stragne bar with wire embedded found at ca 1900 home

[Wyatt Earp]

This is a strange find, and I am not at all sure what it is. What I thought I had found was a copper grounding device which would have been used in conjunction with an old lightning rod....where you'd bury this thing in the ground and it would be wired to the rod on the roof. I figured..it's copper and weighs a few pounds..so I stuck it in the car.

I get it home...and file on the end of it...and it's not copper. It came up as a solid half dollar hit on my 6000's VDI. The next thing I thought was OK, it's lead.......not. It has the "clink" of a harder metal rather than the clunk of lead....and I can't bend it. If it were lead...I'd have been able to bend it. Funny thing is that the wire embedded in it isn't copper either.

This was poured while in a molten state....but what the heck is it? It's not steel or iron as there's no rust. It appears to be silver. Is there a definitive test to determine if it's silver?

It's a weird one....and I appreciate any input. It's about 10 inches long and 7/8 inch in width and depth. I'd weigh it, but the Mrs has hidden the digital scale.

I should have out this in the proper category, but i don't always read that section...so I am posting it here.

Wyatt

Wyatt

[Metalman]

Hi Wyatt

many of the old rods that were used as ground rods for early electrical systems were made from zinc, perhaps that is what it is !

edited to add, this was especially true during the world war 2 as copper was in demand for the war effort.





Rick

[Wyatt Earp]

It could be.......but the VDI was very high......in the 90s. That could be due to the mass. I found the scale. It weighs 1.01 pounds.

Wyatt

[Metalman]

Hi Wyatt

It would be really cool if it were silver !!

But then many times old soda pop bottles caps will hit as a half dollar, as well as other things ,soup can lids, well casing pipe, etc.

I dont know of any specific test for silver ,beyond elemental testing which most folks dont have the resources for. at least I dont !

Rick

[Tom in SWW]

That's the first question... If not, my guess is some sort of Zink alloy...
BTW: A test for Silver is to put a drop of Potassium Bichromate solution on the bare metal... Silver gives a distinctive color (I think saffron).
Another thing to do is to perform a density test. You weigh the bar dry, then weigh it in water (by a thin string). You then divide the dry weight by the amount of weight lost while weighing in water.
This then gives you density. Consult the (CRC Handbook) Handbook of Chemistry and Physics for tables of densitties of alloys and metals.
Hope this helps.

HH! -Tom

[Gregory]

Hi,
I have a test kit for gold and silver. I can test it for you Wyatt when I come over your way if you wish

[Wyatt Earp]

I thought about measuring the specific gravity.....but I agree that it's probably zinc. It hasn't corroded, but the corrosion of the new zinc pennies is due to electrolysis created by the 2 dissimilar metals...copper and zinc.

Wyatt

[Wyatt Earp]

Hey Greg......That'd sure be the easiest way. I appreciate it.

I need to talk to you. I'll call soon.

Wyatt