The Transmutation of Silver into Gold

THE LATE 19TH-CENTURY CLAIMS OF STEPHEN H. EMMENS

George B. Kauffman
Department of Chemistry, California State University, Fresno, California, U.S.A.

Throughout the ages, man has been intrigued by the idea of transmuting base
metals into the `king of metals'. Stephen H. Emmens, a late 19th-century scientist
and entrepreneur, living and working in America, claimed to have transmuted
silver into gold by his so-called Argentaurum process. His work in this area and his
exchange of correspondence with the eminent scientist Sir William Crookes make
fascinating additions to the recent bistory of transmutation.

Because gold is found in relatively pure form in the native the aid of a mysterious substance known as the phlosopher's
state, is beautiful, lustrous and workable and does not cor- stone (4). This is the sense in which transmutation is
rode or tarnish, it was one of the first metals known to man. It understood by the general public and the sense in which it is
is therefore not surprising that it is the first element to be used in this article. However, in the esoteric sense, transmuta-
discussed in Weeks' 'Discovery of the Elements' (1). Gold or- tion can also refer to physiological changes, from sickness to
naments have heen found in Egyptian tombs of the stone health, from old age to youth, or even from an earthly to a
age, and further evidence of the early knowledge of this supernatural existence. The search for the elixir of life and
precious metal can be found in Genesis, 2:11 and 12, which immortality was particularly associated with Eastern alchemy
mentions the good gold of Havilah. Furthermore, Genesis, and the Taoist concept of the T' ai-chi, the first matter, which
4:22, describes Tubal-cain, a seventh-generation descendant is divided into the two contraries Yin and Yang (5, 6). Some
of Adam and Eve, as `an instructor of every artificer in brass scholars, and particularly the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav
and iron' Since the metallurgy of iron is considerably more Jung, believed that alchemical transmutation referred to the
complicated than that of gold, it is reasonable to conclude
that a knowledge of gold and gold-working is virtually
contemporaneous with the biblical origins of the human race.
Gold was one of the seven metals known to the ancients
(gold, silver, iron, mercury, tin, copper and lead). These
metals were associated with the seven heavenly bodies, the Beven: Mealsjnd Their Eq iva!enls
Anglo-Saxon names of which are familiar to us in the names
of the days of the week (Table I). The relationship between
the metals and these heavenly bodies was so intimate that the
names and symbols of the planets were often used to refer to
the metals (2a, 3). Since gold was the rarest and most prized
of these metals, it was regarded as the most perfect. It is not
surprising, therefore, that man developed fairly early in his
history a protoscience known as alchemy, the main goal of Mars) (Fr YCh, mardlj
which was to convert or transmute the base metals into gold, Quick= Hg. M..eroury Wedn sd y:
the `king of metals' .. stiver (Wdeni $ xon..
equivalent o Mercu )::,
(F're tch, rnrcredl)
Tin 21 Sn jupitr t ursd y_(ior; Anglo-
Alchemical Transmutations Saz n:equivlentof. -:
Alchemy bas been called the daughter of error but the Ju ; et : ren ,jeud7
(

mother of truth. Although its premises were false, the practi- Dopper 4:: Cu. Venus Ft^ y:.(l^it 9,Af'IQ-. .
tioners of this venerable pseudo-science, in the course of their Faxori equivaleri# qf"
Venus) (French
fruitlens search, contributed much to modern chemistry and vendredi) ..
technology in the form of chemical substances, laboratory Lead. i, Pb ' antiurn;. turday,(Stur,"I 's:day:
techniques and scientific apparatus (2). Transmutation, the
key word characterizing alchemy, may be understood in a Reprbduced wtth:permissEon f(bm Chemistry,-1978; T,. April
number of different ways. In the exoteric sense, the term
refers to the conversion of base metals into gold, usually with
GoldBull., 1983, 16, (1) 21
 operations or steps, each represented by a different sign of the
Zodiac calcination (Aries), congelation (Taurus), fixation
(Gemini), solution (Cancer), digestion (Leo), distillation
(Virgo), sublimation (Libra), separation (Scorpio), ceration
(Sagittarius), fermentation (Capricorn), multiplication
(Aquarius) and projection (Pisces).
The alchemists made extensive use of analogies and
correspondences. In their eyes, if a substance was the colour of
gold, it was believed to be gold. Also, their lack of knowledge
concerning the composition of common substances led them to
view some ordinary chemical reactions as transmutations. For
example, the familiar oxidation-reduction reaction that occurs
when a strip of iron is placed in a solution of copper sulphate:

