Solid Silver Cross! Help me ID it, please! :)

[trika]

This is my first post here, and I am grateful that such a forum exists. This cross was found in a small creek in Northern Utah. I am very new at identifying metals and how they corrode/oxidate over time. My gut tells me this cross is made of pure silver. It is not magnetic at all, and it is quite heavy. I get high signals from my metal detector consistent with silver/copper. You can look at the photos to see that it has been bent and damaged in some places over time. I cleaned just tiny areas with powdered laundry detergent, water, and a piece of aluminum foil. I am not going to try cleaning it anymore because I want a professional to do it, but you can see in a few of the photos after I cleaned it that silver is shining through. I would be so grateful to anyone who could help me identify this cross and where it came from, who might have made it, how it was used, how old it might be, etc. I would love to clean this cross up more, but I am terrified of damaging it at all. Any tips on careful cleaning of an object like this? Thank you, you kind strangers!

 

[Agseeker]

http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-the-Density-of-Metals

Try this method to determine the metal type. Basically, if you know the weight of an item and how much fluid it displaces you can pretty closely determine the type of metal by calculating it's density.

If it is unusually heavy it may be lead, particularly if it is soft. Let us know what you find out. Hope this helps.

 

[chuck ky]

silver doesn't usually come out of the ground corroded like that unless its in salt water

 

[timwied]

My guess is pewter or lead, both heavy.

 

[trika]

Thank you all for your responses! I am not certain that it is silver, but I feel quite strongly that it likely is. How would pewter or lead be detectable when I had my detector settings to discriminate? Aren't lead and pewter quite non-conductive when compared to silver? I get a nice, clear tone whenever I use my detector on this cross with the highest discrimination settings. Also, I just tried the water displacement test, and my results lean toward it being silver, but I wasn't able to be certain of how precise my milliliter measurements were. I got a density of about 9.7, but I can't use that as my sole indicator since I am unsure of whether the mL of water displaced was perfectly accurate.

 

[Agseeker]

The only other methods to determine the chemical composition, that I know of, would be destructive and I know you don't want to do anything that would damage it.

From my experience on all the detectors I've used lead falls in the same range as copper and silver, so I've not found a way to discriminate it out. Whether it's silver or lead its still a pretty cool find.

 

[timwied]

No, I find larger pieces of lead all the time that gives me a dime or quarter number on my Fisher F4 in disc mode. It actually comes in pretty high! Still a cool relic though! Gotta love the History as much as the digging! Where? Why? Who? Part of the overall thrill of this hobby!!! Congrats on the Cool piece of History, whatever that may be!!!

 

[hotrodzincoln]

What a find! I'd like to know the story behind that cross if you ever find out.

 

[amberjack]

try electrolysis and then tumble that would bring it to life. at your own risk of cause, but that's what I would do if I really wanted to see it..

AJ

 

[brianc577]

Tumbling it and electrolysis will ruin any value, please do not use those techniques. Silver comes our of the ground shiny and does not corrode with pits and blemishes. I want to tell you I believe it is an early missionary cross, but realistically, my opinion would be it is crudely manufactured and resembles a cross, but clearly was not made with precision to be a cross. Do you see any intricate designs through the corrosion? My opinion, and I would love to be wrong. The patina and look (not the shape) resembles a large chunk of Babbit, or used flux, that I posted on this site some time ago, I thought I had a meteorite...........