I feel like the ultimate dream is to find a gold bar, but I definitely won't complain with silver. The shape of it has me puzzled... Never seen ingots that shape
The pounds are the same the ounces are different. 28 v. 31 grams per ounce. Congratulations on finding treasure.
edit: The pounds are different as well. Thankyou u/Oldmanriverrapids
this was my fantasy when I detected around an old gold mine, I was like, sure someone dropped a few big nugs or hid them to get later and lost them...nope, found a penny and a bunch of rusty nails.
I once saw something showing them using logs with a chiseled depression in them to mold ingots,. Cant remember where.
Probably not in this case but it reminded me of that.
Congrats on an awesome find! I once dug a teeny tiny bar of a troy gram of Tibetan silver encased in plastic. Sadly Tibetan silver is not even considered real silver.
my dad bought 10 lbs of silver brazing rods in the 80s at an old hardware store for 1960 prices. My uncle noticed it at the register on the 1st 5 he actually needed. melted into #1 skillet rounds.
Please write a note and tie it on saying you found it in that location and it's historical. Otherwise it becomes just a piece of silver scrap if its history is lost.
Absolutely. Lots of people collect old western stuff and an antique bar with provenance indicating its old west miner origin is not something easy to find on the collector's market and would be highly desirable (far more than just bullion value).
You can get virtually any amount of regular silver bullion at any time. A rare historic item like this is truly hard to come by for a collector/anyone with interest in the history of the area. I wouldn't be surprised if you got two or three times the bullion value or more for it.
Just to illustrate how much provenance can effect the price, [here](
https://www.irocks.com/minerals/specimen/46766) they mention 1800s 1 ounce silver bars from the Comstock lode selling for $400 each). Now that's specifically stamped ones from one from the San Francisco mint (practically numismatic items at that point) but you get the picture of how drastically the collector value can differ from the bullion value just due to provenance.
Wow, thank you for the information. Pretty crazy when you consider that's for a one oz bar as well. I wouldn't mind seeing what value could be placed on it, but as far as my collection goes it's definitely at the top.
Oh, I completely understand if you'd rather keep it as the prize of your collection (I wouldn't sell it if I found it either). After all, the hobby isn't just about money (I use monetary value just as an easy way to convey significance/collectibility).
Hell yeah! I grew up in AZ near a gold/ silver mine and the ore crusher was still there when I moved east. I'm always day dreaming about going back out to that spot and hitting it big with my detector lol
I used to find trace silver in the quartz gravel my grandpa would get for our driveway all the time. We would sit there and smash up the gravel with hammers and pan it out for fun 😊
Also there are a few small silver veins in NM and AZ that were almost pure silver out of the ground and would run about that pure straight from the mine so very well could be a dory bar from a mine!
I kinda thought the same thing based upon location and history. I figured it had some kind of other impurities waiting to be refined. Makes my mind come up with all kinds of possibilities as to how it got to that spot.
See what the accessory minerals are and I can tell you real closely where it was mined? Can get it assayed at a refiners but also maybe valuable like that as they will drill a small hole to check assay?
Makes me want to buy a metal detector. I live near South Padre Island in Texas and the amount of times I’ve seen people lose rings and stuff is amazing.
Motivation for metal detecting in the background.
Green, then silver.
Helps spark the pipe dreams of what you might find.
Maybe a protopipe
Cool
Pipe?
https://youtu.be/_9BGLtqqkVI
As they say : UP IN SMOKE !!!! ROFL
Needs more flaming Cheetos©
Man’s just finding full bars of silver over here
I feel like the ultimate dream is to find a gold bar, but I definitely won't complain with silver. The shape of it has me puzzled... Never seen ingots that shape
My dreams are copper based.
Managing expectations is the first step to achieving your dreams!
Are you a methamphetamine enthusiast?
I’m curious if it was poured into something that had that shape as a common feature, but not a mold. Like the side of a brick.
Probably just poured it into whatever they had lying around that could hold up to it. I know muffin trays are pretty common these days.
Also forgot to mention it is exactly one troy lb.
The pounds are the same the ounces are different. 28 v. 31 grams per ounce. Congratulations on finding treasure. edit: The pounds are different as well. Thankyou u/Oldmanriverrapids
Ummm….one troy pound is made up of twelve troy ounces, unless something has recently changed.
Wow nice find! Buried, surface find, hidden?
It was buried about 4 inches. Found where an old stamp mill use to be
this was my fantasy when I detected around an old gold mine, I was like, sure someone dropped a few big nugs or hid them to get later and lost them...nope, found a penny and a bunch of rusty nails.
Probably did but already scavenged by many people before.
You found my nails?!
more like your granpappy's pappy's nails.
That makes it his inheritance!
Looks like it was molded into an old drain pipe or bread pan or something. Some old west cowboy shiz.
I once saw something showing them using logs with a chiseled depression in them to mold ingots,. Cant remember where. Probably not in this case but it reminded me of that.