Fe + CuSO 4 > Cu j. + FeSO 4

has been known since the time of the Roman author Pliny the
Elder (A.D. 23?-79). Blue vitriol (CuSO 4 .5H2 O) was then
known as a natural product, but since it was not known to
contain copper or to be preparable from it, the reaction was
assumed to be a transmutation of iron into copper. This
The two Contranes, Yin (dank area) and Yang (lightarea), ofthe T'ai-chi represen- interpretation was widely accepted until the late Renaissance.
tative of ultitnate unity. Yang, the perfect, is associated with gold and the Sun Its correct modern interpretation was first given by the 17th-
century Belgian physician Joan Baptist van Helmont, who
psychospiritual integration of man's fragmented psyche and noted that when dissolved in acids, metals are not destroyed and
that man himself is the base metal lead that is to be refined can be recovered from solution (4b).
and perfected by the process of psychotherapy (7, 8). Con- A mere listing of all alleged cases of transmutation would fi11
tinual change is a fundamental characteristic of the natural an entire volume. Hermes Trismegistos, the legendary father of
world, and the idea of transmutation seems to be completely the 'divine art' of alchemy, alone is credited with 36 000
in accord with this. alchemical writings. Many accounts of transmutations through
The idea of transmutation had as its basis the unity of matter. the ages, which are discussed in a number of books (8, 10 to 13),
If the bewildering diversity of material substances could be read like fairy tales or mystery stories, involving mysterious
reduced to a few fundamental 'elements', surely the inter- strangers who perform their miracles and then disappear. As a
convertibility of matter was a distinct possibility. Thus the case in point, we may cite the Comte de Saint-Germain, an
various theories ofmatter the two contranies (Yin and Yang) 18th-century chemist, alchemist, physicist, violinist,
and the five elements (water, fire, wood, metal and earth) of the harpsichordist, composer, painter, hypnotist, polyglot, author,
Chinese Taoists, the four elements (earth, air, fire and water) of diplomat and spy, who boasted of having chatted with the
the Greeks, the sulphur-mercury theory of the 8th-century Queen of Sheba, Cleopatra and Richard the Lionheart, and of
alchemist Geber (Jbir ibn Hyyn) and the Arabs, and the tria having witnessed Christ's first miracle at the wedding feast at
prima (sulphur, mercury and salt) of the 16th-century Swiss Cana (14). Standing squarely in the tradition of this rogues'
physician and alchemist Paracelsus all furnished a theoretical gallery of charlatans, pretenders and other self-styled gold-
basis for the idea of transmutation (9). makers, but much closer to our own enlightened and
According to Plato, undifferentiated matter was created first sophisticated time, stands the enigmatic figure of Stephen
and then impressed with particular, individualizing qualities. Henry Emmens.
Therefore, the alchemist began his task with a material
unidentifiable by particular qualities the 'element earth' Emmens' Life and Work
and attempted to impose upon it gradually the properties of Since Emmens is not listed in any of the standard or even the
gold by means of the other `elements' `water' or fusibility, obscure biographical dictionaries, we must have recourse to his
`air' or brilliancy and the colour of `fire' and resistance to it. own scanty statements, which, considering his propensity for
Alchemy was closely allied to astrology, and the process of the prevarication and outright dishonesty, should be accepted only
`Great Work' of transmutation was believed to involve twelve with reservations. Bonn in either England or Ireland in 1844 or
22 GoldBull., 1983, 16, (1)
1845, he attended King's College, London, where he was
awarded prizes in chemistry and physics in 1862 and 1863,
respectively. Although he styled himself 'Doctor', he never
cited the source, date, or field of study for this degree. He
claimed to have been a superintendent of various chemical
works, mines, metallurgical establishments and other
industrial concerns. Sometime around 1877, he suffered a
crippling injury to his spine, and in full-length photographs he
is always shown in a wheelchair. In the 1880's, he emigrated to
the United States where he headed several businesses (Emmens
Chemical and Explosives Co., Emmens Metal Co. and the
Argentaurum Laboratory), and he seems to have disappeared
from sight at about the turn of the century. He was a member of
scientific societies such as the American Chemical Society and
the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum
Engineers, and he was President of the Research Society, which
he founded.
Two traits of Emmens' somewhat paranoid personality
emerge from a reading of his works. Fitst, he exhibited an
aggressive contentiousness that made him prone to challenge
what we would today call representatives of 'establishment
science', especially academicians. Often this Look the form of
pointing out some minor errors and from this attacking an entire
theory. Secondly, rather than allowing his work to stand on its
own merits, he cited testimonials from other scientists who
allegedly agreed with him, but who frequently had never even
read his work.
Emmens was the inventor of a high explosive named
Emmensite. He was an authority on metallurgy, especially that
of nickel, tin and zinc, and he claimed to have discovered three
new nekel minerals, the existence of which was apparently not
accepted. His intererts were not limited to chemistry or even to
science, for he wrote novels and poetry as well as books on logic,
philosophy, punctuation, mining, polities and taxation.
One of Emmens' most ambitious, but bizarre, works is 'The
Argentaurum Papers No. 1' (15), a book which, despite its title, A portrait of Stephen H. Emmens, from the frontispiece of Argentaurana
does not deal with gold, silver or gold-making but is an attempt
to disprove Newton's theory of gravitation and to set up a new
theory in its place. In attempting to correct some of Newton's Johnston, Justus Liebig, Jean-Baptiste Dumas, Hermann
small, perfectly valid approximations in Proposition LXXI of Kopp, Benjamin Brodie, Norman Lockyer, Thomas Sterry
Book I of the ' Principia' , Emmens made gross errors and drew Hunt, Thomas Carnelley and William Crookes) expressed
completely incorrect conclusions. He deduced that the earth doubt not only as to the existence of atoms but also as to the
must be hollow and that it cannot possibly rotate on its own axis. elementary nature of the elements. In 1815, William Prout
Not unexpectedly, Emmens' book was not taken seriously in proposed his well-known hypothesis that the atomic weights of
