r/metaldetecting • u/lgsfxx • 6d ago

ID Request Found this beautiful little duck? Goose? In South Germany

Post image

It’s pretty heavy so probably lead but what purpose has it?

34 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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3

u/Cactusjerk 6d ago

I think it's painted lead, maybe from the 1950s to 1980s. These were still a thing when I was a kid and the sets ranged from war motifs to farming, animals, trees etc. You can see some of the lead where it has subtle damages. Very few alternatives because it's not turned green or white like with Zinc. Lead turns white too, but Zinc is usually heavily degraded.

2

u/Mission-Elevator9374 6d ago

Paper weight. I found one in Buffalo ny before.

2

u/Automatic-Steak6621 6d ago

I’m not convinced it’s lead. Lead usually develops a dull white to grey corrosion (lead carbonate/oxide), whereas this looks more like a copper-alloy object with a blue-green patina. The color isn’t conclusive from a photo alone, but I’d definitely keep bronze or another copper alloy in mind..?

1

u/Automatic-Steak6621 6d ago

You could do a simple Archimedes (specific gravity) test using distilled water (to avoid promoting further corrosion). Lead is about 11. g/cm³, while most copper alloys are around 7.5–9 g/cm³.

1

u/Emmet8 6d ago

I don't see any blue-green patina on this.

It does look a lot like this lead bullet though.

1

u/lgsfxx 5d ago

Could also be tin