Extracting pure silver from a coin

[@MrRevolverkiller]

you've def gotten better over the last 6 years. cheers mate!

[@briann517]

That sounds like a backhanded compliment lol

[@MrRevolverkiller]

@@briann517 i honestly didn’t mean it to be, he has gotten better as you do over 6 years

[@juanrapington4411]

I guess I know what you mean, he sounds more confident now but it’s all good content ❤️

[@JNelson_]

@Big Cat Little Lion I mean this is a chemistry channel not a coin collecting channel. Furthermore destroying a coin is not illegal as long as the intent isn't for fraud or selling the raw materials. The value in the video is from the education aspect.

[@abdulmuse1507]

@Big Cat Little Lion oxygen is a very valuable thing, yet it is being wasted on you.

[@daveoverton4319]

I like that you explained what caused the loss of Ag so that those who are trying to purify silver, maybe from ore, can maximize their yield following your instructions.

[@chrisl3193]

"The reaction that is taking place is shown above" Me who failed one chemistry class 6 years ago: "ah right right, of course. obviously"

[@CallMeMimi27]

I like your funny words magic man

[@petebuxton3341]

I absolutely love your videos, no disrespect to "Nurd rage" because I really like his vids too.....but, your description of the methods you use is far superior.....you speak steadily and with confidence as a true professional should. Please keep on making your superb videos. Nobody is even close to you on youtube and I don't say this lightly. Best wishes, Peter

[@NileRed]

Thank you very much. That means a lot!

[@FXGreggan.]

***** This is basically the same method I use and I've sent samples for testing to the national standards lab and the (core drill) samples come back 99.8-99.9% pure

[@maggiep9007]

Just cause ur slow doesn't mean nr is bad.

[@KnakuanaRka]

Adam Defibaugh Yeah, Nurd’s voice modulator always bugged me. I also prefer Nile’s videos because he’s more interested in accessibility and aiming for a wider layman audience, with his reaction diagrams and general presentation; Nurd is clearly intended for an audience who is already fairly educated in chemistry. I mean, check the comments on basically any of Nile’s videos, and take a shot whenever someone says something like “You’re the one who got me interested in chemistry” or “Your videos have been a godsend in OChem class” or “I honestly don’t understand any of this, so why am I still watching?”; does Nurd get these sorts of comments?

[@clmk0515]

ditto

[@burntorangeak]

Fun to look back, and recognize how far Niles' on air persona has evolved.

[@randominternetprofile8270]

I think you have the best videos that are informative, yet simplistic to try at home with little to no knowledge in chemistry.

[@nickcampbell3812]

I like how I can tell how recent the video based on his voice.

[@CallMeMimi27]

Back then: explains things like s college post grad student. Now: lets poke it with a knife itll be fun lol

[@salty-as-heck9915]

I'm glad you threw in a cheap coin. I was dreading before hand that you would be throwing in a $1000 1820's silver dollar, not realizing what you had.

[@NileRed]

+Osley Sallent haha that would be very sad indeed

[@sonnydelight5737]

Silver dollars weren't made in the 1820's.

[@patdn63]

@@sonnydelight5737 not true look it up

[@chloehennessey6813]

@@sonnydelight5737 they had both silver eagles and gold ones back than sir

[@sonnydelight5737]

@@chloehennessey6813 - I'll give you one billion dollars for a genuine 1820's silver dollar. Surely you can use this statement as evidence. Then track me down to collect your billion dollars. Fool

[@bpark10001]

After the first silver extraction, add salt or hydrochloric acid to precipitate AgCl. Filter. To the AgCl, add NaOH in crucible and fire. Then add carbon powder and fire again to get silver metal missed in the 1st extraction. Some borax will help coalesce the silver. Dump while molten as you did first and wash in water to dissolve the borax & salt.

[@markbarbee3454]

Finally, someone who explains this process in quick and simple terms! And with a professional video, not like some guys who have never used a camera tripod or don't moonlight as Meth producers.

[@ejlee5603]

This was pleasing to watch and listen to, thank you!