scientific circles. all elements are integral multiples of the atomic weight of
hydrogen and that hydrogen might be the primary matter
Transmutation and 19th-Century Science (irpwr vXn) of the ancients from which all the other elements
Before judging Emmens too harshly for his excursion into were formed. Prout's fruitful idea stimulated interest not only
what might be considered modern alchemy, we should in atomic weight determinations and atomic theory but also in
remember the extent to which leading chemists of the 19th the classification and 'evolution' of the elements and in atomic
century (for example, Humphry Davy, James Finlay Weir structure.
GoldBull., 1983,16, (1) 23
 The reasons for the renewed interest in alchemy prevalent Correspondence with Sir William Crookes
during thefln de sicle were well summarized by the American Sir William Crookes, F.R.S. (1832-1919), chemist and
chemist, bibliographer and historian of chemistry Henry physicist, Editor of ChemicalNews (1859-1919), President of the
Carrington Bolton, with whom Emmens exchanged polemics: Chemical Society (London) (1886, 1889), the British Association
(1899), and the Royal Society (1913-1915), discoverer of thallium
`Recent discoveries in physics, chemistry, and psychology have and of uranium-X, inventor of the radiometer and investigator of
given the disciples of Hermes renewed hopes, and the present
position of chemical philosophy has given the fundamental er-rays, was one of the leading influential scientific authorities
doctrine of alchemy a substantial impetus. The favorite theory of a during the second half of the 19th century and the first two
prima materia, or primary matter, the basis of all the elementary decades of the 20th century. Beginning in about 1870, Crookes
bodies, has received new support by the discoveries of allotropism of became interested in spiritualism and wrote a book on the
the elements, isomerism of organic compounds, the revelations of subject. In 1897, the year in which he began his correspondence
the spectroscope, the practical demonstrations by Norman Lockyer,
the experiments on the specific heat of gaseous bodies at a high with Emmens, he was re-elected President of the Society of
temperature by Mallard and Le Chtelier, the discoveries of Sir Psychical Research. He was therefore considered an open-minded
William Crookes (as set forth in his monograph on Meta-elements), authority on subjects that lay outside the pale of traditional
the discovery by Carey Lea of several singular allotropie forms of science.
silver, and, most weighty of all, the mass of related facts and Although excerpts from the Emmens-Crookes correspondence
phenomena which find their ultimate expression in the periodic law
of the elements, so that many chemists of the present day are appear in various articles, the entire correspondence (48 letters
inclined to believe in the mutual convertibility of elements having from 8th May, 1897 to 12th May, 1898 consisting of 34 from
similar chemical properties '(16) Emmens and 14 from Crookes) comprises more than half (from
page 70 to page 158) of Emmens' magnum opus
Emmens' Argentaurum Process
The first public disclosures by Emmens of his so-called 'Argentaurana', which also contains details of his Argentaurum
Argentaurum process, on which he began work in 1892. seem to process (19). According to Emmens:
have taken place during the summer of 1896, in several articles
in New York newspapers where they elicited widespread `The scientific history of the argentaurum process is so bound up with
Sir William's work and with the communications that have passed
interest (17). By using high pressure and intense cold, Emmens between him and myself that the simplest and best plan is to let our
clairned to have converted silver into a substance intermediate correspondence itself tell the story.'
between silver and gold, which exhibited `the propertjes of
ordinary metallic gold' and which he christened The correspondence began with reciprocal goodwill and
`Argentaurum' admiration but finally degenerated into mutual recriminations.
Although, after the parting of their ways, Emmens still regarded
`The metal which we have made from silver answers every test to Crookes as `the most illuminating scientific leader of the last
which the United States Government Assay Office subjects the gold quarter of a century' (20) and although he stated his intention 'to
offered there for sale. It is, therefore, gold to all intents and
purposes. This metal made from pure silver by the process let our correspondence itself tell the Story', he could not resist
discovered by us could be proved to be gold in a court of law. It not adding marginal comments that are slyly malicious and sarcastic.
only answers every test of the Government mints, but it also has Crookes initiated the correspondence on 8th May, 1897
every quality required by the gold of commerce, having the same requesting information on the Argentaurum process, and on 21 st
color, weight and strength'. (17c) May, 1897 Emmens replied in part:
Although Emmens' claims were either attacked or met with con-
siderable scepticism in articles published in scientific journals, such 'We now use Mexican silver dollars, and the operation consists of five
stages, as follows:
articles reached only a relatively small audience. His extravagant (a)Mechanical treatment.
statements about such a sensational and controversial topic (b) Fluxing and granulation.
naturally furnished excellent copy for those journalists who were (c)Mechanical treatment.
more credulous in their reporting. According to one such news- (d)Treatment with oxides of nitrogen i. e., a modified nitric
paper article, by early 1898 Emmens was `producing enough gold acid.
(e) Refining.
to bring him at the [United States] assay office [in New York ] a When my force engine (now nearly finished) shall be ready, it will
profit of $150 a week', and Emmens confidently announced: give us the means of readily producing pressures exceeding 500 tons
per square inch. We look forward to accomplishing many marvels by
`I will take 1 000 000 ounces of silver, worth $ 500 000. . and from it I its instrumentality. And I have every confidence that the production
will make 600 000 ounces of gold, worth $13 an ounce. The cost of the of Argentaurum gold will be brought up to 50 000 ounces monthly
gold will be $4 600 000. Add to that the cost of the silver, $500 000, within a year.'
and subtract the whole from $7 800 000, the value of the gold, and
you have a profit of $2 700 000.' (18) On 7th June, 1897 with his characteristic lack of modesty,
24 GoldBull., 1983, 16, (1)


