3/13/18 Report - Two Simple Inexpensive Techniques To Help Determine the Nature of a Find.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Small Raw Unpolished Gem Stones As Found.

One of my favorite diagnostic tools is a black or ultraviolet light like the inexpensive ones used for black light posters.  A black light can help you find or identify some gem stones.  Above are a few small gem stones that I found a number of years ago.

The round one that looks like a ball at the top actually has many flat sides something like a geodesic dome.  I believe it is a pyrope garnet.

The six sided red one to the left of that is a ruby.  There are other rubies or pieces of ruby in the group.

The above photo shows what they look like in normal daylight.  Below is what they look like under black light.

Same Gem Stones Under Black Light.

 Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep them in the same position while holding them and taking the photo.  The rubies fluoresce under ultraviolet light.  The pyrope garnet does not  You can see a touch of the red fluorescence on the big piece on the far right.

You can easily find tables that tell which gem stones show fluorescence.  This is one easy way to test to see if the red stone in your ring might be a ruby.  Using a black light will also help you see rubies in dirt or matrix.

It actually gets more complex.  Jewelers use both shortwave and longewave ultraviolet lights for diagnostic purposes.  Some gems respond differently to each.

I've talked about other finds that fluoresce in the past, including vaseline glass, depression glass, and my favorite; a nice piece of red sea glass that was treated with uranium.  I believe it came from an old buoy. Only one side of the sea glass was treated and glowed.  The sea glass is shown below as photographed in daylight and then in ultraviolet light.

One Side Of Piece of Sea Glass Treated With Uranium To Glow.

Another very simple diagnostic tool is a simple magnet.  I often receive photos of iron flakes that look something like cobs.  You can test those with a magnet.  If the object sticks to a magnet, it isn't a cob.  In fact it isn't silver or gold or any other kind of nonmagnetic material.

A couple days ago I posted a little video using the Ace 250 to detect three one-cent coins.  Two of those coins stuck to a magnet.  The magnetic coins were the Euro cent, which was copper coated steel, and the U. S. steel penny.

Three Coins Sticking To A Refrigerator Magnet.

The photo above shows the U. S. steel cent, the Euro and one other unidentifiable corroded coin sticking to a small refrigerator magnet.  The copper coating does not prevent the Euro coin from sticking to the magnet.  Many foreign coins will stick, but few U. S. coins.

If you are wondering what metal a find might be made of, a simple magnet can quickly help you narrow it down.

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Tuesday we'll have mostly a north wind.  The primary swell will be from the north, but the surf is only two or three feet.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net