One often comes across some strange pieces of metal that look like silver. Sometimes it’s silver really. Here are two ways to identify a silver find at once while hunting. One way is… Spit on this silver!
Option 1
Wrap a presumed find in aluminum foil (from a cigarette pack or a chocolate wrapper) and… spit into it. Using your finger, press the foil down, wait about 20 seconds, unwrap it and smell it. If the find is made of silver, then there will be hydrogen sulfide smell. This one can never be confused with anything else: a sharp, unpleasant odor – similar to rotten eggs.
Option 2
Have you ever come across some chalk while hunting? It’s amusing, but sometimes I happen to see such a thing. From whence does chalk appear on the surface, and why didn’t it dissolve in rain water? If you rub the silver item with chalk – the latter will darken.
Some hunters recommend determining the authenticity of silver using iodine or sulfur ointment. There is little point in doing so. Silver will darken, and it’ll be difficult to remove the dark spot from the item (particularly the iodine spot). All detecting tips are collected here.
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