Chemical Engineering/acid test metals

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Question
I have an item that I believe might be gold, however it has no distinguishing marks except "acid test" on it. It is part of the piece, not a stamp. What does that mean?

Answer
The acid test is a means of quickly determining if a sample is pure gold.  With more careful calculation, you can use the test to determine the carat value of the gold being tested.  For your particular piece, I can only speculate as to what it would mean.  Potentially the piece is a calibration standard that's can be used to compare with tests of other gold samples as a way to quickly gauge purity.  That would be my first guess, but I could be wrong.  Good luck with your mystery.

Chemical Engineering

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Mike Fulcher

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