# Metal piece found shaped like a man's *****



## kranked003 (Feb 23, 2009)

You be the judge of this one.  This was found at the bottom of a stream during a kayak trip.  It closely resembles a mans member.  I have no proof of the type of metal but it does not rust and was very shiny when found.  It has been cleaned a little.  I have people guess it is aluminum, but it seems too heavy to be that.  I think it is silver, possibly something that was melted down.  Could it be titanium?  I have to believe it is fairly old though. Take a look and tell me what you all think.


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## cyberdigger (Feb 23, 2009)

NOW it looks like said member[].... maybe silver..


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## CanYaDigIt (Feb 23, 2009)

WOW!  What a find.  How big and heavy is it?  It could be a few things.  You say it's to heavy to be aluminum, then its def not titanium, which wouldn't appear like that in nature.  If it is soft , heavy, and melts with a lighter it's lead.  If the silver stuff starts to smoke don't breath it in.  It may be gold covered in mercury, but I doubt it.  If so it's one luck find.  It may also be platinum, but nuggets are rare, and one that size would be priceless.  Probably silver, and a beautiful specimen if so.  There are also radioactive heavy metals so be aware of that.  What are the size and weight?


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## capsoda (Feb 23, 2009)

It is not in it's natural state. If it were silver it would have been tarnished when you found it. If it is white metal, used for toys and costume jewelry, it should melt pretty easy but it does look like aluminum. A chunck of gold that covered with mercury would be very heavy and the mercury would come off on your hands.


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## mrbottles (Feb 23, 2009)

LIONS TIGERS AND BEARS OH MY!

 LIONS TIGERS AND BEARS OH MY!

 LIONS TIGERS AND BEARS OH MY!

 Did you find that any where near OZ?  Iâ€™ll bet the tin man has been going nuts looking for that!

 Steven


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## mrbottles (Feb 23, 2009)

Could be a meteorite that the mineral decayed away from.  It has that burn flow look that metallic meteorites have.  Well, even the stone ones have it.


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## GuntherHess (Feb 24, 2009)

Looks like aluminum.  Solid aluminum isnt all that light.


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## mrbottles (Feb 24, 2009)

Hey Gunther, pretty sure he was made of tin.  Look at this though.  It is a nickle iron meterorite
 Steven


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## GuntherHess (Feb 24, 2009)

Meteorites are cool, the rare ones can be worth more than gold per gram.


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## beendiggin (Feb 24, 2009)

Mine doesn't look like that at all.  I think a trip to the doctor is in order.[]


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## cyberdigger (Feb 24, 2009)

Perhaps the answer lies in exactly WHERE you found it.. was it at a place where humans could have produced such industrial by-product, or could Ma nature have formed it?


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## capsoda (Feb 24, 2009)

I found several nickle iron meterorites out in my back feilds while plowing back when I used to grow vegies for sale. There is supposed to be a meterorite for evey four square feet. At least thats what they said on the science channel. Some body must of stole some of mine cause I short a few thousand.


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## cyberdigger (Feb 24, 2009)

A meteorite every 4 square feet?? ..there are not even that many bagels in Brooklyn!! (close!)


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## Just Dig it (Feb 24, 2009)

Take a Small Flake Or shaving to someone who knows Their metals..Jeweler or something...Tell them you found The flake Shining in a river. At least then you can rule out Platinum silver..other precious metals


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## mrbottles (Feb 25, 2009)

Hey Just Dig It,
If that is the tin mans junk consider how he might feel with people talking about shaving a flake offâ€¦  Have a â€˜heartâ€™ will ya!  
Cap they are pretty pricy considering there are so many.  Very cool to have found one thoughâ€¦  Do you have pics?  I found something I think might be one last summer but it is small and stone not metal.  
Steven


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## GuntherHess (Feb 25, 2009)

> A meteorite every 4 square feet??


 
 If you count the micrometeorites which are constantly falling that number could be correct.


