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Dead Silvering for Medals

The perfect smoothness which a medal generally possesses on the surface, renders it very difficult to obtain a coating of dead silver upon it, having the beautiful silky lustre ally affecting the copper; nitrate of potassa which characterizes that kind of work, except is added by degrees, as occasion requires; and by giving it a very thick coating of silver, if the action is slow a little heat is applied to which takes away the sharpness of the im 1 pression. This dead appearance can be easily from the residue and kept in a stoppered obtained by putting the medal, previous to bottle. silvering, in a solution of copper, and deposit- 3723. Το Test Silver-Plated Goods. ing upon it, by means of a weak current, a The ordinary and very accurate method of mere blush of copper, which gives the face of testing of silver is founded upon the insoluthe medal that beautiful crystalline richness bility of chloride of silver in dilute acids and that deposited copper is known to give. The in water. This otherwise satisfactory test is, medal is then to be washed from the copper however, difficult to carry out when an article solution, and immediately to be put into the is very thinly plated. A drop of the test silver solution. A very slight coating of sil- liquid (see last receipt) is then brought in ver will suffice to give the dead frosty lustre so contact with the metal to be tested, and im much admired, and in general so difficult to mediately washed off again with water. If a visible blood-red spot remains, silver is