Emmens notified Crookes that: - -. -_ - - Yw Ut C. .. -.

Xi xr

BttiILOCSafjUlli l .(^O ]0 II61I depasNrtt'!" e OjJti:aJ-Njf^ } j^$ron rhp I.':cl;. %dgy;oj

' Our force engine is complete and ready for J 1/19 789f
inspection. It will, I believe, prove to be the 11,.E_7W Meeewo:. .k, ,l. inwrarnoe MiYr L1 . W 1r ai et'^:TYN ' .

most important piece of laboratory . YIOn11P ... u^ a..a. i ^. CAaao17. .

apparatus ever produced.' R>1R.11Pr PP OGNJ0IC ^ YUPro

'Rw.
Ier.
..... .. ,iy A - nraa 1^ ri v ' N ^^rN ^^ " ^... . .

^' PefN^ , P..... ^ ...T.. PWAa' "1\ IHdrY.. .--

-- IG M1n.: Geu

On 3rd July, 1897 Crookes replied:

'Your statements are most startling, and if
there is no fallacy in your experiments, and I
confess I do not see any, assuming they are
carried out as you say, the discovery is one of fSllifd:ikaf fda!f[l pmacNt P/eJhe'...,6JrdtPP^fbls
.^ :
In 4^. 0' f.

the most important of the century.' 9

da.e ^r e:t C"S d..rav
.M l ., :^ r aat $:.,^ .., ..
JMfw l.4, ow1 f' euxeArvtlrKTj1tl64N:%N^A .,, fJbTka .... ^JlYIa.
rN.rowLre
ir ^ I ^y

He also pressed Emmens for 'a few more

" ^ .. - - -
details' about the process and the force FPe.h.3^vMfKi^dinL

engine, asked for 'a small piece of gold One of the mant' receipts obtained by Emmens from the U.S. Assay Office for gold allegedly made by the
Argentaurum process. Mr. N. W. Ecomens is the son of the Inventor
you have made' for spectrographic
examination and assured Emmens that:

