Captain Kidds Treasure 'silver' (?) ingot

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by CutlassCollector

Ah - the radiation shielding was just a comment on the fact that x-ray examination of the ingot would not be possible.

Your research into the markings on ballast lead was very interesting.
I was always doubtful that it could be passed off as silver. But lead and silver do have similarities - silver is very close in weight to lead (7% lighter) and silver oxidises to black and of course could be painted, so possible. The Lone Ranger (must do a link to your nostalgia thread - still looking for that sixgun) and various werewolf hunters can testify that silver makes just as good bullets as lead.

But (google again) lead is much softer than silver at near the bottom of the hardness table while silver is mid range. So we can protect ourselves from future scams by merely digging a thumbnail into the ingot before parting with any cash!

Thank you CC!
Wonderful note on the 'Lone Ranger'! and the nod to that thread which has been a lot of fun, we all treasure those memories of yesteryear,.
Actually I recall an instance years ago in my years with the airlines, Clinton Moore, the actor who portrayed the Lone Ranger was traveling, and in the worst abomination ever......his trusty guns were stolen!!! Much worse than an ordinary crime, this was the worst deed imaginable as our young values of justice and honor were shaken to the core.

Great analogies!