[@ejlee5603]

max3zizo ... First of all, why do you assume I'm a typical "chinese lady?" Second, I have silver and gold of my own bought from my hard earned money, why would I want someone else's - it's not as satisfying. Third, this is a chemical reaction video, so shut the fuck up and let me appreciate it. Thank you, have a nice day.

[@Jambivids]

+EJ Lee I agree

[@SavageZebra67]

damn dont know what this convo is about but english isnt your first language. I can see why someone might have thot you were Chinese...

[@urrealdad3769]

@@ejlee5603 I love u

[@stinkymeow2840]

@@SavageZebra67 uhhh they speak and write English perfectly fine, and it’s “thought” idiot

[@DanceKomander]

This is a really interesting experiment! I am half way through Gen Chem1 in college right now. I have been watching your videos for about six months. I am finally starting to understand what is going on in them. I always enjoy them a lot!

[@NileRed]

I am glad you enjoy them! They range from gen chem to some specific organic chemistry, so you will slowly understand more as you learn more!

[@marialiyubman]

“Hello, this is the Canadian government...”

[@jamesedwards7442]

lol

[@NandiCollector]

😂😂

[@Juhuuu]

@@Taurus388 commented 1 month ago. Continuing the train. Don't dissapoint us youtube.

[@vaprin2019]

@@Juhuuu commented 4 weeks ago

[@rodomondater1057]

@@vaprin2019 commented 3 weeks ago.

[@MrKago1]

I never get enough of that gorgeous blue you get from copper.

[@changedpace9169]

I work in an electroplating facility and get to strip copper parts in nitric acid most of my day, it gets mixed in with chrome fragments and creates a galaxy effect in the blue. Looks so gorgeous

[@shinnakrittangsiriwattanak9010]

Do you know that in Thai, the word for the colour "blue" is literally "silver liquid/water"...

[@thirdworldassassin]

did you know that when i did a comparative study of the stars that almost all star constellations had roughly the same name ... a very interesting one was the star algol which is medusa in greek , algol in chinese means pile of corpses .... that one was strange , but i would equate the story of medusa to a pile of corpses because when people seen medusa they were turned to stone , in an ancient masonic ceremony the initiate would go into a cave and chop off the head of medusa the gorgon which was a symbolic story of how the constellation Pegasus was born , pegasus was born from when medusas head was removed from her body in the stars , the ancient peoples used metaphors and lacked adjective for star stories so just told stories about the stars in the manner of legend and religion , whats interesting though is that certain things like that could be used to trace the verbal origin date of the stories , like the story of the god of the greeks would "eat its children" , no doubt the ancients were talking about the moons of jupiter , and how the moons were reabsorbed into jupiter , i also noticed stars that were binary or trinary were often specially regarded such as the star sirius which is a triple star , sirius A was isis , sirius B was osiris they were brother sister husband wife , and in the story they adopted anubis for all time and anubis was sirius C , and when anubis was adopted the calendar of the solar year on earth had to be changed from 365 days to 365.242 , long ago this knowledge got me a scholarshipa and honorary membership that i declined , because i am free i take no blood oaths that bind me from speaking about the mysteries of antiquity to anyone i choose , and for some reason i choose you

[@StevenHanover]

@@thirdworldassassin why did Harry Potter dog star Sirius black. Thx friend you answered many questions

[@thirdworldassassin]

@@StevenHanover possibly jk rowling is an occultist , or just aware of the beliefs and wanted to write a great story , many of the "greatest" movies or stories of all time are written about the stars

[@nathanhawee5373]

Rite on just want to let ya know that ppl are still finding this helpful and informative, I'm doing homework on working with and extracting silver. And honestly this process is very close to how you make THC oil(extract) just with different materials. Thanks

[@tombaker3000]

Possibly the reason you thought you lost a lot of silver was because you used a 1967 Canada quarter. At the beginning of the year they were made at 80% silver. About half way through the year they cut that down to 50%. You might have used a later quarter.

[@WalterMelones]

You sound... So chill. Super relaxing, hard to get into the science; but I'm so comfy.

[@HH-sv1tb]

First I will add 20 ml of water Me: ok maybe I can try. Then I will add 20ml of CONCENTRATED NITRIC ACID Me: ok that idea was immediately shut down...

