Hand poured silver impurities??

[NorthBen]

Hi all,

I've  been offered a good deal on a hand poured silver bar, but I'm hesitant due to what looks like black flaking on the bar. almost as if the top layer has corroded/lifted. I've always bought machine made bars and so I've not experienced this before. 

I know the seller to be legit, but just thought I'd get your expert opinions!

Thanks

[NorthBen]

Sorry, iPad malfunction! 

[BackyardBullion]

4 minutes ago, NorthBen said:

Hi all,

I've  been offered a good deal on a hand poured silver bar, but I'm hesitant due to what looks like black flaking on the bar. almost as if the top layer has corroded/lifted. I've always bought machine made bars and so I've not experienced this before. 

I know the seller to be legit, but just thought I'd get your expert opinions!

Thanks

Have you got any pictures?

Is it being sold as 999 pure silver or sterling (925) silver.

If it is 999 silver then there shouldn't be any black as it is pure and oxidizes very very slowly so unless it is very old it shouldn't be black. If it is 925 silver it will have tarnished when poured and might have been cleaned and polished

[BackyardBullion]

@Roy great minds think alike...a photo would help

Let's try and keep this on this one thread as there are 4 duplicates out there!

This is why my Hallmarking is SO important... you know without a shadow of a doubt the purity of my bars. 

[NorthBen]

Sorry folks, don't have a flippin clue why it uploaded 4 times!

i can't get a pic now as it's not an online sale. But something just didn't ring true to me. I'm fairly new to silver, but I'd not seen this type of thing on a .999 bar before. Just looks almost like a bit of surface silver has lifted, in like a cornflake shape, and the metal below has oxidised...

big fan of your stuff BYB, may well be going for a couple of 100g bars this week! Just so tempting...anyway, that's another topic!

[BackyardBullion]

1 minute ago, NorthBen said:

Sorry folks, don't have a flippin clue why it uploaded 4 times!

i can't get a pic now as it's not an online sale. But something just didn't ring true to me. I'm fairly new to silver, but I'd not seen this type of thing on a .999 bar before. Just looks almost like a bit of surface silver has lifted, in like a cornflake shape, and the metal below has oxidised...

big fan of your stuff BYB, may well be going for a couple of 100g bars this week! Just so tempting...anyway, that's another topic!

Sounds like it is not 999 silver to be honest mate.

Have a look at this video, there are some miss marked silver someone bought off eBay. 

If you have access to the bar before you buy you can do a specific gravity test.

 

[NorthBen]

Aye, I think I'll give it a miss. Better safe than sorry. Thanks for your help.

Saw this video a couple weeks back, it's a really good top tip! I've already used it once, and thankfully I'd not been scammed ?

[BackyardBullion]

Just now, NorthBen said:

Aye, I think I'll give it a miss. Better safe than sorry. Thanks for your help.

Saw this video a couple weeks back, it's a really good top tip! I've already used it once, and thankfully I'd not been scammed ?

Sounds good - if in doubt just walk away. 

I always think if something seems too good to be true and so cheap there is probably a reason why!

Give me a shout if and when you want some proper hand poured silver bars my friend! ?

[Murph]

I thought ebay didn't accept videos as evidence and could only take photos?  Don't they also ask for a report from a specialist or the original company for fakes?

[JohnA]

10 hours ago, BackyardBullion said:

Sounds like it is not 999 silver to be honest mate.

Have a look at this video, there are some miss marked silver someone bought off eBay. 

If you have access to the bar before you buy you can do a specific gravity test.

 

Great video. 

Can you take .925 silver and reforge it into .999? I mean I know a professional forge could. But could you purify silver with your set up?

[BackyardBullion]

13 minutes ago, JohnAnsink said:

Great video. 

Can you take .925 silver and reforge it into .999? I mean I know a professional forge could. But could you purify silver with your set up?

I dont have the chemical set up to do this - you need a bunch of very scientific equipment!