RocksdayNative Platinum vs Native Silver
How to tell them apart
Platinum as grains and rare nuggets in stream gravels, usually alloyed with iron.
Photo: Periodictableru, CC BY 3.0
Silver as a pure metal, often in wiry, branching forms that tarnish black.
Photo: Alchemist-hp (talk) (www.pse-mendelejew.de), CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Quick tests
- Hardness: Native Platinum is clearly harder: Mohs 4–4.5 versus 2.5–3.
- Streak (rub on unglazed porcelain): Native Platinum leaves a steel gray streak; Native Silver leaves silver-white.
- Heft: Native Platinum feels noticeably heavier for its size (specific gravity 14–19 vs 10.1–11.1).
Key differences
- Silver tarnishes black and is softer.
- Platinum is grayer, harder and doesn't tarnish.
Side by side
| Property | Native Platinum | Native Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Mineral | Mineral |
| Mohs hardness | 4–4.5 | 2.5–3 |
| Luster | Metallic | Metallic |
| Streak | Steel gray | Silver-white |
| Colors | Silver, Gray | Silver, Black |
| Crystal system | Cubic | Cubic |
| Specific gravity | 14–19 | 10.1–11.1 |
| Formula | Pt | Ag |
| Found in | Ural Mountains, Russia; Chocó, Colombia | Kongsberg, Norway; Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan |
Properties that are the same for both are grayed out.
How to identify native platinum
- Steel-gray grains that never tarnish.
- Extremely heavy.
- Malleable, sometimes weakly magnetic (iron content).
Crystal system: Cubic
Full Native Platinum guide →How to identify native silver
- Silvery metal, tarnished gray to black.
- Wires, branches or flakes.
- Bends and is very heavy.
Crystal system: Cubic
Full Native Silver guide →More comparisons
Could you tell them apart from a blurry close-up?
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