Could this be natural silver?

This was recovered in Connecticut. The second picture is the backside, and I ran hot water over the back so you can see it better.

It is not attracted to a magnet.

It can scratch my fingernail.
It cannot scratch one of my forms of green calcite, it could scratch another form of calcite when pressed very hard.
It cannot scratch Fluorite.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/11/2012 12:16AM by Daniel jacobs.

It might be silver. Where did you get it? Do a specific gravity on it and see how well it matches that of silver. See if it conducts electricity well.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

I found it in Connecticut. I dont know the exact whereabouts. But most likely Portland.

It weighs 2.2 grams, but I dont have all the resources to do a SG test

It definitely looks the part of silver, and according to the database, silver is reported from these five localities in Connecticut, so it is plausable. I would try to get a SG test as Rock suggested. Maybe take it to a local mineral club or university geology department to get their opinion on it as well.

Maybe ill bring it by a pawn shop to see if they can do a silver chemical test for me for no charge.

2.2 grams doesn't sound like much, but I'm not sure how much water it can displace. If you can find out that, let us know. Silver is heavy, so it should feel distinctly heavier in your hand than quartz or a dark rock it's size. Even impure, it should have an SG of 10-ish, way heavier than quartz' 2.6 or a dark rock, maybe 3...

It appears very light for silver. 1 cm³ silver would weigh some 11 grams. Based on the photos, your piece appears to be not less than 1 cm³ in volume. Could it be some organic matter?

Olav