Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A number of more exotic metals have been used to make demonstration or fantasy coins which have not been used to make monetized coins for a nation-state. Some of these elements would make excellent coins in theory (e.g. zirconium). More expensive metals that are intrinsically valuable as commodities are less practical as coinage due to their ...
Group 11 is also known as the coinage metals, due to their usage in minting coins [2] —while the rise in metal prices mean that silver and gold are no longer used for circulating currency, remaining in use for bullion, copper remains a common metal in coins to date, either in the form of copper clad coinage or as part of the cupronickel alloy.
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from the Anglo-Norman term for a melting-house where metal was refined, and earlier from French bouillon ...
Billon (/ ˈ b ɪ l ən /) is an alloy of a precious metal (most commonly silver, but also gold) with a majority base metal content (such as copper). It is used chiefly for making coins, medals, and token coins. The word comes from the French bille, which means 'log'. [1]
Nickel alloys are among the main metals used in today's coins but they are harder than other legacy coinage metals such as silver and gold alloys and therefore they cause even quicker die wear. Copper and copper alloys have been used in coinage for centuries because of their malleability and the ease with which they can be coined: however ...
The status of a "precious" metal can also be determined by high demand or market value. Precious metals in bulk form are known as bullion and are traded on commodity markets. Bullion metals may be cast into ingots or minted into coins. The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as ...
Gold, silver, iron (as meteoric iron), lead, and brass were likewise in use before the first known appearance of bronze in the fifth millennium BCE. Subsequent developments include the production of early forms of steel; the discovery of sodium —the first light metal —in 1809; the rise of modern alloy steels ; and, since the end of World ...
1960's -1970's: Some circulating coins still used silver in their composition, such as 1965-70 Kennedy half dollar coins, which were debased from 90% silver to 40% silver. However, as silver's metal value continued to increase, resulting in additional hoarding by the public, these coins were eventually debased entirely to cupronickel clad coinage.