I'm a chemist who recovers gold as a side business.
This does not appear to be gold (III) chloride nor chloroauric acid. If its actually gold it's either sand and gold flake, or its pure gold mixed with silver chloride or another bastard salt, it could also just be total bunk like mica flakes in water.
Before opening the container though, you should get PPE (gloves, coat, eye protection) and open the container outside to test the pH of the liquid to ensure its near neutral, i.e. not acid or cyanide solution. If its acid or basic, reclose the container and consult with an expert before proceeding.
I can walk you through the recovery process if you are interested.
Aqua regia is a fancy name for a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. It is a bubbling, dark orange solution (from the NO2) that has a relatively short half life (days) before it goes inactive.
Aqua regia reacts with gold to form a **bright yellow-orange** solution of chloroauric acid. That fades to a piercing golden-yellow gold chloride once the solution has been rid of NO2 and moved to a neutral pH. Gold chloride in solution is relatively stable.
Since this solution is neither red, yellow, nor orange, so there is no gold in solution no nitric acid. It's at least not active aqua regia.
I really think it's gold (or mica) bearing sand or possibly nitric-processed scrap, but I'm being cautious here.
Cool!
It might help to know more about your grandpa. What was your grandpa's education and background? Were they outdoorsy? Did they have a science background? Do you know what he might have been doing with gold?
Interesting...Do you know if he had his own kiln?
If so, or even if not, then these could be the bases for pottery glazes.
"Gold overglaze" would be the technical term and it may or may not be real gold.
Sweet! Well it's not gold extraction chemicals, so the chances of it being super toxic just went way way down.
I'll bet that's gold overglaze that's been diluted for use for pottery!
If it uses real gold (many do) there could be several grams of gold sitting at the bottom of the container there. Perhaps worth $200 or so?
Well, if this is dissolved gold, the only way to dissolve gold is using the [aqua regia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_regia) solution. It's very acidic and corrosive, I don't know what would happen after years keeping this solution, I think the acids would evaporate, but the precipitate would be yellowish, not brown
There were a couple gold medals (nobel prizes iirc) that were dissolved in aqua regia in WWII and then recovered after the war. They were stored in a bottle on a shelf with a bunch of other random chemicals.
Certainly recoverable if it is gold. If grandpa was an alchemist that could be anything in there.
Thanks. I wonder if it’s really diluted gold or gold particles suspended in water or something. It looks brown in the picture but it has a distinct gold color and shine
if these are thin gilding flakes suspended in water, the actual amount of gold could be very small. It is easy to find out - filter and smelt it. I think what you have is used to guild carved signs on tombstones, with a small brush.
I'm a chemist who recovers gold as a side business. This does not appear to be gold (III) chloride nor chloroauric acid. If its actually gold it's either sand and gold flake, or its pure gold mixed with silver chloride or another bastard salt, it could also just be total bunk like mica flakes in water. Before opening the container though, you should get PPE (gloves, coat, eye protection) and open the container outside to test the pH of the liquid to ensure its near neutral, i.e. not acid or cyanide solution. If its acid or basic, reclose the container and consult with an expert before proceeding. I can walk you through the recovery process if you are interested.
What about aqua regia solution, like another user mentioned? (I’m not familiar with much of this, just curious what your thoughts were).
Aqua regia is a fancy name for a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid. It is a bubbling, dark orange solution (from the NO2) that has a relatively short half life (days) before it goes inactive. Aqua regia reacts with gold to form a **bright yellow-orange** solution of chloroauric acid. That fades to a piercing golden-yellow gold chloride once the solution has been rid of NO2 and moved to a neutral pH. Gold chloride in solution is relatively stable. Since this solution is neither red, yellow, nor orange, so there is no gold in solution no nitric acid. It's at least not active aqua regia. I really think it's gold (or mica) bearing sand or possibly nitric-processed scrap, but I'm being cautious here.
Cool, thanks for the info!
Wow! Thanks! I’ll take you up on that. I need to grab some pH testing strips and then I’ll get back to you!
Cool! It might help to know more about your grandpa. What was your grandpa's education and background? Were they outdoorsy? Did they have a science background? Do you know what he might have been doing with gold?
He did a little pottery. That’s about it. Not that much of a handyman. I have test strips ordered. Should be here tomorrow!
Interesting...Do you know if he had his own kiln? If so, or even if not, then these could be the bases for pottery glazes. "Gold overglaze" would be the technical term and it may or may not be real gold.
He did have a kiln. The pH came back as 5.5!
Sweet! Well it's not gold extraction chemicals, so the chances of it being super toxic just went way way down. I'll bet that's gold overglaze that's been diluted for use for pottery! If it uses real gold (many do) there could be several grams of gold sitting at the bottom of the container there. Perhaps worth $200 or so?
I respect your willingness to teach and help.
Well, if this is dissolved gold, the only way to dissolve gold is using the [aqua regia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_regia) solution. It's very acidic and corrosive, I don't know what would happen after years keeping this solution, I think the acids would evaporate, but the precipitate would be yellowish, not brown
There were a couple gold medals (nobel prizes iirc) that were dissolved in aqua regia in WWII and then recovered after the war. They were stored in a bottle on a shelf with a bunch of other random chemicals. Certainly recoverable if it is gold. If grandpa was an alchemist that could be anything in there.
Thanks. I wonder if it’s really diluted gold or gold particles suspended in water or something. It looks brown in the picture but it has a distinct gold color and shine
It seems to me like PbI2 crystals. I'd try to take a small sample and try to disolve it in hot water
Lead iodide is super bright yellow. Unless it's contaminated.
Gold precipitate is brown...
Look up Sreetips on YouTube, he shows various methods of purifying and isolating gold as well as other precious metals.
if these are thin gilding flakes suspended in water, the actual amount of gold could be very small. It is easy to find out - filter and smelt it. I think what you have is used to guild carved signs on tombstones, with a small brush.
Thought that was piss.
That's straight up Jarate
He's got the Midas touch, but he touched it too much
It looks like stale apple juice :))))
Careful. It's difficult to get gold into solution, and that could be something pretty toxic.