I’ve bought worn silver dollars from a coin dealer for same price he could get from the refiner. They have little to no numismatic value and he didn’t want them cluttering up his inventory. I also bought small silver bars that people buy off ‘precious metal investment’ ads. Any bars that were scratched or worn he sold me for 90% of melt value since he could not resell as investment bars. They were all .999 bars, mostly 10 or 25 gram size. Bought all of them he had. Pretty sure he was buying them off people wanting cash and only giving them 70%-75% of melt value. Three parts 99% coin silver to one part fine silver pretty much melts to sterling .925
I immediately wanted to look to see if anyone else asked if you went through those coins before you destroyed them. Whew. I kept watching and kicked myself knowing you were smarter than that. ‼️ Thanks, Chief. On to part 2! 👍
THANK YOU for not refining the coins. I almost cried out loud when you started showing them as possible melt content. thank you thank you thank you. and thank you for these videos. the time and effort you make to document and explain the process is much appreciated.
There are some folks who will want to refine the silver from coins and it is possible to do it using the process in this video. But it would not be the smart thing to do.
@@sreetips Mr. Sreetips, could you send me an email please , I could really use some expert advice with a few small issues I have. Xxxdragonstarxx@gmail.com
I absolutely love these videos. Your a grate educator. My school never would have tried to teach chemistry to me or my classmates. I believe if schools explained refining chemistry before doing what thay probably do (the structure of chemical elements) a lot more people would care about the planet and the stuff it's made of. Keep up the good work. I'm going to buy a book all about refining/metallurgy.
Incredible, I never weary of seeing metals dissolve in solution, and precipitate out again. I can't believe how loaded the solution is with silver, it made a very respectful haul of silver cement! This is where I am going to start, I'm going to be on the lookout for sterling silver, and begin to buy it. I'll set up a silver cell and take it from there. Thank you, sreetips, this is invaluable information and I'm very appreciative to you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us!
i was screaming at the screen when i saw those morgans and mercs. i was really not looking forwards to watching him refine those. glad they will end up in his safe.
I just refined a bunch of coins that were in the fire this last year most of them were melted together or really badly damaged made my grandfather happy to get back some good silver
I really loved seeing the gold processing waste make a reappearance. I was very curious as to its re-use. As for your copper wire. A simple crank-handle press could be used to run the wire through to turn it into copper foil which would be the ideal form to use
great job sir everything well explained and nicely showed im just finishing my little refine tho much smaller then you had about 100 g and just stop by to check if i don´t forget about something
I nearly threw my monitor when he first showed those coins and I thought he was going to destroy them, but when he made a point to recommend not ruining them my respect for this channel grew
Guy you are a hell of a chemist to be doing this i never knew silver could be held in a solution like this . i sincerely love watching you do this .im learning tons here .i would like to try this on a little smaller scale . you have me intrigued here for sure .you are a book of information . but im really glad i didnt see you melt the coins . ive collected coins for 39 yrs now i was 20 yrs old when i started and ive got one hell of a collection . for that i commend you for telling everybody watching theres value in old coins . awesome
Just my perspective as I watch the fast foreward parts, thinking if only I could work that fast, I'd be able to get stuff done!! Lol. Another great video. Thanks.
Ha, that's funny. You can hear fireworks (I think) in the background - July 4th. Thanks, this is great and very educational. You are practical and frugal - using what is at hand for the processes.
Fireworks or gunshots? I heard it too and played back a 2nd time cause I just imagined him living in some gutter neighborhood where his neighbors are all bottom feeders of society and dont care about the older couple living next door that's always stuffed up inside the house. They just see him coming home all the time with distilled water and thrift store cookware because he's a broke @ss man with no hobbies. Little do they know he's a wealth of knowledge and sharing with the world. Not to mention the trace amounts of platinum group trinkets he might have laying about the house. I love this guy. I wish I could be his lab assistant for a few months. I think I would pay him just to have the opportunity to clean up behind him.
A few weeks ago when I started watching your vids for a second time I started to take detailed notes of procedure and supplies. I'll refer to this and then when I get the gold refining book I'll have this and the book. My notes could be a mini book already, great referral source for when I start to refine!! Thank you and Have a GREAT Day!!!
Im a electrician and I've used those side cuts before and I'll say I got some Kline and they cut a whole lot better... but those will work as well... thanks for sharing I appreciate it
Palladium (AQUILLA refining) on the goldrefiningforum.com once told me, "you'll throw rocks at the small glass and graphite silver cell once you cross over to a stainless steel silver cell." He was right. In the larger stainless cell the crystals grow fatter and you don't have to keep pushing them down like you do in the 1 liter glass cell. I have an earlier video that shows how to construct and use the stainless steel cell. But the small glass cell is what I used to learn.
i never had chemistry in school so this video an yer channel i pay attension to, i dont do this in my recycleing i leave this to you knowagable guys to do and jist sell/stock pile the scrap,, silver i buy is already been pourd int rounds or bars,, them crystals ya have by the bowl full is still havein me druling,,100 thumbs-up fer the series thank you fer thet,, be blessed an safe
I'm going to be honest, when I saw that you had all those gorgeous silver coins on the table I ALMOST stopped watching the video because I couldnt bear to watch you melt down those beautiful coins. As a coin collector myself it just breaks my heart to think of all the collectible coins that have been destroyed all for a little bit of silver value. Thank you thank you for saving them! You rock!