'I am regarding your communications as strictly private, and I hope gold in them. I am getting some defects remedied and intend to
you will consider mine to you on this subject the same.' have another try. Perhaps, if I give you the particulars, you will tell
me where I am wrong, and may make a suggestion which will
improve the results.
Since Emmens did not seem inclined to provide Crookes with I put about half an ounce of cuttings from a Mexican dollar into a
specific details about the process, on 4th October, 1897 Crookes steel mortar with a closely fitting piston, and screwed firmly on a
strong base. Over the piston 1 have a steel bar 1.5 inches square, and
proposed. sufficiently long enough to weigh 28 pounds. This was provided
with a collar, and was raised and allowed to drop one foor by means
'1 think the best and simplest thing will be for me to come over to of a cam on a rotating shaft. It made sixty blows a minute. The steel
your factory and see the whole operation, and satisfy myself mortar was enclosed in a coil of pipes immersed in a water bath, and
sufficiently on all points.... If I were to be able to arrange to come ice was put in the bath, and through the coil of pipe a slow current of
would you let me see everything and let me examine and experiment liquid carbonic acid flowed. This kept the temperature down
with the machinery in my own way as I liked without restriction in considerably below zero F. the whole of the time. The water was hard
any way?' frozen the whole of the time of the operation. It went on for 40
hours, stoppage being allowed at night. (Say five days at eight hours
a day.)
Emmens replied on 15th October, 1897 in his Longest letter to The results are as follows:
date, that Crookes' visit would be useless because the scientific Hammered Mexican Silver taken for assay .................. 100.258 grains.
world would not believe him, even if he had observed Emmens' Weight of gold bead ...................................................... 0.075 grains.
successful process at first hand. Equalto ......................................................................... 0.07 5 per cent.
Some of the same silver before treatment ................... 96.837 grains.
On lst November, 1897 Crookes reported: Weight of gold bead ...................................................... 0.060 grains.
Equal to ......................................................................... 0.062 per cent.
' I am disappointed that neither of the samples of argentaurum show The difference is 0.013 per cent, which I consider is not enough to
any other lines than those due to gold, silver and topper. I am not enable me to form an opinion on, as it is within the errors of
able to detect a single new or unknown line. Perhaps if you were to experiment.'
send me some specimens in different stages of manufacture, one
might detect something new.'
In his next letter, dated 7th March, 1898, Emmens proposed
his own interpretation of the 'crucial experiment', diametrically
On 22nd February, 1898 in what Emmens later described as a
opposed to Crookes' view:
'historical letter', Crookes described at length some preliminary
work to which Emmens later referred as 'your crucial
'T very heartily congratulate you on the success recorded in your letter
experiment': of February 22nd...
You have obtained 75 parts of gold for every 62 parts you commenced
'T have now succeeded in getting a run of 40 hours with it, and on with. This can't be explained away.
assaying the piece of Mexican dollar treated in it, and the rest of the No admissible errors of observation can account for the increased yield
Mexican dollar not treated, I find practically the same amount of of gold. The two beads weighed four and five milligrammes,
GoldBull,, 1983, 16, (1) 25
 As my name has been so freely used in the newspapers of this country
in connection with 'Argentaurum', I feel it will be my duty to
communicate these results to the Press. I will, however, wait till there
is time for me to hear what you have to say about the experiment.'

On 31st March, 1898 Emmens criticized Crookes' second

experiment and found it `defective in many essential particulars'.
More specifically he added:

`You have made two experiments. In one you employed metal from a
normal Mexican dollar and obtained an increase of nearly 21 per cent
in the contained gold. In the other you employed abnormal Mexican
dollars, and obtained no gold. It seems to me that your duty is to
dispassionately announce both experiments.'
On 23rd April, 1898 Crookes wrote:

`I may fairly complain of the use you are making of my letters to you.
. you take very high ground and affect to despise the opinions of
scientific men.'
He then cited a number of Emmens' remarks in this vein and
added:

