Coinage metals
Welcome to our website. It is generaly simplier version of wikipedia. You will find there selected articles. Enjoy!
Coins are made from one or more coinage metals.
Many coinage metals are from Group 11 of the Periodic table, however there are some exceptions. Precious metals are used in bullion coins and some collectable coins. Coins not intended for circulation or for intrinsic value, have also been made experimentally using an even larger variety of metals, in technical and artistic experiments.
Coins that are intended for circulation have some special requirements based on the conditions they will encounter. For example, a coin may be in circulation for up to 30 years, and so must have excellent wear resistance and anti-corrosion properties. Achieving this goal necessitates the use of base metal alloys. Some metals like manganese have occasionally been used in coins, but suffer from making the coins too hard to take an impression well (or metals apt to wear out stamping machines at the mint).
A common base metal alloy for everyday coinage is Cupro-Nickel (also cupronickel), with varying proportions of copper and nickel. Cupronickel has a silver color, is hard wearing and has excellent striking properties, essential for the design of the coin to be pressed accurately and quickly during manufacture.
When minting coins, especially low denomination coins, there is a risk that the value of metal within a coin is greater than the face value. This leads to the possibility of smelters taking coins and melting them down for the scrap value of the metal. Pre-1992 British pennies were made of 97% copper; but as of 2008, based on the price of copper, the value of a penny from this period is 1.5 new-pence. Modern British pennies are now made of copper-plated steel. For similar reasons, American pennies (cents) were once made of copper alloys, but since 1982 have been made of copper-clad zinc.
External links
- Comprehensive list of metals and their alloys which have been used at various times, in coins for all types of purposes.
- (French) Site of coinage metals and alloys
 |
This coin-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Thanks for your time.