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they were probably either pure gold or an alloy of gold with another metal. They were held together along one edge by three silver rings, and this allowed them to be turned like the pages of a book.
This painting by C.C.A. Christensen shows Joseph Smith Jr. receiving the golden plates from the angel Moroni.
The plates were engraved on both sides with strange inscriptions. But Smith was able to translate them into English by using what he called "seer stones". These were small rounded stones with magical properties that enabled him to mentally visualize a correct translation of the inscriptions. Unfortunately, his translation of the first part of the book got lost and was never published. In addition, he couldn't translate all of the plates because one group of them was "sealed" and couldn't be opened up. He said that this group of plates contained a special revelation from God that would be revealed to the world at an unknown future time.
Initially Smith wouldn't let anyone else see the plates, although on one occasion he supposedly wrapped them up in a towel and allowed a few individuals to briefly hold them in that way. Eventually, after several people expressed doubts about their existence, he decided to show them to some acquaintances. Altogether he showed them to eleven men, known as the Book of Mormon witnesses, who later gave written testimonies saying that they had seen the plates. But it isn't clear if these witnesses actually saw the real plates or only saw a "vision" of them. And since Smith said that he later returned the plates to the angel Moroni, independent verification of
