I've actually been enjoying the new DanDaDan anime. I find this weird mix between a romcom and shonen very entertaining.

> Do we have any money on us?

> "Huh. And how did you test that the statue was really solid gold with that thing?"

> You tend to let the princess pick up any tabs.

> "By holding up the gold tester against it when everyone was distracted by the red whites arrival!"

> Give the rod a curious look.
> "What's that thing?"

> "Every prospector's friend, the trusty gold tester!" she announces before presenting it on the counter.
> "Interested in purchasing one? For a silver coin." she asks.

> Do we know what that thing she just did means?

> No! First time ever seeing such a device! Perhaps it's a metalworkers thing?

> Nod.
> "I can definitely verify its weight is as you say, having lifted it briefly myself. Do you have any theories as to why it's still standing, then?"

> Raising her eyebrow "You've.. picked it up?" before explaining "A metal can be strengthened by combining it with other metals to form alloys, something all modern swords use to stay sharp longer. This is actually what clued me into looking at ancient civilizations to identify the sword you asked to look into. It's blade is not made of an alloy, just pure iron. In fact the purest iron I've ever seen in a blade, so dense not even rust can form."
> She admits "This statue however, defies any physics of metalworking I know of... Being curious as to how it was holding up all that weight I ran a little test to measure it's purity and found it's actually solid gold." before revealing a glass rod and dipping it's one end in a green vial then holding it's other end against a gold coin. A few seconds later you notice a yellow line appearing at the bottom of the rod and traveling upwards before reaching the top where '999+' is marked.