@ Brooke Chandler, it is illegal to melt US coins that are currently in circulation. Once they have been removed from circulation, they can be defaced (melted). That being said, only a fool would melt down silver or gold coins, they all demand a premium, as collectable.
I watch many of these videos and often ask myself, "Why am I watching this?". This video answered that question. Instead of explaining lab procedures, Sreetips is explaining wire stripping. I think if Sreetips makes a video explaining a phonebook I would watch it.
I purchased a sterling silver dish/art piece, and upon inspection, it was in fact silver, and the manufacturing company specializes in silver and pewter. After I was satisfied that I did in fact have silver, I broke it down to fit in my crucible, which was clean, and melted it down. Once it was molten, I added borax, and then it got interesting. It stopped behaving like silver and started acting like zinc. It flashed up with smoke and zinc oxide and a bright yellow glow. After I poured it, it did not freeze how zinc normally does, with a hexagonal crystalline pattern on the top, it froze as a normal bar of metal, but at the rate you would expect zinc to freeze. Naturally I tested it with some hydrochloric and I got zinc results. The bar has a dull finish to it unlike zinc. which usually freezes with a shiny finish. What do I have on my hands here, Sreetips? Was this a zinc dish that was coated with a thicker layer of silver, rather than just a plating? Should I take it to a analysist who can tell me the material content of my ingot?
Always love your videos, Plus thank you for opening up your eBay shop to the UK. I really wish you try the Poormans aqua Regia method. ALOT of people can not obtain Nitric acid, and yes we can make it but possession of it is illegal unless under licence. At 5% or 10% max.
The problem with the "Poor man's" nitric acid is that there is undesirable metal contamination of the pregnant solution. Some of the metallic contamination will be drug down when the desired metal is precipitated. Very careful washing can minimize, but not eliminate, the contamination.
Awesome video. Very detailed! And yes, I almost crapped my pants thinking you were going to melt those Morgan Dollars! Please tell me you didn’t! Haha. Anyway, great video, and I know what my retirement hobby will be!
sreetips you’re amazing. Do you sell on EBay? I’m a collector so I was just wondering. Also, thanks again for all your videos, I really hope to do what you do when retirement comes. Looks like a lot of work. Thanks for sharing your secrets and knowledge.
Again, a very instructive and entertaining video. I'm wondering how or when do you know all the silver has been replaced by copper in the solution? Or doesn't it really matter and do you keep adding copper until it doesn't dissolve any longer? Wouldn't it go faster if you'd use copper shavings and filings or maybe a fine copper powder? Or even a fine copper mesh? Thanks for sharing
I used copper wire because that's what I had. Solid pieces such as buss bar are better because wire leaves small bits of copper in the silver. I've never tried shavings or powder. But they are similar to the copper wire. I can tell when all the silver has cemented out when no more silver powder forms on the copper.
To start, I love your videos. I'm working on doing this myself. When you are precipitating, you should try using a fish tank air bubbler to help move the solution and metals. I do agree with the ones that say to melt the copper in to bars. I'm about to start making copper triangles out of my wire using a farrier's forge and one of those cast iron cornbread skillets. A question for you. When you're down to small amounts of silver left, why not do like you do when make the aqua regia and just put pipettes at a time to dissolve the rest of the silver? That way you dissolved everything but you don't have too much nitric acid in solution.
Melting copper into bars is an extra step, the wire will work just fine like it is. Those tiny bits of copper wire can be avoided by removing the coil when it gets very thin and putting in a fresh coil of copper wire. I could add small doses of nitric, but it would take a long time. I prefer to let the nitric get consumed and leave some silver behind like in the video.
Great videos! Very informative. How do you deal with the jewelry items that have enamel on them? I see it on some items like decorative spoons and gold/silver pins. Also, do you know of a good place to buy nitric acid for a reasonable price? Ebay seems rather expensive. Thanks for posting these videos.
You are probably correct. It is not the same as you had before. But it will work if you use your multimeter at the cell and set it how you like. An amp meter would be useful as well.
0:08 - Heck! My tummy does that every day! 0:22 - Now my girlfriend wants a fume hood for her birthday. ;-) 0:35 - Found the neighborhood cat burglar! Seriously, I actually love your videos. Keep up the good educational work. Be safe.
Buggsy5 let me guess, oh but wait you really are mad scientist huh, lol dude grow up!!!,... Bullish Silver, I'm guessing that was intended as a sort of sarcastic, joking complement, ??? Sort of an inside joke among those ppl who actually have a real interest in this kind stuff, ??? Am I close,
Ok Ok I have watch about 7 of your video's and you are becoming a hero to me. I still would like to see Cats done from cars you only handled. Like from the 80's, which are rusting out by now. I wonder which one did you get 2800 from? What make and year? Though it does seem like tough process and a few metals to separate out.
