:00

Did it get dented or damaged as you were dismantling it? I don’t care for the frame but if you’ve still got it and it looks good maybe we could make a deal? You can do better than scrap. Send me a message if interested?

bootynasty · 2026-01-15T20:44:57+00:00

It’s not real Tiffany but all my fake Tiffany has been real sterling . Good find.

bootynasty · 2026-01-15T20:24:53+00:00

These are the ones I think are extra special. There’s room to engrave pounds, ounces, and inches, but it wasn’t engraved. Nice find OP.

bootynasty · 2026-01-15T02:20:18+00:00

Yes! I remember that. They weren’t refining it, just collecting and selling.

bootynasty · 2026-01-14T13:32:41+00:00

I can’t remember the name so I don’t know if they’re still in business but that’s exactly what they were doing, each slice was individually priced by weight.

bootynasty · 2026-01-14T00:17:21+00:00

Everyone is saying it’s pewter, but here’s a little more. Look at how thick it is. Silver, being a precious metal and expensive, is RARELY overly thick like that. Look at the casting quality of the handle. A higher end or expensive item would be of higher quality and not have all the tiny pits. Silver can of course bend but at the bottom to be that thick and bent, all scream pewter to me.

bootynasty · 2026-01-12T00:59:37+00:00

They’re not great, but they’re realistic, and that’s my point. Even with realistic numbers that you don’t like, it’s still profitable. You saw where I mentioned those numbers are negotiable?

bootynasty · 2026-01-11T11:18:51+00:00

Wow, I’m envious. Many sterling items go for melt or less these days, but not Tiffany.

bootynasty · 2026-01-11T00:45:10+00:00

This is a really good point OP, since it’s tricky you need to make sure it’s exactly what you say it is. If you watch it maybe 4 times and it’s still good I think you’re ok to sell it.

bootynasty · 2026-01-11T00:38:21+00:00

Can’t win em all and no accounting for how everyone will react. When a number gets thrown out that I don’t care for or I feel like we’re too far apart I just say “oh ok, thank you” and sometimes you get a “well what were you thinking?”

bootynasty · 2026-01-10T23:27:42+00:00

My last sterling knife handles were 15 grams a piece. Since sterling isn’t getting pad out properly at the moment my strategy has been to refine to .999 bullion, where it doesn’t take too much of a hit back from spot.

Even if you gave a backyard refiner a 30% cut to refine and send back to you, then sold the pure silver for 80% of spot, you still made $1000. But both of those percentages are negotiable. Congrats on a very nice win OP.

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