By the following process the gold may be stripped from a gold-plated article, no matter whether it was fire or electrically gilt. Warm up an almost exhausted gold-plating bath, and use the plated ware as the anode. Alter the current has been active for a short time, the gold will be found to be entirely stripped from the article, and is recovered by diluting the stripping fluid with double the quantity of water and adding a solution of sulphate of iron. The gold will be precipitated in powder form, and may then be melted. The gold may be stripped also by means of a mixture of 10 parts of sulphuric acid, 2 parts of hydrochloric acid, and 1 part of nitric acid, in which it will gradually dissolve. The articles must always be entered in this mixture in a perfectly dry condition. To recover the gold, dilute this acid mixture with from ten to twelve times its quantity of water, and add a solution of iron. The gold in this instance also will be precipitated in the form of powder, and may then be smelted in the usual manner. If the shape of the article allows of it, the gold may be scraped off.

The copper of the scrapings may be eaten out with nitric acid, after which the gold can be smelted.