How to test for silver
 

I found a silver looking ring in the coin sorter at my local bank. There are no hallmarks that I can find and was wondering if anyone knows of a simple (free) test that I can conduct to determine if the ring is actually silver. Thanks!

Re: How to test for silver
 

easy. take it into a jeweler to sell and tell him it's silver. he will test it and tell you if it isnt. lol

Re: How to test for silver
 

Hydorgen Proxide reacts to Silver, now as to fineness, you need a burn test, more complex.

Re: How to test for silver
 

Ask a jeweler to test the ring for silver. The jeweler will test the ring by making a scratch on its surface. The surface scratch will reveal the inner metal to allow acid solution testing. The acid solution will react with the metal, and the resulting color will reveal the metal composition.

The acid test method does not tell the exact metal content but it is useful for differentiating sterling silver from silver plated metal. The testing solution is cheap and is effective for determining if your ring has silver. A quantitative assay can be performed on silver, but this type of assay is realistic if you have a large quantity of silver.

Re: How to test for silver
 

For a quick and free test, push the ring against ice and judge how fast it conducts heat (or cold). Compare to a copper penny or a known plated ring.

Re: How to test for silver
 

So now, everywhere I go, if I want to buy, I need to carry ice?!! :D

Re: How to test for silver
 

When i worked in a casino in LV i found a bracelet. The bracelet was silver in color but did not bare the usual silver markins or indentifiers. There were some symbols on the bracelet, but none i recognized. It was heavy and, like i said, silver in color. I held on to it for about a year and handled it often, it never tarnished, " not a big tell in that it could have been rhodium plated ". I ended up trading it off for some stuff when i left LV. I figured it could have been platinum, but never found out if i was right.