Scrap Gold nibs and their value?

[dneal]

Most nibs are not hallmarked at all - simply stamped with a fineness mark (usually 14k/585, 18k/750 or 21k/875). Whether they show k or ct depends on where you are, with ct usually being used in the UK and Australia and k in the US, Canada and much of Europe.

If one wants to be pedantic, hallmarks are simply marks of purity, and consist of fineness marks, assay marks, sponsor marks, responsibility marks and control marks (and probably others depending on region). The U.S. uses kt and k, depending on space available.

So gold nibs are hallmarked with purity (fineness) at a minimum as international convention. The "extra" marks that provide further assurance (depending on country) are also hallmarks.

[bunnspecial]

My point exactly - I was answering the suggestion in post #15 that plating can make nibs harder.

On white gold-I have owned a fair bit of antique white gold(watch cases always in my case). A lot of people don't find them particularly attractive as "white" gold has a faint yellowish tinge to it. Green gold often surprises people even more, and they often won't see the green unless it's something like an inlaid design or if it's sitting next to white. A lot of eyes now will find polished sterling silver much more attractive than bare white gold, hence why rhodium plating is ubiquitous on things like white gold jewelry. When I bought my wife's engagement ring, I did buy "lifetime" sizing and plating as I know that practically speaking it will likely benefit from a touch up at least every couple of years. It did get plated when she opted to have it and the wedding band soldered together, and hopefully will be good for a while, but it definitely is a maintenance item for stuff regularly worn. Fortunately, a pen treated well shouldn't need to have the nib replated, although I've had it done a few times.

White gold wouldn't make a lot of sense for nibs. There are so many variations in the alloys used that it makes more sense to simply use the yellow version and plate with rhodium for the colour. It's still gold, so there is no attempt to deceive, and the 'known quantity' factor makes a huge difference when trying to ensure consistency of manufacture. And you're right about the colour - very few people realise how yellow bare white gold is. It's almost always been plated. I actually quite like the 'pale straw' colour of lower carat white gold, but the expectation is for a high polish bright white look. Same goes for platinum, which in its bare state is often closer in appearance to titanium than silver.

Most nibs are not hallmarked at all - simply stamped with a fineness mark (usually 14k/585, 18k/750 or 21k/875). Whether they show k or ct depends on where you are, with ct usually being used in the UK and Australia and k in the US, Canada and much of Europe.

If one wants to be pedantic, hallmarks are simply marks of purity, and consist of fineness marks, assay marks, sponsor marks, responsibility marks and control marks (and probably others depending on region). The U.S. uses kt and k, depending on space available.

So gold nibs are hallmarked with purity (fineness) at a minimum as international convention. The "extra" marks that provide further assurance (depending on country) are also hallmarks.

In my precious metal trading, I have always understood(and used) "hallmark" to refer to a piece that was assayed by an assay office independent of the manufacturer. I admit that the vast majority of the pieces I've owned and handled that carry what I call "hallmarks" are English sterling silver, although the hallmark system for sterling works the same as for gold.

The US does not have assay offices, and AFAIK there's no real oversight unless someone complains about it. I've never seen US sterling that was assayed at anything other than 925 or coin that was anything other than 900. At the same time, though, I've seen antique American "18K" assay out at 16K or 19K(usually lower than higher). There were even some fun tricks played that I'm pretty sure wouldn't have passed muster other places-I once owned a Waltham case marked 14K that, when I bought it, didn't look or feel like 14K to me. This particular type case was actually I think 10 or 12K gold that was "filled" with 18K-it gave the nice stiffness of a low-karat case and the color/luster of 18K, and they got away with marking it 14K because in a fire assay, when new, it would have "averaged out" to 14K.

In any case, in my collecting circles, on American made gold we usually call it a "purity mark" and not a "hallmark." Hallmark gets reserved for something with an independent assay, even if that independent assay was done 500 years ago.

[dneal]

In my precious metal trading, I have always understood(and used) "hallmark" to refer to a piece that was assayed by an assay office independent of the manufacturer.

Fine, and when I sold jewelry I understood the maker's mark and fineness mark to be a "hallmark".

But our personal experience or understanding isn't the issue. Chrissy's colloquial use of the term "hallmark" is still technically correct. A fineness mark falls under the more general category of "hallmark".

I really don't mean to be argumentative about this, and I'm only pointing out that the argument itself is a little silly and pedantic (and I don't intend the negative connotations that word can carry).

[bunnspecial]

As @dneal suggests I never intended to be pedantic.

(I no longer read any posts by "bunnspecial" as they are always TLDNR so can't comment on anything that member says.)

Wow, sorry that you don't like my trying to give a complete answer.

I would return the same courtesy to you were it not for the fact that I can't stand to let incorrect information stand like any presumption that plating affects the properties of a nib...

[Ron Z]

As @dneal suggests I never intended to be pedantic.

(I no longer read any posts by "bunnspecial" as they are always TLDNR so can't comment on anything that member says.)

Wow, sorry that you don't like my trying to give a complete answer.

I would return the same courtesy to you were it not for the fact that I can't stand to let incorrect information stand like any presumption that plating affects the properties of a nib...

Keep writing. Good information is always useful.

[Pterodactylus]

Wow, sorry that you don't like my trying to give a complete answer.

Don’t worry you are in good company, she is also ignoring my posts and from several others.
You might observed that she often answers to already answered questions (repeating the content), this is because of that reason.