Let me know what else you got on hand, doesn't have to be a single unit. I like the mouldy kilo, but the premiums would be way out of my non-serious league.
Only when reduced to a nano-particle. Source What - You didn't think I was clever enough to write that did you!
Actually it is. $70 for the right shoe* and $8 for postage. So ye, any 'Murcan buyers here interested in a rare/limited edition mintage solid silver leather patina bar wrapped in special plastic with a cute little yellow sticker, PM me. EOI only. You'll also get 7 free swirls. That's tight, 7 free surely swirlies. Also for sale- Lunar Series 4 Lunar Dragon, EOI only. PMd only. *right shoe may be left shoe.
In all seriousness, it was likely a volatile compound in the shoe's sole or other synthetic component that caused the toning. For a while at the Gold Stackers office when we first opened, we had a display case where silver coins like ASEs were out on display on a velvet lined tray - after a few weeks the tops of the coins were pristine silver, but the bottom side that had been in contact with the velvet were rainbow toned. Same thing happened with a new safe once - the safe had to "age" for a few months to stop silver bars stored in it from toning. Once the "new paint smell" went away, we could start storing bars in it again without worrying about them toning within a week.
If anyone's interested. Some might know I make Shilling Pendants. Prior to treatment the appearance of shilling coins is very stable, regardless of storage methods and temperature, humidity etc. After they've been treated with a series of abrasives and polishing compounds they change appearance seemingly in line with changes in humidity and / or temperature. Complex situation to which I don't have many answers. This brings me to CSM's. We all know about milky maples. Maybe it's something to do with the chemicals used to form and / or finish Maples that is the culprit? More questions than answers. Won't be stashing shillings in shoes by the sound of it.
We've all heard of Athlete's Foot, but this may be the first documented case of Athlete's Silver Bar.
Silver sulphide is definitely the black stuff, or 'The Black Death' as its also known when it builds up a large thick crust on silver antiques that haven't been stored correctly, sulfur or 'Sulphur' (english/french spelling) is present in the air in various gaseous forms, am guessing your shoe had a plastic insole which can release gas, could be the glue or leather tanning chemicals too. Special plastics are often used to house antiques so any gas they may release does not harm the valuable contents, acid free paper is another for documents of historical value. The black crust/scale is also the first thing you see when applying testing acid (aqua regia) to test for high silver content, the 'blood' red colour then appears if the acid is applied liberally though I am not sure which element/s causes the red colouration. People used to test for silver content with mustard, yes the stuff you eat on ham/beef sandwiches as it contains sulphur too, heat it on the edge of a coin/silver item and the black scale appears though this is the historical oldschool method as acid was not readily available like today. As stated Bicarb will remove it though you may lose a fraction of a gram as some of the silver itself has reacted though it's not going to matter much with a fat bar like that. The oldschool method is to use a large teaspoon or two of both Bicarb and table salt in hot water with a piece of zinc, this causes a mild electrolytic process to take place which removes most if not all of the tarnish from silver, saw it on an old film reel linked on a silver antiques forum, though this method is not recommended for delicate items like jewelery as it can lead to them falling apart as the process can remove some of the solder/weld. I never heard of adding ammonia but if it works.. Dang didn't know I knew half of these useless facts myself
Is like some of the bars I had in a storage unit for a little while. They've all toned slightly - was really weird.
Would you happen to know what sort of cloth is safest for wrapping silver in? I had a small project to create a small bag of silver.
