German Silver

German silver doesn't contain any silver, but is an alloy of copper, nickel and possibly zinc, so it is a lot less valuable than silver.

If the gold is on the surface, I would think filing it off might be your best bet. If it's a very thin layer, it might not be worth the trouble.

I know German silver has no silver in it. I am more interested in the gold content.

It is fairly thick, and light sanding does not remove it. I will mic it and see how much is there.

Back in the 70's a friend who supposedly knew what he was talking about, said they were worth about $5 each, but gold was $30 an ounce back then.

I would cut the bars around the gold, melt them down into appropriately sized round blanks, and make coins with my face stamped into them....if you're lucky the gold being heavier will sink to the bottom...

https://www.augrav.com/jewellery/photo-engraved-gold-coin

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1551205871/engrave-your-own-gold-coins-personalized

There are multiple ways to remove gold from mixed metals, including:

• Cyanidation A dilute solution of sodium cyanide is used to dissolve gold from ore. This has been the primary method for extracting gold since the 1970s.
• Melting The mixture of gold and other metals is heated to a high temperature, causing the metals to separate. The gold sinks to the bottom of the crucible and is collected by lead.
• Aqua regia A combination of hydrochloric and nitric acid is used to dissolve gold. Nitric acid oxidizes the gold to form gold ions, and hydrochloric acid reacts with the gold ions to form tetrachloroaurate(III) anions.
• Nitric acid Gold is not reactive with nitric acid, but copper is. Treating a mixture of gold and copper with nitric acid can separate the two metals.
• Salt cementation A solid-state process that uses common salt to remove iron from clay.

When working with acids, it is important to use proper safety protocols, such as working outdoors or under a vent hood, and wearing personal protective equipment.

You can also watch this video to learn how to turn extract gold from a blob of metal ...

There is a 60degree C difference in melting temp, so I may get lucky and melt the gold from the G Silver.

I don't think I would heat zinc up that high without protection...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Blacksmith/comments/85xvla/the_truth_about_zinc_metal_flufever_and_death/?rdt=52314

...and precise control of heat that high (nearly 2000°F) would be nearly impossible without a high-tech kiln, and even then kind of sketchy...hopefully your 'gold' doesn't turn out to be brass or silver oxide...

I took it to a jewelry store and they tested it and said it was gold, but not the purity.

If you don’t mind consuming one bar in a test, you might try bending, see if the deposited layer will delaminate. Prolly not, but you might get lucky.

If the jeweler you visited didn’t offer to buy them off of you, I would presume he believes the gold content value (in dollars) versus the process to isolate the gold is a low percentage deal.

Maybe it would be better to look for a chemical to remove the German Silver, should be easier than dissolving gold.

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What you have is NOT the German silver I'm familiar with. I'm with #1--no gold content at all. What I'm familiar with was used for brightwork on antique vehicles--radiator shells for instance. For radiator shells I think it was not plated, but was the full thickness of the metal used.

AS I stated,

I am after the gold ,not the G Silver. The bus bar is made from conventional G Silver, of which I am aware of the metallic composition. G Silver has many applications due to it's corrosion resistance These bars were used for contacts in old analog telephone central offices, having a gold sputtered, but smooth contact area on both sides like a two pole single throw switch. they could be combined to create any logic desired. The bars are very springy and tough, returning to home position even after severe bending. A central office of the 70's was very loud with tens of thousands of switches operating at once. In the very small outlying offices, the phone number had to be hand wired by the tech. He also had to install the phones. Tough job!

Now an equivalent to the CO is mounted on a pedestal on the roadside using UTP, Mux Demux, and a DSLAM converting everything to fiber.

Ok, I am straying off topic, so I am out o' here.

I suspect that the gold sputtered onto the German silver bars to improve the contact is so thin that it is not worth the bother of retrieving it--even if possible. I'm guessing, WAG method, that the thickness is far less than 1 mil.

Yes, Mercury will dissolve the gold off the bar. Do you have the ability and equipment to distill the mercury? Its not a difficult process but it can be quite dangerous.

Mercury is also useful to dissolve lead build up in rifle barrels, being heavier than lead, but it must be boiled off and I do not want to do that, I am already "mad as a hatter".