[@bitterlemonboy]

What? Nitric acid is easy to find.

[@IMONBLOGTVWITHMYFUCKINGHANDSUP]

500ml of concentrated nitric acid is only $40

[@Larry1302]

@@bitterlemonboy in the EU you need a (hard to acquire) license for all concentrations above 3%, because nitric acid can be used to make explosives.

[@bitterlemonboy]

@@Larry1302 What? You don't need a certificate.. You can make it yourself.

[@buggsy5]

@@Larry1302 So can hydrogen peroxide, as well as other easy to obtain chemicals. Stupid bureaucrats.

[@thorium9190]

Are you able to take back the nitric oxide by putting the bottle in a bigger beaker with water? The gas would react with the water to produce more nitric acid. Right?

[@nt2974]

Great video. Can you make a video on how to make a Silver Plating Solution for immersion electroplating, deriving silver from coins and scrap silver? Perhaps you can do this with gold too?

[@alibahar244]

I’m sick right now but your videos are the only thing keeping me awake

[@LlamaKingGaming]

Oh man, that's a 1967 Canadian quarter. I need that one for my collection

[@crazymode341]

has it really been nearly 8 years now? your confidence has grown so much. you should do a first vs current video for comparison

[@mman6283]

This is the absolute best video on the topic

[@jinsunha9475]

Actually, 1967 centennial quarter shown in the video has two varieties; 50% silver and 80% silver. You cannot tell with naked eye which is which. Coin dealers up here just say "65%" since the 50% and 80% silver varieties are half half, and it's not worth time for them to go through everything one by one with the machine.

[@andromeda1892]

you should have added a salt solution to the remaining silver/copper nitrate to reclaim 99% of the silver. the remaining silver in solution would have dropped as silver chloride which could then be converted to elemental silver.

[@osrra6101]

Please can u teach me step by step

[@buggsy5]

Not easily. Silver chloride is to be avoided, if at all possible, as the conversion to elemental silver is difficult. The best method is through cementation of the nitrate onto copper. The only reason he did not get almost 100% recovery is because he did not get rid of the excess nitric acid before cementing out the silver.

[@maxblay5024]

You need to make more videos like this they're interesting as hell

[@pablopicasso6699]

I agree with Peter, your videos are second to none. Their is a way to remove the Silver easily from a melting crucible. If you put quite a bit of ground Borax into the crucible and heat it till it goes like glass beforehand if you are quick and remove the Silver quickly it will be easily removed. However, this may leave a residue of glass like borax on the silver, but this is easily removed with a dilute liquid of sulfuric acid and water "jewellers pickle" (10/1). But if you are just doing a small amount, charred wood is good ;-)

[@bluewater7211]

I absolutely love the blue color copper makes .. 💙

[@chauntikleer]

One thing I distinctly remember from 7th grade (circa 1986) was this saying from my science teacher: "Do whatcha oughta, add acid to water." Diluton of acid is exothermic, and if you add water to acid it could erupt and splash you. And that, folks, is the entirety of what I remember from chemistry.

[@Creeact]

I own about 30 1967 canadian quarters and it is my favorite coin, hope to buy more soon.

[@ryansimpson3074]

Straight to the point

[@ryansalladay9523]

I’ve got a photo showing essentially the same process and two different beakers with the same solution yielding two different results. Can I somehow show you and take a guess at what went right and what went wrong? Great video and great channel thanks for sharing with us!

[@mrsparkle9048]

I know this is ages after the video was posted, but could you have increased your yield by letting the copper wire react with the solution in a flask with a stir rod to smash up the precipitated silver and remaining copper? Love your videos, just found this channel recently and I'm going through a bunch of your older material, still great stuff!

[@157dixon]

Yeah he said why he didnt get it all. He left nitric acid in the first solurtion. Meaning too much nitic and too little silver. Then he didnt leave the copper in long enough to precipitate all of the silver. You can save the solution nothing would be lost

[@delta_7737]

you should try to make a platinum gold alloy and test its heat resistance

[@ScotlandTheBrave_1]

Can you do a video on removing silver from silver citrate? You can see silver citrate on the ingredients of Nivea shower gel. Would be awesome if you could do it using the shower gel😀

[@buggsy5]

Even if you could do so easily and efficiently, the percentage of silver citrate would be minute.