'These, and other passages I might quote from your letters, are clear
enough as to your attitude towards men of science.... But 1 am at a loss
to reconcile this disdainful attitude with the eager way at which you
snatch at every word that is said in your favour by men of the despised
sect, and insist on giving to an unsuccessful experiment I was rash
enough to describe to you in confidence, an importance it does not
deserve and an interpretation absolutely against my explicit
declaration. I expressly told you that the difference in gold before and
after treatment was within the errors of experiment. There is no need
for sarcastic remarks about my ability to perform an accurate assay. I
know how the first experiment was done, and what experimental
errors were (unavoidably) introduced, and I can only repeat
emphatically that the probable errors of this first, tentative,
Sir William Crookes F.R.S. A caricature by 'Spy', Sir Leslie Ward entitled 'Ubi
experiment were greater than the trifling difference found. You have
Crookes ibi lux' which appeared in Vanity Fair, 1903, 21st May no right to take my figures without my qualification and convert an
unimportant difference of about the hundredth of a grain into an
increase of '20.9 per cent' in the quantity of gold. , '
respectively. This, in the case of an assay of gold ore, would mean a
difference of $20 per ton; and every ordinariy competent assayer is In the longest letter of the entire correspondence, dated 5th
expected to get results not varying more than 10 cents per ton. Such, at May, 1898, Emmens attempted to answer Crookes' objections
least, is the case in this country; and I think I am not assummg too point by point and again praised Crookes' first experiment and
much when 1 give Sir William Crookes, F.R.S. the credit of being able criticized his second experiment. In his attempts to placate Sir
to determine gold just as closely as the average American chemist. William and to cite authorities for the scientific validity of
At the same time your experiment was so incomplete from my point of
view that 1 feel quite surprised at its degree of success. I can account for Crookes' first experiment, Emmens quoted at length from an
this only by having regard to the long-continued duration of the article by Professor John Mackenzie, a member of the Spokane
impact treatment which much exceeded any thing I have done.' (Washington) Academy of Science, a Fellow of Emmens' own
Research Society and an obvious admirer of Emmens (21). In this
On 19th March, 1898 Crookes wrote: newspaper article, Mackenzie quoted extracts from Crookes'
letter of 22nd February, 1898 describing the 'crucial experiment'
'T have just completed another experiment with all the accuracy and and the results obtained as well as Emmens' interpretation of
precaution I can think of. The discs of Mexican dollars 1 tookwere cut
from two which contained no gold to begin with; and after these results. This latest and most egregious breach of confidence
hammering, as already described, for 97 hours. I assayed them, and was the straw that broke the camel's back. Crookes terminated the
have found absolutely no gold in either of them. correspondence with his letter of 30th April, 1898:

26 GoldBull., 1983, 16, (1)

 'I am surprised and annoyed to see that you have published in the 1898 the Office had bought from Emmens 37 ingots, weighing
Spokane Minera letter of mine which I especially marked 'Private', from 7.04 to 50.96 oz. after melting, with a gold fineness
and have used it to try to make the public believe that I have succeeded ranging from 305.5 to 997.5 and a silver fineness ranging from 0
in transmuting silver into gold. When I last week wrote to you I was
not aware of this gross breach of all the laws of courtesy and etiquette to 612, for prices ranging from $95.65 to $817.53. From the
which govern correspondence between gentlemen all over the table it may be calculated that in this 17-month period Emmens
civilized world. After such an occurrence I cannot continue a had sold 934.86 oz. (945.49 oz. before melting) of metal,
correspondence with you.' containing 616.89 oz. of gold and 296.92 oz. of silver, for the
sum of $11 971.74.
In his final letter of 12th May, 1898 Emmens first protested In a letter of 2 3rd February, 1899 published in the New York
his innocence. He then attempted to rationalize the matter and Herald of 5th March, 1899, Emmens stated the conditions
attributed Sir William's anger to his own sensitivity about his under which he would demonstrate his process:
