Copeland whistle material

[JTC111]

I own D and C Copeland whistles. I'm trying to identify the material used to make the D and C whistles. The whistles are a silver color, but from what I've read, he also used nickel to make whistles. Is there some way I can tell if my whistles are nickel or silver?

Thanks for any help.

[MTGuru]

While Michael makes / has made silver whistles*, most of the silver-colored Copelands are nickel (i.e., nickel-silver, which is a misnomer). When polished, there is a difference in luster if you know what to look for. Or you might try the mustard test (at your own risk):

http://quazen.com/shopping/jewelry/how- ... re-silver/

* I remember Michael telling me once that he considered silver quite difficult to work with.

[chas]

Nickel-silver is also very slightly magnetic. If you have a pretty strong magnet, not one of those sheet things, you can just barely feel a tug toward the nickel. Probably a little less risky than the mustard test.

[MTGuru]

Nickel-silver is also very slightly magnetic. If you have a pretty strong magnet, not one of those sheet things, you can just barely feel a tug toward the nickel. Probably a little less risky than the mustard test.

I just tried a strong alnico magnet on my nickel Copeland D, and can't get even the slightest interaction. So maybe whatever alloy Michael uses isn't a good candidate.

[rhulsey]

I would be very careful with a potentially destructive test. I've not done a "mustard test" but it doesn't sound good!

I had a nickel silver Copeland c and a sterling silver Copeland d (or maybe it was the other way around?) They looked very different side by side, as sterling is quite white compared to the nickel-silver. You might try comparing your whistle to a piece of sterling, i.e. tea set, etc. or maybe jewelry. Just keep in mind that much SS jewelry is plated with rhodium or the likes and wouldn't be the same color as a piece that tarnishes and needs polishing.

[henryz]

Interesting - Nickel silver's composition nominally lies at 60% copper, 20% nickel, 20% zinc, by weight. Think of it as good old low brass (80% copper/20% zinc) with some nickel substituted for copper to increase yield strength strength (dent resistance?). Sterling silver is 92.5% sliver, 7.5% copper (usually) and would likely be much softer than nickel silver. An easy way to tell the difference, would be to put rubber bands around each whistle for a day or two. The small of amount of residual sulfur in the rubber bands will tarnish the sterling silver, but should not mark the nickel silver. It's the same principle as the "mustard test", just in a lower impact form. Any tarnish formed should be removable with a cloth & mild polishing compound.

[MTGuru]

FWIW, I just tried both the mustard test and match test on a piece of silver plate ... and no luck. Neither worked, and the residue rubbed right off. But I don't have the right mustard, and can't know the sulfur content of the matchheads. Maybe I'll try again ...

I see there are silver acid-test kits available, but these necessarily involve sampling or damaging the metal.

I like the rubber band trick. Question: Does it have to be natural, vulcanized rubber for this to work?

Maybe the best bet is simply to have an experienced jeweler examine the whistles. An experienced eye should be able to distinguish nickel from Sterling by the luster alone.

As a possibly interesting side-story: My Copeland D first came to me, in fact, as a Sterling silver whistle, after passing through at least 3 previous owners. But I could see right away from the luster that it looked more like nickel than silver (as Reg Hulsey described above). A quick check of the serial number with Michael confirmed the nickel diagnosis. Which then set off a chain of refunds up the line to the source of the error, and a happy ending for all.

[JTC111]

Wow... I'm amazed at how much knowledge there is on this board. Thanks to all for the replies.
I'm a bit leery of the mustard test, but I may try that eventually. In the meantime, I sent off an email to Michael Copeland and I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope he's a terrific record keeper and can tell me what these guys are made of ...not that it matters much in the end; these are two great whistles.

[I.D.10-t]

How about taking it to a jeweler?

[uillmann]

NSC SSD FWIW

[ahogrelius]

I like the rubber band trick. Question: Does it have to be natural, vulcanized rubber for this to work?

Yep. Since the test requires a sulphur source you need vulcanized rubber.

Cheers,
A.

[Steve Bliven]

Yep. Since the test requires a sulphur source you need vulcanized rubber.

Wasn't Mr. Spock a Vulcan?



Best wishes.

Steve

[brewerpaul]

Yep. Since the test requires a sulphur source you need vulcanized rubber.

Wasn't Mr. Spock a Vulcan?


Steve

Yes, but he only needed a rubber every seven years...

[Mr.Gumby]

nickel (i.e., nickel-silver, which is a misnomer)

I would suggest nickel is a misnomer in this case as well. Nickel-Silver is an alloy which for the largest part is copper (60-70% IIRC), nickel (20%) and zinc (the rest).

[an seanduine]

I have a relatively early Copeland 'D' purchased from the legendary Shark in the AM. Actually I have two, but at the moment cannot find the other. Both were described as being made of Nickel/Silver with silver plating. The silver plate shows some wear. The "Nickel/Silver" appears to be the same white brass material student flutes are made of. Altogether a delightful whistle.

Bob