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==Question: What material were the plates made from?==
===The plates were most likely an alloy of a lighter metal, such as copper, which was covered with a thin layer of gold===

The plates are sometimes described as "gold plates," and at other times they are claimed to have had the "appearance of gold." Pure gold would not be capable of retaining engraving, nor would it have the strength to maintain the integrity of the plates themselves. The plates were most likely an alloy of a lighter metal, such as copper, which was covered with a thin layer of gold. Such an alloy actually exists in Mesoamerica. See Wikipedia entry "Tumbaga" {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumbaga}}. According to Wikipedia: "Tumbaga can be treated with a simple acid, like citric acid, to dissolve copper off the surface. What remains is a shiny layer of nearly pure gold on top of a harder, more durable copper-gold alloy sheet. This process is referred to as depletion gilding."
*"the appearance of gold"<ref>{{TS1|author=Joseph Smith Jr.|article=Church History [also known as the Wentworth Letter]|date=1 March 1842|start=707}} ; "The Testimony of Eight Witnesses," Book of Mormon; and Orson Pratt, in a pamphlet titled "An Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, and of the Late Discovery of Ancient American Records" (Edinburgh, Scotland: Ballantyne and Hughes, May 1840), 12&ndash;13.</ref> — Joseph Smith Jr., Eight Witnesses
*"golden plates"<ref>David Whitmer interview, ''Kansas City Journal'', 5 June 1881, in ''David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness'', ed. Lyndon W. Cook (Orem, Utah: Grandin, 1993), 60. </ref> — David Whitmer
*"a mixture of gold and copper"<ref>William Smith (Joseph's younger brother) interview, ''The Saints' Herald'', 4 October 1884, 644.</ref> - William Smith
*"in a good state of preservation, had the appearance of gold" - William Smith in {{Periodical:Murdock:Congregational Observer:1841}}
*"pure gold" - {{CriticalWork:Catholic Telegraph:14 April 1832|pages=204&ndash;205}}
* "whitish yellow" - Howe, ''Mormonism Unvailed'', 15; attributed to David Whitmer {{link|url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/BOMP&CISOPTR=808&REC=3}}
* "engraven on plates of gold" - {{MS1|author=Parley P. Pratt|article=Discovery of an Ancient Record in America|vol=1|num=2|date=June 1840|pages=30–37}} {{link|url=http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/BOMP&CISOPTR=2345&REC=13}}
* "this pretended Revelation was written on golden plates, or something resembling golden plates" - {{CriticalWork:AS:Golden Bible|pages=3, quoting Cowdery}}
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[[Category:An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
[[Category:Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves]]

[[pt:Pergunta: De que material eram feitas as placas?]]
[[es:Pregunta: ¿De qué material se fabricaron las planchas?]]
[[Category:Questions]]