Juancho Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Hi all, I’m new in here and would really like some help to identify the piece in the photos. I recently bought it at a Chinese antique shop in Malaysia. It was on a box together with different pieces of ingot money, although the store clerk didn’t know what it is. It’s very dense, weighting 144 gr (5.1 oz) and measures about 35 mm (1.4 inch) across. it’s basically a polyhedron with triangular faces on the top and bottom and five square faces on the center. Some of the faces are flat and covered with small granules, others are concave and smooth. Its ferromagnetic, and after a couple of hours in white vinagre it lost the dark patina and it’s looking more like white metal. I have no clue of what it is, if it’s a natural formation or an artifact. Any help will be very appreciated. Thanks and Happy New Year!! juan 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick N. MI Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Looks like it could be a fossil. I don't know about the indentations. It's strange. It looks like other spots are starting to collapse in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Herschbach Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 That is one of the oddest things I have ever seen posted. It’s weight indicates it is solid, and I would have to guess artificial. Other than that I have not a clue. Do you have a school or university nearby with a geology department? That might be a good place to start. Even good jeweler might offer some insight. If you find out what it is I would love to hear it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GB_Amateur Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 If it were a sphere (it's not) with diameter 35 mm then its density would be 6.4 g/cm^3. So given the concavities it has somewhat higher density than that. This doesn't narrow down its composition, unfortunately. Pure iron is at 7.874 g/cm^3 and pure silver is 10.50 g/cm^3. In between are many metallic elements. When you throw in alloys (combinations of elements) then the possibilities are nearly limitless. 2Valen knows quite a bit about US antiques, but Far Eastern antiques is a whole 'nother ballgame. I hope you've found a valuable item but you have some research ahead of you.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Valen Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 When you have it tested as to what type of metal it is, check to see if it is titanium. Should it be it could have came from a satellite, as they use something similar on some of those. If it is titanium form space it will have had a small hollow core with a steel housing around it. That is the only thing that I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnysalami1957 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Ancient pool cue chalk rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juancho Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 Thanks all who provided feedback so far!! ? GB_Amateur, you are not very far, I just did a quick volumen calculation and got 7.2 gr/cm^3. I did it by volume displacement and with a 1gr scale, so it’s not that accurate but it falls between iron and zinc if that helps in any way! I’m adding the photos I took at the shop. The white is the shop sticker. I’m now regretting removing the original patina...!! Looking forward to hear more thoughts!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmancoyote1 Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 It looks to be manufactured. The pebble finish appears to be on an applied film of some sort. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryC/Oregon Coast Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 Looks to be a worry stone, you rub between your fingers. And yes it does look manufactured. GaryC/Oregon Coast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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