Copper Rod Chunk

[schatzle]

I found this in the woods of Alexandria, VA, about 10 feet from where I found a very old horse shoe. Its a big hunk of copper rod about 1 inch thick and approx 8" long (very heavy). Each end has been cut crudely. You can also see pliers grip marks on the side of it. When I cleaned the dirt off what was left was a green tarnish, I scraped the tarnish to expose the gold metal underneath.
I'm not sure if its a modern grounding rod of some sorts or some sort of relic? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks
Andrew