Hi sreetips. I greatly enjoy watching all of your videos and love this kind of work. Having a question for the anode basket. You use a filter from a shop vac Dacron type EE. is there another type of filter that can used or is that the recommended filter for this project??
Hey SreeTips, if you do the stripping of your wire in this form it would help you to do it by starting with the wire out in the mid day sun. it softens the coating and comes away like butter.
My Grandpa and his brothers were all Chemists and Pharmacists. I love seeing a chemical refinement. I mean using a propane furnace and a crucible is fine but this is pure!
i have been watching your youtube video's and find it amazing how your able to refine silver and gold and other precious metals into bars. i am seriously thinking about doing this myself although i won't be repairing jewelry my eyes ain't that good anymore. i have heard that computer mother boards and video card pathways have silver in them is this true and if so would it be worth going after.
John, I don’t refine escrap anymore because the yields are too low. But for someone who likes to tinker, getting a piece of pure silver from some of that type scrap could be a blast.
I was tripping at first thought he was going to ruin all those coins I would have died alot of those could be worth twenty times or more the value of the silver value
A way to go about getting your hands on good solid copper is to have a relationship with the local metal recyclers…that way you can make arrangements to buy the big, thick pieces of pure copper or swap like for like (stripped wire aka “bright” copper) by weight. If you throw in a 12-pack of beer or whatever they like to drink or a pizza for the crew they’ll often do plenty for you!
I notice in this video as well as in the videos about gold refining is that when the metals are in a pure solution their color is move vivid and beautiful.
Hello Sir, I recognize that this video is 'not new' and having watched it twice I did come up with a question, if you don't mind me asking: with regard to using copper wire as a medium to initiate the precipitation of the silver out of solution would you possibly find it to be more efficient to replace the thinning copper wire with a new batch of fresh copper wire (as you normally do) and then 're-use' the thin wire to start the process in your next batch of fresh silver nitrate , which would possibly result in the thinner copper wire being fully consumed? This would leave you with less leftover material in the end. And now that copper is up past 4$ per pound would you consider a separate process to reclaim that copper by "trading" the copper with iron? This might simplify your waste stream and also result in a less valuable form of waste. (Essentially this is already being done in your final waste bucket and would simply require another final refining step, potentially as a semi-automatic process?) Thank you in advance and best regards.
Yes, the thin wire could go in first and get consumed. Unfortunately, refining the copper takes too much time and effort. Even at $10 per pound, refining it just wouldn’t pay. I work with metals that are hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands per pound. Throwing away a few pounds of contaminated copper cost much less than trying to refine it.
I would add a few more pieces of silver until all the nitric is gone (no more fumes being produced with heat) and ensure that there are a few pieces of undissolved silver left over after the reaction is done.
Well, I don't like to do it, but I've added sulfamic acid to a silver solution to kill excess nitric. But it must be added in tiny amounts, I'm talking pinches. Too much and the silver will come bubbling out all over the place. It bubbles even more when it is stirred.
Or you could just add copper until all the excess nitric is used up. But it would make the silver solution heat up and produce lots of red fumes. Then the silver will come out into the copper like it's supposed to.
sreetips thanks again for all your help. Precious metal refining is a hobby I would like to get very good at. You are the most complete resource I have found on this topic. (Other than actually reading a book :0) Have you ever made your own nitric acid for your experiments?
Can you spare some of that silver for a broke amateur chemist? It can't hurt to ask :D Great video man thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. This has been immensely helpful with my current series on silver halide photography.
You definitely are detailed as you said at the end of this video!! You probably go through alot of copper. Is using a metal higher on the reactive chart than Copper like steel, something that could be used to cement out the copper to get pure copper again from the copper solution??
HOLD ON ANSWERING THE QUESTION!!! I'm at the beginning of part 2 and it seems other comments may have been like mine in part 1. If you did answer my question in part 2 (about the steel) DO NOT worry about wasting your time!!! Thank you!
I love the silver coins! I make coin rings, and to me that would be a lot of projects! I usually buy the silver coins that are about to get melted down. (called culls) There's usually tubes, trays, and boxes of them sitting at the pawn shops and coin stores. I don't have money to buy them in the quantities you do. LOL I usually only have enough to get what I need for each project I do. I'm looking forward to seeing the next phase in this experiment. Thanx again buddy! :D
Hi sreetips. As I have watched these videos on refining silver. To cement the silver with the copper wire is there a specific diameter of wire that should or shouldn’t be used. I understand that when the silver gets cemented it turns the silver nitrate into copper nitrate so to use too thin of a wire wouldn’t work I can understand that.
I usually dissolve all the silver I can, then toss in a few little pieces of silver plated stuff, and let the free acid left over dissolve as much as it can. Usually some thin copper skeleton is left over.
One question...... How do you know your not destroying and antique silver piece worth way more than melt value of the silver its made from? Just wondering in case I come across any sterling flat wear. Thanks
Hey if you get a table vise then you can just put your knives in them and split open the knives down the seam and open them up like that to get the insides out easier.