Silver Plated Object

How can I tell if an item is silver or silver plated when there are no markings of any kind.

Michael Vianes
- Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
2006

You can check the density by weighting the article as carefully as possible and then submerging it in a full bucket of water and measuring how much water it forces out. Then, you can compare that density to silver (I'm not sure of the value); if it is pretty close, I'd say you're safe in assuming it's silver. If it is nowhere close, you probably have something plated in silver.

The other possibility - if you have access to nitric acid and know how to use it properly - is to follow the directions in letter 37205.

Good luck!

Jim Gorsich
Compton, California, USA
2006

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