position in the scientific world. Sir William never replied, and
the correspondence that had begun so auspiciously ended on a 'My laboratory is a suspected place. ...The only satisfactory
test would be to duplicate my plant elsewhere. I do not believe
bitter note. This was indeed unfortunate, for if Emmens, by his this could be done under a minimum cost of $10 000.
premature disclosures of Crookes' preliminary results, had not If the Herald does not care to take up the national test I suggest, but
forced him to terminate their correspondence, the Jatter might merely wants a trade test, I am quite willing to have a committee
have gone on to perform repeated analyses to establish the examine my laboratory. Bot these gentlemen would probably do
variability in the gold content of Mexican silver dollars and thus $15 000 worth of damage before they were ready to begin work.
That I should, of course, expect to be paid for.'
to determine the margin of error of the experiment. Crookes
might also have perfected a sampling process to establish the The Herald, not surprisingly, withdrew its challenge, and, as
homogeneity of the silver dollars, so that the actual sample and far as the published record shows, this constituted the swan song
the control (untreated) sample would have been shown to be of Emmens' Argentaurum process.
identical in initial gold content within the limits of error. He
might then have carried out a number of 'transmutation' Conclusion
experiments and shown the results to be reproducible. This On the basis of the meagre information available, a definitive
would have resulted in a definite conclusion about Emmens' assessment of Stephen H. Emmens and his work is difficult, if
Argentaurum process. Lacking these experimental desiderata, not impossible. The only period for which detailed facts are
Crookes' two experiments are inconclusive and neither prove available is between about 1888 and 1899, and even then large
nor disprove Emmens' claims. Furthermore, if Emmens had gaps occur. From this fragmentary information the portrait of
disclosed to Crookes the critical details of his process, so that the Emmens that emerges is one of an unconventional flamboyant,
production of gold from silver would have been so large as to be iconoclastic scientific and pseudo-scientific entrepreneur of
unquestionable, or if he had allowed Crookes to visit the wide interests, but with dubious academic credentials and with
Argentaurum Laboratory and observe the process for himself, a more than a touch of paranoia and megalomania. Immensely
definite conclusion, one way or the other, might have been talented and multi-faceted, but often erratic, this eccentric and
reached. However, Emmens seems to have studiously avoided colourful character harbourecd deep-seated grievances against a
exactly those obvious straightforward conditions that would professional scientific establishment which he feit had denied
have led to a definitive proof or disproof of his claims. He him the recognition that he deserved. He succeeded in
followed the same tactics in his dealings with the New York alienating most of the professional scientists with whom he had
Herald, which constitute the last chapter in our story. extensive contact. On a number of occasions he was found guilty
of dishonesty, for example, in his unauthorized use of the
names of prominent scientists in connection with his
The New York Herald Episode advertisement of `The Argentaurum Papers No. 1' Therefore,
On Sunday, 26th February, 1899 the New York Herald (the his unsubstantiated claims, especially the more extravagant
newspaper founded by James Gordon Bennett, who had sent ones, should be taken with more than a pinch of salt. Trimble,
Henry M. Stanley to Africa to find Dr. David Livingstone) ran a with perhaps more compassion than Emmens deserves,
feature story about Emmens' process for making gold from tentatively attributes his 'bitter and argumentative nature' to 'a
Mexican silver dollars and challenged him to exhibit his process good mind warped by frustration at his handicap' (Emmens'
to a committee of scientists and citizens under controlled paralysis caused by an accident) (22). With some justification,
conditions. The article included a detailed table of records Trimble feels that perhaps we are unfair in generalizing about
obtained from the United States Assay Office on Wall Street in Emmens' character from the events of his later life, but
New York showing that from 13th April, 1897 to 12th August, unfortunately this is the period to which most of the facts about