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## Just Dig it (Feb 25, 2009)

Lol Mr bottles Looks like it came from a SPACE privy! =0...any measurements on it.?.got a digital kitchen scale?..for weight


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## GuntherHess (Feb 25, 2009)

You can use fairly simple science if you really want to determine what the metal is.
 All you have to do is determine the specific gravity of it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_gravity

 You basically just put it in a container of water and then measure how much water it displaces then weigh it. You are just comparing the weight of the object to  the weight of its equivalent volume of water.

 I expect you will get a value very close to 2.7


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## mrbottles (Feb 25, 2009)

So Gunther you are saying 2.7 is the specific gravity of tin???  

Steven


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## GuntherHess (Feb 25, 2009)

no, SG of TIN = 7.31 i think. 

 Keep in mind this method assumes its fairly pure metal. If its an alloy it complicates it some.


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## mrbottles (Feb 25, 2009)

Kripes, the Tin man would have to be thirty feet tall with a specific gravity of 7.3 are you sure?


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## ktbi (Feb 26, 2009)

I think the answer to what it is was answered by the author's name on the very first post - *kranked003*

 Ron


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## cobaltbot (Feb 26, 2009)

Get a metal detector and see what it reads it as.


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## CanYaDigIt (Feb 26, 2009)

This is the last nice piece of metel I found in a creek.  Can't wait to go after some more of this too.  Spring is right around the corner. It's on my myspace.
 http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=386321877&albumID=948385&imageID=13530242


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## kranked003 (Feb 26, 2009)

Now thats one piece of metal everyone wants to find. Lucky you!

 I want to try the SG method as indicated.  I need a graduated cylinder big enough to put that piece in.  Or i could cut it with a cutting disk but i would hate to lose small fragments to the cutting process.

 The metal i have is real hard and heavy.  I'm hoping for silver, I guess.   Is there anything more valuable that is that color?  I think the meteorite thing is a bit far fetched because this metal seems to be pure... something.


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## CanYaDigIt (Feb 26, 2009)

DON'T CUT IT!  If it is a precious metal, it's worth a pretty penny.  Cutting it up could destroy it's collectable value.  Silver nuggets do look similar, although I've never found one.  Take it to a pro if you think it's worth it.  You local geological survey office is alwayse a good place to start.  Here's a pic of a giant one.  They are also found very shiny sometimes .


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## CanYaDigIt (Feb 26, 2009)

It's a tiny pic, but this is a natural nugget too.  Shiny!![]


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## CanYaDigIt (Feb 26, 2009)

???


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## GuntherHess (Feb 26, 2009)

> I want to try the SG method as indicated. I need a graduated cylinder big enough to put that piece in. Or i could cut it with a cutting disk but i would hate to lose small fragments to the cutting process.


 
 You dont need the container you put it in to be graduated. Just take a large pan or bowl. Set in that any container large enough to hold the item. Then fille that container to the very top. Put the item in it slowly and let it it displace its volume of water into the lower pan. Then pour the displaced water from the overflow into a graduated container. I realize this isnt super precise but you should be able to get a ball park SG.  good luck.


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## kranked003 (Feb 26, 2009)

Perhaps the answer lies in exactly WHERE you found it.. was it at a place where humans could have produced such industrial by-product, or could Ma nature have formed it?   
 It was found more near a possible industrial byproduct than a wild natural stream.  Good thinking too!!![align=right] [/align]


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## bombboy (Mar 1, 2009)

No testing required, it's aluminum. Seen plenty of it on every bombing and gunnery range across the world. Now the question seems to be how did it get there ?


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## GuntherHess (Mar 1, 2009)

yes, it appears to be aluminum but its still fun doing a science experiment and proving it.


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## GuntherHess (Mar 1, 2009)

> how did it get there


 
 hard to say. people often build bonfires near rivers and through car parts and other aluminum junk in them. The melting temperature isnt all that high.


