Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Love the red stone ring!

I've found several nickel rings but they have that clean look but nickel colored.  I have one I found that is marked Nickel / Silver. (which is German Silver)  When I found it I though gold but for some reason it looked different. Very clean but just not the right look. See if I can find the picture...

You should be able to tell the difference if you scratch it on the testing stone. 

Gold is soft, NIckel will be hard...Nickel/Silver.. I'm not sure.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites


23 hours ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

I have one I found that is marked Nickel / Silver. (which is German Silver)

Actually (as I'm sure you, Joe, know) it contains no silver at all (see WikipediaThe usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc.[5]), but, yes, one of its many names is 'German Silver'.  I found out the hard way when I saw seven pairs of nickel silver cream and sugar containers (from United Airlines -- retired from back when they actually treated you like you were somone) at an antique shop around 2005.  The total weight turned out to be a bit over 70 ozt.  Thinking I was making a buy-to-kill-for I gobbled them up (for about $100 with tax).  Needless to say when I got home and looked up 'nickel silver' my heart sunk.  Sucker!  I still have them if someone wants to make an offer.  :biggrin:  They do (to my un-expert eye) look like silver, particularly when tarnished.  Another example of the veracity of the axiom "if a deal appears too-good-to-be-true..."

Edit/correction:  my original version of this post said "700 ozt" which was one too many zeroes.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Joe Beechnut OBN said:

Love the red stone ring!

I've found several nickel rings but they have that clean look but nickel colored.  I have one I found that is marked Nickel / Silver. (which is German Silver)  When I found it I though gold but for some reason it looked different. Very clean but just not the right look. See if I can find the picture...

You should be able to tell the difference if you scratch it on the testing stone. 

Gold is soft, NIckel will be hard...Nickel/Silver.. I'm not sure.

Thanks Joe. I did a quick scratch test on the stone before I headed out to work. It left a mark on the stove easily. I could only find the 22K and 14K solutions, so I put a drop of each. The 22k ate through the line rather quickly. The 14 K took a while but did eat through it also.

4 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Actually (as I'm sure you, Joe, know) it contains no silver at all (see WikipediaThe usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc.[5]), but, yes, one of its many names is 'German Silver'.  I found out the hard way when I saw seven pairs of nickel silver cream and sugar containers (from United Airlines -- retired from back when they actually treated you like you were somone) at an antique shop around 2005.  The total weight turned out to be a bit over 700 ozt.  Thinking I was making a buy-to-kill-for I gobbled them up (for about $100 with tax).  Needless to say when I got home and looked up 'nickel silver' my heart sunk.  Sucker!  I still have them if someone wants to make an offer.  :biggrin:  They do (to my un-expert eye) look like silver, particularly when tarnished.  Another example of the veracity of the axiom "if a deal appears too-good-to-be-true..."

Ahhh the old German Silver trick. False advertising at its best. I mean it is nickel and it is silver "COLORED", so I guess it's ok 😄 As for the creamers, I think you have the answer in your own words. Sell them as vintage American Airlines sugar/creamer set and add that tag line "When they used to treat you like you were someone"  $20.00 a set and you'll make a profit and you can bury that sucker feeling for good. 🙂

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Actually (as I'm sure you, Joe, know) it contains no silver at all (see WikipediaThe usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc.[5]), but, yes, one of its many names is 'German Silver'.  

Thank you..... Learn something new everyday. I though there was a small amount of silver in them.😬

Here are a few Old nickel rings. (Not marked) Then another I am not sure, it is marked Nickel / Silver. 

20210428_193718.jpg

81859144_49967541712_n.jpg

 

Just looked up, the single ring is German Silver..

Nickel Silver vs. German Silver

The terms “nickel silver” and “German silver” actually refer to the same substance, but items made of this metal are not really silver at all. Nickel or German “silver” is a white alloy containing copper, zinc, and nickel. While it is silvery in color, it contains none of the more valuable metal.

 

This type of metal was developed in Germany in the late 1800s as a less expensive substitute for silver. 

 

20210428_193601 (2).jpg

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It interesting that only 20% nickel can keep zinc and copper from leaching out after being in the salt water for so long.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...