placerchaser Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Rob, this video doesn't have anything to do with prospecting so I didn't put it in the youtube forum. Feel free to move it over there if you want to keep videos all in one place. It does however talk about that shiny yellow metal we all so love to dig up. Figured I'd post this info for those of you that not only prospect for precious metals, but also buy them to hedge your savings like I do.Interesting comparison of gold vs. silver as both money and a safe haven from paper currency. The argument is presented that silver should be priced much higher than it is now based on a multitude of factors, maybe even higher than gold. Gold and silver as a store of monetary value has changed greatly over the last few centuries.So if you are buying gold (or holding all those nuggies you dig up) as a hedge or investment, make sure you pick up some silver too! Have you found any silver nuggets in AZ Rob (or anyone else)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldies1955 Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Ive found silver, copper and brass (for some reason) nuggets. The silver is black when you dig it up and the copper is tarnished dark brown.Tom H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
placerchaser Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Interesting Tom, I always thought brass was a man made alloy. Maybe you found a melted brass button or something? I hear the gold can be black in some areas too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Young tom and I were out together that day and we each found one. I was sitting on a rock in the middle of a wash that had produced in the past. I dug under a large bolder that he helped me move and I found a nice gold nuggie. Using my GB Pro I located another target deeper down. It came up looking like a jet black gold nugget. Tom in the meantime got a target a few yards away and he also found a black nugget a little smaller and sort of round where as mine was longer and looking exactly like a gold nugget would. We detected further and didn't find anything more except trash. I took mine to the gold store and had acid put on it and the metal came out goldish but with a red tinge to it. Tom cleaned his and it came out nice and brite but you can tell it's not gold. Maybe somewhere up stream there were workings where they melted some brass. There were workings upstream but very small and no evidence of smelting. They had to be in the ground for quite a while to get a patina like that so I don't think that someone was trying to fake us out. Old tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNuggetBob Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Placer chaserBlack gold nuggets are rare. Back in the day many items were made of brass. The old timers always burned their dumps and sometimes there were broken brass items that melted making fire pit nuggets.they are common around old camp sites. they are not hard to tell from gold nuggets just by theirweight and they dont have the same look as gold nuggets. and a little nitric acid eats them up.Rob has found several natural black gold nuggets as have I. they have been found in several places around Arizona. We are still trying to figure out what causes this black coating on them. and yes silver nuggets are also usually black when found from natural oxidation . AzNuggetBob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 You know I never did think of that angle of it. Shoe eyelets and also buttons on overalls were some of the things made of brass. Yeah, everything went into the fire in the old days so it could have been a small operation after all that produced them. Anyway it was a small thrill and something to yack about when we found them. Thanks for the heads up Bob. Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Heres a nice little silver nugget. Taking on a dendritic type form, much like the gold in this area. Detected with a Gold Bug II Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Heres a bigger one from a different area. This one was wire silver before it got tumbled in the creek for who knows how long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNuggetBob Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Adam Nice silver, Great character on both of those nuggets. are they Nevada silver?AznuggetBob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Thanks Bob,They are Arizona nugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted July 6, 2012 Admin Report Share Posted July 6, 2012 Hello Adam, Interesting video on metals. I know several large investors in metals, most have stated they have made more money in Silver over the last 10-15 years than gold. Gold seems to jump up and down, Silver more consistant and maybe a better investment for the long haul. I have found small Silver nuggets here in Arizona and a few small Silver specimens from the general area you probably found yours. My partner has one Silver specimen with wire pieces sticking out that is almost the size of a football. We know where the Silver is coming from, as we tracked it back onto the hillside where the specimens were found. Talk with you later,Rob Allison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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