Fool's Gold vs Real Gold

Nearly every panner has had the moment: something bright and yellow winks at you from the pan, and your heart jumps. Sometimes it is gold. Often it is fool's gold. This page explains what fool's gold is, why it fools people, and the simple tests that tell the two apart at the creek. The guides listed below go further.

What is fool's gold?

Fool's gold is any shiny mineral that gets mistaken for gold, and it is usually one of three. The U.S. Geological Survey names pyrite, chalcopyrite and weathered mica, and pyrite is the most common of them.

Pyrite is iron sulfide, a mix of iron and sulfur. It is brassy, brittle and often grows in neat cubes. Chalcopyrite is a copper and iron sulfide with a deeper brassy yellow. Mica is a flaky mineral that splits into thin sheets, and when it weathers it can turn a bronzy gold color.

People have been fooled for a long time. The Utah Geological Survey tells how Captain John Smith shipped a load of pyrite back to London in the early 1600s, thinking it was gold.

Why is fool's gold so easy to mistake for gold?

Because it is often shinier than the real thing. Placer gold has been scuffed by years of tumbling in a creek, so it can look a little dull. Pyrite and mica have flat faces that catch the light and flash in the sun. Fool's gold also turns up in the same places as gold. The Forest Service and BLM warn that both pyrite and mica can occur alongside gold, and Oregon's state geology department lists pyrite among the heavy minerals in panners' black sand.

How is pyrite different from gold?

Pyrite is harder, lighter and brittle, and it grows in shapes gold almost never takes. The Utah Geological Survey's guide to fool's gold lays out the differences well.

Color

Gold runs from a deep golden yellow to a silvery yellow. Pyrite is a pale to medium brassy yellow and sometimes tarnishes. Gold also keeps the same color as you turn it, while pyrite shifts shade in the sun.

Shape

Gold comes as nuggets, flakes and shapeless grains, with little or no symmetry. Pyrite often forms cubes or other crystal shapes, sometimes with fine parallel lines across the faces.

Hardness

Gold is soft enough to cut with a knife. Pyrite is much harder, and a knife will not scratch it.

Smell

Rubbed hard, pyrite can give off a rotten egg smell from its sulfur. Gold has no smell at all.

Malleability

Gold flattens without breaking. Pyrite shatters, and the Utah survey notes it can even throw sparks when struck with steel. That is a fact, not a suggestion. If you ever hit rock with a hammer, wear eye protection.

What about chalcopyrite and mica?

Chalcopyrite is the tricky one. It is softer than pyrite, so it can be scratched with a knife just like gold. It is a very brassy yellow, often with a bronze or rainbow-colored tarnish. Because it passes the knife test, always back that test up with a streak or poke test.

Mica gives itself away in the pan. It is light and comes in thin, flat sheets, so gold-colored flecks that float or wash out easily are probably mica. New Mexico's state geological survey adds that weathered mica can collect in black sand and crushes easily between your fingers. Oregon's state geologists say much of the "gold" people think they lose while panning is really mica.

How to tell if gold is real

At the creek, a few simple tests settle it. These are field tests for gold you find while panning, not ways to test jewelry or coins. Do them in this order:

1. Watch it in the pan. Real gold is so heavy it hangs back in the bottom of the pan while everything else moves. If a flake floats off or washes out with the sand, it is very likely mica. The Bureau of Land Management notes that most pyrite washes away too, because it is far lighter than gold. Gold is nearly four times as heavy as pyrite.
2. Look at the shape. Gold is flat, ragged and irregular. Neat cubes or crystal faces point to pyrite.
3. Poke it. Press it with a pin or the point of a knife. The USGS says gold dents or gouges like soft lead, while pyrite, chalcopyrite and mica flake, powder or crumble.
4. Streak it. Rub it across the back of an unglazed porcelain tile. Gold leaves a golden yellow streak. Pyrite and chalcopyrite leave a dark green to black streak, and mica a white one.
5. Try a magnet. Gold is not magnetic, so a magnet will not lift it. That alone does not prove something is gold, since plenty of minerals ignore a magnet, but it is a good extra check. Our guide Do Magnets Pick Up Gold? explains why, and our magnet safety warnings cover handling a strong magnet.

You may hear of other tricks, like a lighter test, a bite test or a vinegar test. Some people use them, but we stick to the tests official sources describe.

Does pyrite melt like gold?

No. Oregon's state geologists note that pyrite gives off sulfur fumes when it is heated, which is one more reason not to try it. Gold simply melts at a very high heat. Our gold cleanup page covers the safety side of melting.

Is there gold in fool's gold?

Sometimes, but not in a way a panner can use. The USGS notes that pyrite can hold tiny amounts of real gold inside its crystal structure, and pyrite is common in many gold deposits. That gold is locked inside the mineral, and no pan will get it out. For a panner, a pan full of pyrite is still a pan full of fool's gold.

Where should you start?

To learn what real placer gold looks like, from color to size to shape, read What Do Gold Flakes Look Like? If your pan is full of dark sand, see gold in black sand for what it does and does not tell you. Every guide on identifying gold is listed below.