[@jimcatanzaro7808]

Good job in the spring I will start slow like this and work my way up getting use to working with the chemicals and set up

[@Bmens71]

Simple and straightforward

[@sampsjt]

I've watched server videos on silver and gold recovery, yours were the easiest to understand and follow

[@XYLEAN594]

Nurple = NilePurple = ( NileRed + NileBlue ) Thank you for the tutorial Nurple

[@grizzlygamer8891]

I think under curtain circumstances a 10% loss is acceptable. In the UK there is 20% VAT on new silver so if you can get a job lot of old sterling silver sugar tongs and spoons at auction at the right price, you'd be onto a winner.

[@joez9839]

Safety note. ALWAYS add the acid to the water. NEVER the other way around.

[@xuNsh1ne]

Safety note: It doesn't matter. Just don't add water to hygroscopic acids like sulfuric acid...

[@TS-wq6qb]

Thank you for being an awesome teacher!

[@nathanhopkins8324]

So the initial reaction with Nitric Acid produces silver nitrate? Then you could theoretically use a process like this to produce silver nitrate solution for tin type photography, for instance. You'd just need to remove the Copper Nitrate and any other byproducts.

[@omart8073]

Very educational video. High school students should watch this for their chemistry class.

[@ironmonger2711]

Instead of using copper wire to precipitate the silver out, you could have just used something containing chlorine (sodium chloride, bleach, etc...). You'll drop out silver chloride, which can be melted, releasing chlorine gas and leaving near pure silver. It's less expensive and easier to do than the copper wire method, but both will work. Great video by the way, just thought add my two cents!

[@jordibear]

Sadly, melting Silver Chloride is difficult, and doesn't just "drop out" the silver. You have to use sodium bicarbonate, dextrose, charcoal and a high temperature. It's slow and very annoying to deal with. Most chemists avoid AgCl for this very reason

[@hiseminencetheholymacdiarmada]

Outstanding information here!! I am a metal detectorist and I amalways finding silver coins. 99% (or more) of the coins are not worth anything other than their silver content. I want to do this, but on a somewhat bigger scale. How would you recommend I go about it for 1/2 or even a full pound of silver coins? I'm not sure if it makes a difference, but referring to the coin you used in this video, the ones I want to do this with are standard "Coin Silver" which is 90% silver and 10% copper. Thanks!

[@NileRed]

+John McDermott You should probably be able to just scale it up. I believe the nitric acid is in a large excess anyway. Not 100% sure though.

[@5thDragonDreamCaster]

+John McDermott As far as I know, silver quarters are coin silver, which if he used a coin that was less pure I would think you could do it with one that was more pure.

[@freddymeischer2219]

Top shelf videoI wanted to say (but I may be wrong)you didn't really loose 10% of your silver it's still there in solution,Could you just add another coin,then some fresh nitric acid then crash out of solution the silver,)?I may be mistaken.But I must say very informative.What percentage was your acid ?

[@christophermag9999]

Maybe using a base to neutralize the exces acid could help to increase the yield and reduce the time of forming solid silver

[@newcoyote]

I just love how scientifically minded people think. When they fuck up, it's just acknowledged matter of fact with no BS excuses. Imagine the difference in the world if more people could do just that.

[@clmk0515]

Great video and so interesting. where can that acid be bought? I have many junk silver jewelry pieces... I'd have fun doing this !!!

[@karlbe8414]

Great video, very clear and easy to follow. I just wish you would have started with keyboard mylars, switch contacts, etc.

[@kmflynn329]

Can you purchase the chemicals over the counter? How do you measure/estimate 1 troy ounce of product? How do you know the purity? Great video. Thats for sharing.

[@greenlawnfarm5827]

Yeah. I got tons of pennies and nickles and dimes and i just need to get some nitrous acid. Like a bucket of it would be good.

