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When could they part gold and silver from each other?
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<p>[QUOTE="The Eidolon, post: 5477035, member: 102103"]I'm no expert, but I believe when natural deposits of an intermixture of gold and silver are weathered away, the lighter silver tends to wash away, while the heavier gold tends to form deposits in rivers. I think that's why one pans for gold, not electrum. But mined gold in its natural form will tend to be in veins of electrum, with composition varying by source. If the Egyptians got their gold from alluvial sources (as is believed) from further south in Africa, that would explain why they could make gold artifacts without developing gold refining technology. </p><p><br /></p><p>It also explains the relatively low gold to silver price ratio in Ancient Egypt. I've heard a 3:1 gold to silver price ratio quoted, other sources claim 1:1. In much of the ancient world it was more like 9:1. The Ancient Egyptians also had iron artifacts from before the invention of iron smelting, from meteoric sources. They had advanced trade networks, and could get rare materials from all over.</p><p><br /></p><p>(Confession--I was a chemist/materials engineer once. Though my field was thin film processing and deposition. We did have to take some old school metallurgy coursework to graduate, though.)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="The Eidolon, post: 5477035, member: 102103"]I'm no expert, but I believe when natural deposits of an intermixture of gold and silver are weathered away, the lighter silver tends to wash away, while the heavier gold tends to form deposits in rivers. I think that's why one pans for gold, not electrum. But mined gold in its natural form will tend to be in veins of electrum, with composition varying by source. If the Egyptians got their gold from alluvial sources (as is believed) from further south in Africa, that would explain why they could make gold artifacts without developing gold refining technology. It also explains the relatively low gold to silver price ratio in Ancient Egypt. I've heard a 3:1 gold to silver price ratio quoted, other sources claim 1:1. In much of the ancient world it was more like 9:1. The Ancient Egyptians also had iron artifacts from before the invention of iron smelting, from meteoric sources. They had advanced trade networks, and could get rare materials from all over. (Confession--I was a chemist/materials engineer once. Though my field was thin film processing and deposition. We did have to take some old school metallurgy coursework to graduate, though.)[/QUOTE]
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