Christmas Gold

[Kodiak]

I recently received the best Christmas gift ever from my Grandmother.

Its gold that my Grandfather and Great Grandfather mined together back in the 1940's. The gold comes from The American River.

All the little pickers are glued into the box, with a few loose ones. I would like to remove these pickers from the box, and get the adhesive off of them, and then store them in a vial. Most of them are attached very well, so I am going to need to remove the adhesive somehow.

My thought is to just soak them in boiling soapy water to remove the adhesive. I'll let is soak a few days and post a picture of the hopefully adhesive free pickers.

IMG_20181230_113956.jpg

[Geowizard]

Kodiak,

Wow! That's some pretty GOLD!

Good luck getting those pickers loose.

- Geowizard

[chickenminer]

If the hot soapy water doesn't work, soak it in acetone. That will dissolve the adhesive.
Pretty cool Christmas gift for sure. Enjoy !

[Kodiak]

I soaked the pickers in hot soapy water and they came loose from the felt backing, but still attached to the adhesive. Now, thanks to Chickenminers suggestion they are soaking in an Acetone bath. Here's a picture of them loose from the case with the adhesive still attached. I'll post some final pictures once the acetone does its work.

IMG_20181231_093556.jpg

[Geowizard]

Kodiak,

Acetone may react with the plastic GOLD pan...

Online reference:

The Kind of Plastic. ... If a particular plastic bears a close enough similarity to acetone, the acetone will dissolve or at least affect its surface, softening, smearing or even dissolving the plastic. Other plastics, dissimilar to acetone, will remain unaffected by the solvent.

I trust you tested the acetone on your pan first.

- Geowizard

[Kodiak]

Not to worry Geo, I am using a glass mason jar marked with XXX's and written all over in black ink to make sure its not confused with a drinking jar.

[Geowizard]

Kodiak,

I should have guessed! I noticed the plastic GOLD pan and well...?

Thanks for the clarification!

- Geowizard

[Kodiak]

I let the acetone work for a couple of days and the pickers cleaned up nice and shiny. 102 pieces total.

Here is a picture of the cleaned up pickers:

IMG_20190106_104707.jpg

Here is a picture of my Grandfather, and father back in 1955 or so:

IMG_20190106_104538.jpg

Now, I just need to get off "The Rock" this summer and go find some of my own.

[Geowizard]

Kodiak.

The Legacy lives on!

- Geowizard

[chickenminer]

Sweet .... quite a family treasure to have.
Indeed, now you need to get out and add to the collection !
Good luck prospecting.