Gold precipitate interests me.
Aside from the visual appeal of a nice button/bar of gold, is there any disadvantage to leaving it in this form if its not going to be jewelry or a manufactured bar with premium value?
I'd be particularly interested in hearing from some of the home refiners here. Have any of you ever hit dried gold precipitate with an XRF to see how reliably it reads? I'm curious how accurately it could determine purity compared to testing the same material after melting it into a homogeneous button.
Overall, I've been thinking about the practicality of storing some freshly refined gold precipitate in powder form rather than melting it into bars or buttons. Its the same exact material, after all. Just pre-baked batter form.
Assuming it's been properly refined, washed, dried, and ideally verified for purity, is there a downside to NOT melting it into a solid form if you don't intend to sell it anytime soon?
The major appeal for me is that it's incredibly inconspicuous. A container of brown powder doesn't exactly scream gold. Something as ordinary as a cinnamon or cumin shaker could hold a substantial amount of value without attracting any attention. Could even go as far as literally using a McCormack shaker and resealing it with a humidity pack inside. Even something like a cremation urn comes to mind for incognito air travel. (Not that I would ever condone disregarding federal aviation regulations🤐)
Then there's divisibility. You could theoretically separate it into virtually any quantity you wanted, with precision limited only by your scale. No cutting bars, just scoop or pour what you want, melt it, and sell it the same as you would any other gold scrap. It's not like you're permanently committing yourself to keeping it as powder.
Obviously, there are disadvantages. Contamination, moisture, accidental loss, and the difficulty of verifying or selling powdered gold all come to mind. Carpet would be enemy number 1. And I imagine most buyers would be understandably skeptical of someone showing up with a jar of suspicious brown powder claiming it's worth $100k.
But from a purely practical/OPSEC standpoint, especially for someone with the equipment to refine, test, and melt their own metals, I think that there's a legitimate argument for keeping at least some gold in this form.
My only real concern is dropping it. I can't imagine anything more depressing than spending the afternoon trying to recover your life savings from the carpet with a vacuum cleaner lol.