Does Gold Tarnish - Brown - Black etc?

Billy

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Western Australia
Does Gold Tarnish - Brown - Black etc? Just wondering because I have a few finds both from the Beach and Land which I suspect are Gold, but were very tarnished and now they are coming up like Gold in my tumbler.
 
Yes it does. I have dug a few gold items that you would have sworn were junk - due to the discoloration, check them all ! 90 % of gold & silver items will be stamped - look first of all for the stamp. Steve in so az
 
Hey Billy, I too have noticed that a few times, at a nearby drained lake. A gold ring half in the mud, half out will have a stubborn brown stain on the mud side. My thought for an explanation would be the alloy content that makes up say 50 percent of a 12 K gold ring, is the reason, as 100 percent pure gold does not tarnish. At any rate it takes a lot of polishing to get rid of it.
 
Yes, 10K gold will definitely tarnish, and I suppose 12K will, too. I had an old 10K fountain pen that I got cheap because it was tarnished. I decided to experiment on it with some Brasso - it took the tarnish off and made it shine like new. Don't know if it would work with every piece of 10K, but it worked for me. .... and no, it wasn't a brass pen! ;)
 
The type of gold makes a lot of difference in it's appearance after being in the ground. I found a ring one time that looked exactly like brass. It was even crudely made and everyone who looked at it said it was just a brass nut made into a ring. I took it to a coin and precious metals dealer and he gave me $225 for the scrap GOLD content. Glad I didn't listen to those who told me it was brass. That was a very valuable lesson.:D
 
Gold Test Kits

You might consider getting a gold/silver test kit ... I picked one up on ebay real cheap (i like cheap)
 
The type of gold makes a lot of difference in it's appearance after being in the ground. I found a ring one time that looked exactly like brass. It was even crudely made and everyone who looked at it said it was just a brass nut made into a ring. I took it to a coin and precious metals dealer and he gave me $225 for the scrap GOLD content. Glad I didn't listen to those who told me it was brass. That was a very valuable lesson.:D

:yes:

Always ask an expert...

Geoff
Kentucky Coinshooter
 
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Gold will tarnish

Local gold can be black. It is a gold, sulfur,iron bond. Comes off with acid..Cordially Nad
 
According to one source, "gold can react with oxygen to form an oxide, e.g. Gold (III) Oxide." So, according to this the answer is yes.

I can only speak from experience.

I dug a very old nice solid gold ring once that came out of the ground looking nearly new.

A couple years ago I dug what I believe to be a large rose gold (gold mixed with copper 75/25) item that came out of the ground looking very dark purple (almost black).

Generally speaking I think most gold items will come out of the ground looking very gold. With the possible exception of rose gold due to its having a considerable amount of copper added.

I've often wondered how many people have dug rose gold and thought it was only copper.

Those of us who saw that video of the recovery of the S.S. Republic treasure saw how they had to clean most of those gold coins. But it seems to me the corrosion was mostly just clinging to the surfaces of these coins and not into them.

This is a complex and interesting subject.
 
Pure gold does NOT tarnish nor oxidize. PERIOD!!! That being said, the metals it is alloyed with (i.e. copper, silver, tin, nickel) WILL tarnish and/or oxidize. So, if it is not pure gold, you can see discoloration. If it is, it will look like the day it was found... pure gold. RickO
 
Stamped gold

90 % of gold & silver items will be stamped - look first of all for the stamp. Steve in so az[/QUOTE]


As a note, there is a lot of jewelry stamped 14 k that are nothing but junk with a wash over it. They generally come from far eastern shores. If its stamped, and it don't look right, it probably aint. I won a mans 14k nugget ring in a poker game years ago. It was put up to cover 50 dollars. The ring was worth a cool 5 dollars if that, live and learn...Gil
 
Gil - As a matter of fact I am in the process of making a new display of bogus stamped gold items I have dug over the years. So far I have 2 heavy bracelets & a man's necklace. I'll post a pic when I get it together. Steve in so az
 
Yes the copper in the gold can tarnish. Sometimes rather nicely such as this example.
StGaudensDoubleEagle1924NGCStarObve.jpg
 
Cleaning gold

I found this recently in a local lake. It is stamped on the back - 1\20 12k G. F. C. T. This apparently means - "A marking that says 1/20 12K G.F. means that the jewelry is at least 1/20th 12K gold by weight. Gold Plated Jewelry. The gold layer in gold plated jewelry". It weighs 8 grams. As you can see from the pics it is stained around the sides. Besides rubbing for a very long time, is there any other way to clean off this type of stain on gold?

MS
 

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MasterSAM....It is not worth it to clean a gold filled item such as that. The browning on the edges means that there is no remaining gold filled/plate left on it to polish. Sorry, but that one should go in the costume jewelry category. There basically is no worth in cleaning it. All of the refineries will not process gold filled/plated pieces since the content is so minute. Still would be a fun piece to give to a kid! :D :confused: HH
NC
 
MasterSAM....It is not worth it to clean a gold filled item such as that. The browning on the edges means that there is no remaining gold filled/plate left on it to polish. Sorry, but that one should go in the costume jewelry category. There basically is no worth in cleaning it. All of the refineries will not process gold filled/plated pieces since the content is so minute. Still would be a fun piece to give to a kid! :D :confused: HH
NC

This is not correct information.:mad:

Most refining companies will take gold filled items and will pay you for the gold recovered. The browning on the edges can indeed be polished out but carefully as you dont want to use abrasive tools. Your item from weight and karat value is worth around 10$.

Please make sure you know what you are talking about before posting an answer to a questioning concerning value..:no:
 
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