Any metallurgists here?

[SouthCentralUS]

Many years ago my husband owned a machine shop in Texas. He is now 86 years old and his memory is not the best.

Going through some machinist's tools lately, we found a bar labeled with a magic marker "Platnum". He was an expert machinist, but a lousy speller. He does remember when his assistant scrapped that part because it was the most expensive piece of metal he had ever bought. It has a bad scar on one side.

It is 1 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 6 7/8 inches and weighs almost 5 pounds according to my kitchen scales. I have no idea where to go to ask this question, so I am asking here. What would that platinum be mixed with for the aerospace industry? He knew at one point, but that was over 50 years ago. Also, I don't know who in our small community to ask. I know there is a difference in platinum for jewelry and for industrial use.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Many years ago my husband owned a machine shop in Texas. He is now 86 years old and his memory is not the best.

Going through some machinist's tools lately, we found a bar labeled with a magic marker "Platnum". He was an expert machinist, but a lousy speller. He does remember when his assistant scrapped that part because it was the most expensive piece of metal he had ever bought. It has a bad scar on one side.

It is 1 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 6 7/8 inches and weighs almost 5 pounds according to my kitchen scales. I have no idea where to go to ask this question, so I am asking here. What would that platinum be mixed with for the aerospace industry? He knew at one point, but that was over 50 years ago. Also, I don't know who in our small community to ask. I know there is a difference in platinum for jewelry and for industrial use.

Thanks for any advice.

Take it to a good gold/silver shop. They should have the testing equipment to determine what that metal is and what it's value is.

 

[Neb]

Many years ago my husband owned a machine shop in Texas. He is now 86 years old and his memory is not the best.

Going through some machinist's tools lately, we found a bar labeled with a magic marker "Platnum". He was an expert machinist, but a lousy speller. He does remember when his assistant scrapped that part because it was the most expensive piece of metal he had ever bought. It has a bad scar on one side.

It is 1 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 6 7/8 inches and weighs almost 5 pounds according to my kitchen scales. I have no idea where to go to ask this question, so I am asking here. What would that platinum be mixed with for the aerospace industry? He knew at one point, but that was over 50 years ago. Also, I don't know who in our small community to ask. I know there is a difference in platinum for jewelry and for industrial use.

Thanks for any advice.

That could be worth $70k so worth a small investment and purchase a test kit.

ToolTreaux Platinum Testing Kit with Safety Glasses Testing Stone Pipettes Glass Vials, 7pc https://a.co/d/4rBgkWt

You rub the metal on a touchstone then put a drop of acid on the smear. If it is platinum the acid will not affect it.

Let us know what you find.

Ben

 

[SouthCentralUS]

I was wondering about taking it to the shop where we buy silver. I will probably call them tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[SouthCentralUS]

That could be worth $70k so worth a small investment and purchase a test kit.

ToolTreaux Platinum Testing Kit with Safety Glasses Testing Stone Pipettes Glass Vials, 7pc https://a.co/d/4rBgkWt

You rub the metal on a touchstone then put a drop of acid on the smear. If it is platinum the acid will not affect it.

Let us know what you find.

Ben

Perfect. I didn't know this existed. Thanks

 

[UrbanHunter]

If it is high quality Platinum it is worth just under $14,000 per pound, so it might be worth holding on to.

 

[Neb]

Perfect. I didn't know this existed. Thanks

Better to test it yourself to set your expectations.

A few years a college built a system to test for counterfeit platinum coins that were plated in platinum. They built a fixture to mount the coin wich was struck by a mallet. Platinum would sound different than counterfeit coins.

Ben

 

[Pearl]

I was wondering about taking it to the shop where we buy silver. I will probably call them tomorrow. Thanks.

Get more than one opinion, someone might think it's worth having!!