Arizona Assay Office! --- The adventure behind the ingot...👀

A pretty cool story goes along with this new addition. It's not as promising as it could have been. But, a good end result none the less!

I came across this Arizona Assay Office ingot...

☝️ Scale shows the weight of 5.02oz.

I have been collecting AAO ingots for a few years. As the story goes these were made for Paul Franklin by Jack Stone circa 1969 from his N. First Street location in Phenoix, Arizona.

The listing for this particular AAO ingot stated it was thought to be 50/50 copper and silver. I have never seen a copper AAO ingot before. Which was obviously interesting to me. However, there has been two bi metal ingots recorded in the registry. The seller made it clear that they never tested the contents of this ingot. I have seen some very unnatural looking patina/toning over the years. Especially on .925 fine silver!! That level of purity tends to turn copper/bronze color over time....🤔

A thought came to my mind. That maybe this is 100% silver. The discoloration was a result produced over time from having a lesser purity silver. That was the best case scenario anyways! Either way it's a win in my eyes. A unique addition or a fun discovery. Check the pics..

☝️The main question..How can it read 999 fine if it's made up of more than one metal?!

☝️ The PD seems to be a myserty?? The serial number 60 is very low compared to the recorded serial numbers.

☝️A strange curve on the side. My research showed this odd shape can happen to metals that require a higher level of heat. Such as palladium. Is that was PD stands for?!?!?!

☝️Ya that looks like copper.. I know...😒

There is only one thing to do when you want to see what's really going on with an ingot. I sent it out to my buddy who used a Fischerscope XRAY WinFTM. An incredible piece of equipment that provides an assay report. Essentially it xrays 3 different spots on the ingot. The machine provides the exact percentages of every possible metal. It then takes the results from the 3 different spots and provides an average. This is the assay report I recieved in detail...

☝️Turns out that it is almost exactly 50% Copper and 50% Silver. Pretty much exactly what the seller stated.

The result of this situation?

I was able to add a very unique Arizona Assay Office ingot to my collection. Possibly the only one known at this time.

My buddy used a $70,000 xray machine to prove the contents of mystery ingot. The results were very interesting. I recieved a personalized assay report that will forever accompany this ingot. Which makes it no longer a mystery!!

In life you have to take chances. Sometimes they work in your benefit. While other times they don't. Either way, the chances taken will usually result in new learning experiences.

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