[@gmc9753]

Instead of using an excess of nitic acid, you should have made sure there was an excess of silver at the end of the reaction. This way, the solution will only contain silver nitrate and copper nitrate, with no unreacted nitric acid to dissolve the copper and silver in the next step. Just filter off the unreacted metal and use copper to cement out the silver powder.

[@user-he7sc3fg3r]

R u a chemist

[@PHUCKyoutube689]

@@user-he7sc3fg3r Who cares if he is a chemist, he is right. Most refiners add more silver alloy to use up the available nitric before cementing the silver.

[@timber72]

Did you do a specific gravity test to determine it was .500, and not .800? They made both types in 1967.

[@saintlysadistic9934]

@nilered the link you found this reaction on is hilarious

[@successfulengineer]

Nice, clear video, thanks!

[@RutgerHaan]

hi nile, wouldn't it be easier if you just electrolised the silvernitrate solution?

[@drawincode1800]

Your A Wizard Harry

[@jayllin13]

I've been experimenting with purifying silver and gold and I don't think you lost that much silver unless that was a .999 pure silver quarter, there made of sterling silver which is 90 - 93% pure.......the silver precipitate is nearly pure so the loss was mostly junk metal weight (tin, zinc, and copper)

[@knutewales1171]

Can you recommend a process like this for separating copper from the zinc in coins?

[@lknanml]

You had me at "severe excess" I get closer the screen and turn up the sound......

[@tcolondovich2996]

My only reason for watching this video was to find out where you find silver coins in 2014...Since none of the current USA coins have any silver that I'm aware of. I guessed you'd use Nitric Acid before I even watched it. What type of coin is that? Is that currently used in 2020 in Canada or something? Thanks.

[@Chemistrytigers]

Very informative video

[@mheryllemaec.aguinaldo3174]

Why does the coin turn into black when i do the same method you did, i did your method pouring 20ml of nitric cid and 20ml of distilled water after it i cover the cylinder and after an hour it turns into black color insted of blue

[@trackpackgt877]

That was cool! Can u do a US coin next like a 50c peice or dollar coin? Pre 65 is silver. I know it's the same as what you just did but it would be cool to see

[@smudgepost]

Love your videos.. need to see if you did one already for a process that limits the silver lost

[@buggsy5]

The loss was in his procedure, not the process. Also, the silver is not lost - it is in the waste solids/liquids that can be processed further.

[@TheChemistryShack]

I know it seems trivial, but can you make a video on how to make a fluted filter paper?

[@NileRed]

Maybe I will. There are a few videos out there that show how though!

[@TheChemistryShack]

Ok thanks I will look for them!

[@TheChemistryShack]

Nile Red I've figured it out by now :P

[@Jambivids]

why didnt you pour it into a beaker of water opposed to wood ? does it hold up better when its pored into a stronger insulator ?

[@bookieone9277]

I love silver. Gold is cool too. Those pretty rocks (gems) aren't so pretty to me though. I prefer rocks with a bit more character like galena (lead ore), meteorites, labradorite, etc.

[@EMandMORE]

Is it possible to just use the silver nitrate made during the first step of the procedure? Would it be good silver nitrate considering it's made using impure silver?

[@buggsy5]

The solution also contains copper nitrate, as well as trace amounts of other nitrates. If those impurities do not matter for your process, then you could use it. Or, you could precipitate the silver - nitrate it again - then precipitate a second time. This will produce almost pure silver.

[@alibahar244]

Good job red

[@biggiefish2782]

I don’t know any of the equations but it’s super interesting

[@Dmanthepowerful]

Old school Nile

[@bluestarindustrialarts7712]

Would have liked to seen the coin post silver extraction.

[@noecarrillo4391]

Excuse me I'm new on this so i have a question what is the difference between using the copper and using salt thank you and nice video 🤘🤘

[@FromCanaryIslands]

I have about 78 silver coins 400/1000 silver 600/1000 copper. Is it worth it to melt it and sell the silver by it's own? The coins doesnt have much value for collectors.

[@ScotlandTheBrave_1]

Rafa Peltoniemi if you melt it, it will alloy, you won't get any silver. Also the coins are worth more than the silver extracted. If you are going to extract the silver then use the method in the video

[@dom19945]

From one 90% quarter? Looks roughly about the right amount of .999 by the end.

