The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1893-08-24
USES OF OLD GOLD.
Interesting Facts About Its Puschass
and Treatment by jewelers..
In the face of the much-prophe

In the face of the much-prophesied
gold famine old gold is in great de-
mand. 1t is bought by the refuers
for mechanical purposes, and is paid
for with spot cash of the greenback va
riety.
Old gold is very rich, not only in
monetary value but in strange and in
teresting suggestions, remarks the
Boston Herald Most of it is in the
shape of dilapidated jewelry. A worn
band of gold comes in. 1t was once
wedding ring, and must have been
held as precious beyond all price by
the bride who wore it during her
honeymoon. In after years. as it was
worn and worn till it was almost worn
away, it must have fiuctuated many
times in value.
The ring does not say whether its
owner was happy or not. The link of
gold may have bound together lov-
ing husband and wife, or it may have
connected a widow with heaven. or
with the coldness of steel it may
have held her like galley slave
chained to a companion that she hated.
The ring tells none of these things.
1t is old-fashioned and worn, and that
shows that it has seen long service.
Perhaps it was worn by strangers, be-
ing superseded by another wedding
ring, or, perhaps, it was precious
family heirloom handed down from
generation to generation.
Some of the gold comes already
melted into Jumps, some of it is the
gold filling OF teeth and dentists
scraps, and some of ii is in the form Of
old plates, with artificial teeth still
sticking to them.
Hood IL Reynolds, the assayers on
fremont street, say that old gold is
very scarce and they have hard work
to collect the amount needed in their
business. The old jewelry and scraps
are melted down and refined. and then
rolled out into gold foil. The gold
foil is bought by dentists and put into
the teeth of their customers, and in
most cases goes back into the ground
with the owner Of the teeth when he
dies. Some day, when Boston is
bowling wilderness, an enterprising
miner will wash out the earth of tho
cemeteries and reap rich harvest.
But that is a matter of speculation.
IL ID HidUIcI VI Idcb ludL one uIll Oh
refiners here in Boston uses up 50, 800
worth of old gold every week, and
lately has been compelled to buy coin
to eke out the supply needed for me-
chanical purposes.
A great deal of the iewelry is sold
cred TO brass lead, and other metals.
The quality of the gold is tested Just
as in the case of solid jewelry, and the
stuff is weighed in bulk and paid for
at the rate established by averaging
the results of the different weighings
Even plated iewelrv is taken, bat,
when pure brass comes in, the pur-
chasers are forced to draw the line.
A good deal Of the old sayer is sold
in the same way, but instead of being
M demand it is a drug on the market.
1t Is not so interesting, either, as it
usually comes in the shape of spoons,
knives and watches. When the dca,-
ers get more silver than they can use
they send it to the government mints
as quickly as they can.
Not little platinum is sold as old
metal and usually comes in the form
of bits Of wire and scraps from broken
incandescent lamps. 1t is now largely
used by dentists, but it is sent to New
York for treatment, as it can only be
melted by means of compound blow
pipe, and there is no place in Boston
where that is done.