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## kranked003 (Mar 1, 2009)

the stream is subject to flooding due to runoff from urban areas


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## CALDIGR2 (Mar 6, 2009)

Not sure, but I'll wager that what you have is a well hung piece of melted aluminum, prob'ly from an engine block. Back in '89 I worked a very intense fire that overtook folks trying to escape it by vehicle. The heat incinerated the occupants and melted the blocks into puddles that ran several feet down the road. It was a disturbing sight.


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## kranked003 (Mar 13, 2009)

I took the time to make the measurements of the object and here they are in standard and metric:

 weight = 7.5 oz = 212g
 volume = 4.1 oz = 125ml

 I weighed it on a kitchen scale, not too precise but it should be close.  I then filled a small baking pan with water to the brim.  Then i caught the displaced water with a larger pan and poured it into a graduated container.  So there is some error involed but it should be close.

 density = mass/vol = 212g/125ml * 1ml/1cm3 = 1.7g/cm3
 SG = density of object/density of water = (1.7g/cm3)/(1g/cm3) = 1.7

 So I looked up common SG of objects and was very suprised to see that my object is very light compared to silver, and even aluminum.  A close match was magnesium, but i only see pictures of it in powder form.  And it supposedly reacts with water, so I don't think it is a match.  If it is in fact an alloy, the SG do not add, but would be in between the SG of each object based on the amount of each.

 Now I'd like to hear what you think it could be based on this latest info.


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## RED Matthews (Mar 13, 2009)

Hello you people,  I was just looking at these numbers and remembered a metla we sometimes used in the mold shop to make short term metal castings especially for decal lettering masters.  It was called Cerro-tru.  I will have to google it - I couldn't find it in my close access files.  RED Matthews


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## glass man (Mar 14, 2009)

> ORIGINAL: CanYaDigIt
> 
> ???


    A NATURAL NUGGET AND SHINY? IS IT A SPRAY PAINTED TURD?[]


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## GuntherHess (Mar 14, 2009)

That measurement method will inherantly give you a light number because the surface tension of the water in the pan will cause less to be displaced than you would expect.
 But it still seems light for aluminum. My guess would be its an alloy of aluminum and other metals, possible magnesium. They use alloys like that for things like car rims and other places they want light strong metal.


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## cordilleran (Mar 14, 2009)

There's only one sure-fire way to determine elemental composition --qualitative/ quantitative spectrographic analysis. Back when I was a shirttail prospector, I would take linear field samples and have them  analyzed at a business than conducted both fire assay and spectrographic analysis. At the time the cost was between $12.00-$15.00 per sample. Of course, that was a few years back and I resided in Silver City, New Mexico, an area with plenty of mining support industries. Alternatively a trip to your local college or university's geology department might pay in big identification dividends as eye-balling a specimen from a photo is the least desirable way to I.D. a sample.


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## GuntherHess (Mar 14, 2009)

true, but a free experiment you can do in your kitchen is more fun.[]


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## cordilleran (Mar 14, 2009)

And as you well know, experimentation leads to true awareness.


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## GuntherHess (Mar 14, 2009)

> And as you well know, experimentation leads to true awareness.


 
 ...and out-of-wedlock babies[]


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## CanYaDigIt (Mar 14, 2009)

Mabey it's part of an alien space ship that broke apart on entry into our atmosphere and liquified.  Upon impact it must have fused with some other earthly metal making a new extra terestrial alloy not yet known to man.  Geese.....I really need to quit smoking that stuff......[]


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## cordilleran (Mar 14, 2009)

That damn'd nursemaid, Experience, has beshrewed many a commoner with her wiles.


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## cordilleran (Mar 14, 2009)

Never smoked geese. I did try smoking salmon once but had a helluva time keeping it lit.


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## persimmon (May 17, 2009)

Its definitely melted aluminum.


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## Just Dig it (May 17, 2009)

Hahahahaha Smoking Salmon......Whatever the content of that metal id say its worthy of a coffe table or mantle...


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## kranked003 (May 17, 2009)

aluminum? but my resuls for Specifc Gravity would have to have been way off. i had to be close.


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