Spearhead (red Sandstone) With Gold Inside?

[SHB111]

Anyone ever seen this before?

I used a very strong magnet and picked up no attraction so rules out iron pyrite. Did a volumetric displacement test and ran some calculations and getting 9.09 grams of gold contained within the specimen.

Love to see what others think.

[F350Platinum]

I think it's quite a quandary. On one hand, if the gold is real, you could smash it up and extract it. On the other, it's an ancient relic, and an awesome one at that. Yikes 🤯

Good luck! The third option is to verify everything and sell it to a collector or museum. 🙂 Great photos.

[kac]

Check with a local university or try to pick Chris Ralphs brains for more info is my suggestion.

Nice to have it as is no matter what.

[Valens Legacy]

What part of the country did you find it in?

It is very nice looking and I would bet that it is going to be a rare find for sure.

 

[Jeff McClendon]

I hate to throw cold water on that lovely spearpoint. However, from your photos, the spearhead appears to be made from reddish orange jasper/chert, not red sandstone. Also, it is possible for the jasper, chert, agate/chalcedony family of quartz to contain gold and other low temperature forming metals from hydrothermal deposition. I just am not convinced that I am seeing any gold in your spearhead from the photos you provided.

Is that spearpoint Native American or a reproduction?

[SHB111]

22 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

I think it's quite a quandary. On one hand, if the gold is real, you could smash it up and extract it. On the other, it's an ancient relic, and an awesome one at that. Yikes 🤯

Good luck! The third option is to verify everything and sell it to a collector or museum. 🙂 Great photos.

No quandary here - Pulverizing is not an option for sure. Only non-destructive testing methods will be used 👍

don’t get me wrong though, when I first noticed the gold some of my first reactionary thoughts were to build a chamber so none of the gold escaped when I put the hammer to it but luckily the planning of said chamber took long enough I had time to come to my senses 😜

[SHB111]

15 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

What part of the country did you find it in?

It is very nice looking and I would bet that it is going to be a rare find for sure.

 

I actually found it in a flea market - a booth with a lot of knives and spears and also some relics and primitive weapons made of relics. There was a framed case with 31 arrowheads and this 1 spearhead. I bought the case and contents for $40. Noticed the gold when I got home. I’m in bama btw.

[SHB111]

13 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I hate to throw cold water on that lovely spearpoint. However, from your photos, the spearhead appears to be made from reddish orange jasper/chert, not red sandstone. Also, it is possible for the jasper, chert, agate/chalcedony family of quartz to contain gold and other low temperature forming metals from hydrothermal deposition. I just am not convinced that I am seeing any gold in your spearhead from the photos you provided.

Is that spearpoint Native American or a reproduction?

It’s authentic. See previous post where I detailed how I came about it. As far as if it’s real gold I did other non-destructive testing to determine if it’s gold. I did a vinegar test - no change in color - still gold and shiny. I’m open to performing other tests and posting results (non-destructive only). I wanna know too and be sure.

[SHB111]

13 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I hate to throw cold water on that lovely spearpoint. However, from your photos, the spearhead appears to be made from reddish orange jasper/chert, not red sandstone.

You may be right, I’m pretty new to this, it feels rough like red sandstone which we do have here in the state and which is well-known to contain gold. I’m actually looking to learn more about the different materials and their properties. I’ll post up a pic later of all the arrowheads that were in that case. I’m wondering if it’s possible to find more geological goodies in arrowheads - like gem stones?

[JCR]

I certainly do not know, but I would not think a sedimentary rock like Sandstone could be knapped by pressure flakes. I have only ever seen igneous rocks like Chert/Flint or Obsidian used for knapping.