GoldBull., 1983, 16, (1) 27

him known to interested scholars are limited. It is unfortunate that Emmens did not live to see the
With regard to his gold-making, Emmens exhibited one of transmutation of bismuth into gold at the Lawrence
the hallmarks of the typical confidence man-the tactic of Berkeley Laboratory by use of the high-powered BEVALAC
diversion. First, he gained the confidence of his 'marks' by particle accelerator (24). Bismuth is related to lead, one of
establishing beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had sold the favourite raw materials of gold-seeking alchemists.
metal ingots accepted by the U. S. Assay Office as containing Although the transmutation was far from cost-effective (the
gold. Both Sir William Crookes and the New York Herald amount of gold produced at a cost of $10 000 was worth less
then asked to observe Emmens' Argentaurum process at than one-billionth of one cent), the elusive dream of
first hand, Crookes even being willing to cross the Atlantic in medieval alchemists had been realized.
winter specifically for this purpose. Instead of granting
these reasonable requests which would have furnished the References
1 M.E. Weeks, 'Discovery of the Elements', 7th edition, completely revised
most direct and incontrovertible proof of his claims, Em- and new material added by H.M Lercestet, Journal of Chemical
mens set up a distracting smokescreen. He adduced reasons Education, Easton, PA., 1968, pp. 6-13
2 (a) G.B. Kauffman and Z.A. Payne, Chemistry, 1973, 46, (4), 6-10; and
why the requests were unacceptable and instead proposed The Hexagon, 1980, 70, (2), 35-38
something entirely different. In the case of the Herald,, he (b) G.B. Kauffman and Z.A. Payne, Chemistry, 1973, 46, (11), 6-11; and
The Hexagon, 1980, 70, (3), 67-72
asked that the newspaper build him an entire laboratory at a 3 J.R. Partington, Ambix, 1937, 1, 61-64
cost of at least $10 000. In other words, Emmens made a 4 (a) A.T. Schwartz and G.B. Kauffman,J. Chem. Educ,, 1976, 53, 136-138
(b) A.T. Schwartz and G.B. Kauffman,J. Chem. Educ., 1976, 53, 235-239
counter-proposal to which no sensible person would agree. 5 J. Needham with L Gwei-Djen, ' Science and Civilisation in China', Vol. 5,
When this was rejected, he was able to rationalise to himself Part 2, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1974
6 G.B. Kauffman and R. Tol!, The Hexagon, 1982, 73, (2), 35-38; and Rev.
and others that it was the other party and not himself who Chil. Educ. Qum., 1980, 5, (1), 7-14
would not agree to the test. Thus, he ensured that a true 7 C.G. Jung, 'Mysterium Coniunctionis: An Inquiry into the Separation and
Synthesis of Psychic Opposites in Alchemy', 1963; 'Alchemical Studies',
`crucial experiment' to test his process would never be car- 1967; 'Psychology and Alchemy', 1968. These three books are all
ried out, through no ostensible fault of his own. If Crookes translated by R.F.C. Huil and published by Princeton University Press,
had not terminated his association with Emmens because of Princeton, N.J.
8 T. Burckhardt, 'Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul'.
Emmens' violation of privacy and his distortion of Crookes' translated by W. Stoddart, Vincent Stuart and John M. Watkins,
experimental results, Emmens would probably have Somerset, 1971, Penguin Books, Baltimore, MD., 1971
9 G.B. Kauffman, R.D. Myers andJ. Koob, Chemistry, 1976, 49, (9),12-17;
manipulated the situation to obtain the same result. In one and The Hexagon, 1980, 70, (4), 88-92
way or another, Crookes would have been forced to break 10 K.K. Doberer, 'The Goldmakers: 10 000 Years of Alchemy', Nicholson
and Watson, London, 1948; Greenwood Press, Westport, CT., 1972
off communications with him. 11 F.S. Taylor, 'The Alchemists: Founders of Modern Chemistry', Henry
Did Emmens succeed in converting silver to gold? Only Schuman, New York, 1949
12 J. Read, 'Prelude to Chemistry: An Outline of Alchemy, Its Literature and
Emmens himself knew. If his process was a hoax, then he Relationships', MIT Press, Cambridge, MA., 1966
13 R.P. Multhauf, 'The Origins of Chemistry', Oldbourne, London, 1966;
was extremely clever in arranging matters so that no une- Franklin Watts, New York, 1967
quivocal test of it could be made and at the same time so that 14 G.B. Kauffman and R.J. Broughten, The Hexagon, 1979, 70, (1), 20-22:
he could blame others for the failure to carry out such a test. and Rev. Chil. Educ, Qum., 1979, 4, (5), 230-233
15 S.H. Emmens, 'The Argentaurum Papers, No. 1 Some Remarks
If, on the other hand, his process was actually successful, Concerning Gravitation. Addressed to the Smithsonian Institution, the
then he was foolish and self-defeating in the way that he Acadmie des Sciences, the Royal Society and All Other Learned Bodies'
Plain Citizen Publishing Co., New York, 1897. Most of the scanty
prevented such a test from being made-and everything biographical data on Ecomens are found in the 'Envoy' of this work (pp.
that we know about Emmens points to the fact that he was 130-149)
16 H C. Bolton, Science, 1897, 6, 853-863
far from foolish. H.C. Bolton, Chem, News, 1898, 77, 69-70 and 73-74
If the process was a hoax, then from where did Emmens' 17 (a) New York Press, 8th August, 1896
(b) Evening San (New York), 1oth August, 1896
gold orginate? One possibility is that Emmens served as a (c) New York Journal, 16th August, 1896
`fence' for stolen jewellery. If this were the case, why would 18 J.C. Ridpath, The Arena, 1898, 19, (January), 138-140
19 S.H. Emmens, 'Agentaurana or Some Contributions to the History of
he draw attention to himself by his exaggerated claims? Until Science', Geo. Du Boistel & Co., Bristol, 1899
20 See (19), p. 70
further evidente is forthcoming, the affair remains a 21 J. Mackenzie, The Spokane MinerandElectrician, 7th April, 1898, pp.2-3
mystery. In Rupert T. Gould's words: 22 R.F. Trimble, The Hexagon, 1981, 71, (3), 41-44
23 R.T. Gould, 'Enigmas', Philip Allan and Co., London, 1929, p. 249; 2nd
edition, Paperback Library, New York, 1969, p. 234
' Still, crank or not, Emmens' feat of persuading the United States 24 K. Aleklett, Dj Morrissey, G.T. Seaborg and W. Loveland, 'Production
Mint to buy a considerable quantity of what he assured them was of Gold Isotopes by Relativistic Heavy Ion Reactions with Bismuth' _ paper
artificial gold has never, I think been duplicated. Nor can 1 form presented before the Division of Nuclear Chemistry and TechnoIogy,
179th National Meeting, American Chemical Society, Houston, TX.,
any theory of 'fraud, which would wake such a proceeding 1980, 24th March
either practical or necessary. As to the facts of the sale, there is no K. Aleklett, D.J. Morrissey, W. Loveland, P.L. McGaughey and G.T.
doubt.' (23) Seaborg, Phys. Rev. C, 1981, 23, (3), 1044-1046

28 GoldBull., 1983, 16, (1)