[@jamesedwards7442]

That's a '67 centennial Canadian quarter, it's actually only 50% silver.

[@nomadsteve5297]

Very well explained, thanks

[@mattlong8564]

I like that you chose the name Nile Red as the Nile and it's soil was a great source. Are you still making videos? Also is the gray silver powder shown in this video safe for consumption like colloidal silver? (And/or could it be safe to use on skin for wounds?) Also is organic silver extracted from plants a safer source, yet still as effective as colloidal silver?

[@buggsy5]

Colloidal silver is NOT safe, except in minute quantities. Plants will contain little, if any, silver. It would not be any safer than silver from any other source.

[@StevenMoyers]

How do you ensure nothing else is dissolved in the Nitric Acid solution? Coins and jewelry may have trace non silver metals.

[@myhealthyadvice.2281]

Wow amazing knowledge sir thanks

[@LFTRnow]

I found another way to do this, though slower - use HCl mixed with H2O2. I used 35% H2O2 but it is not required, but the reaction runs faster. Note also H2O2 at high concentrations is dangerous, particularly to eyes - use caution. The end result was CuClx (and probably some ZnCl2) in solution (which you can later evaporate to capture) and a silver powder on the bottom of the beaker. I tested it on some 10% silver coins from Mexico to get this result.

[@adammcinnes5615]

I think that I have one of those quarters. I wondered why it didn't sound like a normal quarter when it was in amongst other change.

[@nightmarestitcher]

Were you calculating a 10% loss by weight of the coin?

[@mheryllemaec.aguinaldo3174]

Can you do this method in any kind of coin or silver plated materials?

[@skippy6703]

so i'm dutch and we have some coins in the old currency that we used that contain 67% silver by weight, does it matter what the other materials of the coin is ?

[@liveleaky7571]

ardrone2.0 elite yes.

[@Gilissen01]

Jo eindelijk een Nederlander

[@schnitzelhannes6431]

@@Gilissen01 speak english

[@buggsy5]

@@liveleaky7571 Incorrect. No easily obtained base metal is more stable (less reactive) than silver, so the other metals don't matter.

[@menialharpsichordist553]

no DO NOT dissolve your coins there more valuable in coin form than silver form, coin collectors love silver

[@PhuckenTacoz]

wouldn't warm salt water precipitate more of the silver versus using copper which would make the silver impure

[@jordibear]

salt water makes Silver Chloride (AgCl) which is notoriously difficult to deal with and to return elemental silver from it.

[@buggsy5]

No. Also, cementing the silver out with copper does NOT make the silver impure.

[@welcometotheshow5247]

Am I the only one impressed he was 90% efficient

[@timotheegoulet1511]

Funny to hear how the inflection in his voice has changed over a decade.

[@Voodoomaria]

I just collect old Canadian dimes and quarters. Lots of the early dates were pure sterling. ;)

[@gittermnd8998]

How many grams was that and how many quarter would it take to make an once of silver??

[@JussiTuukkanen]

thank you, very interesting process

[@js-yall]

Since you added an excess of copper, isn't there quite a bit of copper left in the silver powder????

[@buggsy5]

No, only whatever copper nitrate happens to be entrapped in the silver powder. Almost all of that can be eliminated by thorough washing of the powder.

[@jjr1275]

Good vid and all, but why not precipitate the silver by adding salt, converting it to the oxide, and heat it up?. Or if that was a pain, just react the precipitated silver chloride with light. Also, I would have poured the melted silver directly into water.

[@buggsy5]

Doesn't work, otherwise the process would be used. Silver chloride is photosensitive, but I don't believe that reduces it to native silver. Even if it does, it still would only convert the surface atoms, a minute portion of the crystal mass.

[@alexcoaym]

what happens when you put too much copper inside that solution? Schindler also be tougher leftover that didn't finish the reaction?

[@ANTHONYWMITCHELL]

I have a hand full of silver 15% , copper 85% , nickel 5% . will this process work for the alloy

[@truevegas]

Cool dude. Love your vids 👍🏻

[@muneebh243]

Watching old videos 😁