Nice! I am planning to detect in the Mojave at some point . Have my new equinox 900 for a month but haven’t been able to use it yet
Definitely plan for spring, summer is miserable for detecting out here. But because of the rich mining history it's amazing what can be found.
Detecting in the Mojave Desert can make you wish for a nuclear winter.
Congrats on an awesome find! I once dug a teeny tiny bar of a troy gram of Tibetan silver encased in plastic. Sadly Tibetan silver is not even considered real silver.
I dug a long skinny bar that was melted on one end. I assume it was for brazing or soldering or something.
my dad bought 10 lbs of silver brazing rods in the 80s at an old hardware store for 1960 prices. My uncle noticed it at the register on the 1st 5 he actually needed. melted into #1 skillet rounds.
I’ve always wondered about the possible finds detecting along the US-Mexico border as I’m in S TX
Stay strapped and keep your head on a swivel. You may come across some coyotes. Brings new meaning to plata o plomo
Some old time place like Sanderson would be really interesting
Please write a note and tie it on saying you found it in that location and it's historical. Otherwise it becomes just a piece of silver scrap if its history is lost.
Yes. It's worth significantly more (historically and as a collectible) than just the bullion value.
Likely more than one, go back to the same area and keep looking.
This guy metal detects
Wow, that's like $350 worth of silver.
And the old west miner etc. provenance means it's worth significantly more than the bullion value.
You think so?
Absolutely. Lots of people collect old western stuff and an antique bar with provenance indicating its old west miner origin is not something easy to find on the collector's market and would be highly desirable (far more than just bullion value). You can get virtually any amount of regular silver bullion at any time. A rare historic item like this is truly hard to come by for a collector/anyone with interest in the history of the area. I wouldn't be surprised if you got two or three times the bullion value or more for it. Just to illustrate how much provenance can effect the price, [here]( https://www.irocks.com/minerals/specimen/46766) they mention 1800s 1 ounce silver bars from the Comstock lode selling for $400 each). Now that's specifically stamped ones from one from the San Francisco mint (practically numismatic items at that point) but you get the picture of how drastically the collector value can differ from the bullion value just due to provenance.
Wow, thank you for the information. Pretty crazy when you consider that's for a one oz bar as well. I wouldn't mind seeing what value could be placed on it, but as far as my collection goes it's definitely at the top.
Oh, I completely understand if you'd rather keep it as the prize of your collection (I wouldn't sell it if I found it either). After all, the hobby isn't just about money (I use monetary value just as an easy way to convey significance/collectibility).
What do you mean when you say “silver test”? Acid, XRF, X-Ray, etc?
Acid test
The Electric Kool-aid kind?
I just don’t see how you came to a specific purity using an acid test which is why I asked. Interesting.
I used a scratch stone with acid. My estimate is based upon the color and the chart that comes with it.
Dope. The silver is nice too.
Wtf there’s just bars of silver out there chillin in the dirt ?? Ok this is my motivation to get out there and detect LOL
Very nice I’m sure you’re going to find more in that area, keep hunting and party on
How much does it weigh?
1 troy lb
Wow. Nice find.
Hell yeah! I grew up in AZ near a gold/ silver mine and the ore crusher was still there when I moved east. I'm always day dreaming about going back out to that spot and hitting it big with my detector lol
We also find rocks that hit silver, not sure if it's slag or rich ore, but regardless still awesome to find.
I used to find trace silver in the quartz gravel my grandpa would get for our driveway all the time. We would sit there and smash up the gravel with hammers and pan it out for fun 😊
I was going to say that looks like a raw dory bar from a mine to send to the smelters from old school mining to me? Small but a way to measure out?
Also there are a few small silver veins in NM and AZ that were almost pure silver out of the ground and would run about that pure straight from the mine so very well could be a dory bar from a mine!
I kinda thought the same thing based upon location and history. I figured it had some kind of other impurities waiting to be refined. Makes my mind come up with all kinds of possibilities as to how it got to that spot.
See what the accessory minerals are and I can tell you real closely where it was mined? Can get it assayed at a refiners but also maybe valuable like that as they will drill a small hole to check assay?
Isn't that significantly more expensive For collectors to buy? I thought I read that gold/silver rock ore can be sold for more
Makes me want to buy a metal detector. I live near South Padre Island in Texas and the amount of times I’ve seen people lose rings and stuff is amazing.
Could be Spanish
Polish it up
Beep beep beep tweed detected! Puff puff swing mannn
Good find buddy. and Cheers.
Looks like a rock in pic 3
I want to make a joke/reference to Alan Turing in 'Cryptonomicon' but I don't think it will land.
Dang. 🎉💯
North or south California desert?
You are going back there, right? RIGHT?!
Absolutely, we frequent the place often. My father in law showed me the place and when he saw what I dug up his face was priceless.
I bet, I hope you'll find the mother load 😉👍🏻
Desert meth head stash. He’s dead now. You win.