Seven ternary mixtures of gold (80-95per thousand)-silver (4-15per thousand)-copper (1-15per thousand) were prepared as stnadards for the determination of elemental composition by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS). Two geometric forms (flat and oblate) of the standards were prepared for comparison to the analyses of historic gold objects. Surface analyses were performed. Polished sections of the standards were also analysed. Comparison between two methods for collecting EDS data is reported. The analyses are discussed in terms of developing a generalized methodology for estimating elemental composition of museum artifacts.