The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-12-31
PENNIES oE ALuMlnuM
fhe Mint Making Tests to See n Thsy
Are Practicable.

Are fracttcabhG.
In the short period that will elapse
before Congress conyenes again In De 4
cember a series OF interesting expert I
ments IN coinage viii be conducted at 4
the mint In this city. Metals and al .
Toys heretofore untried for the purpose /
will be tested and stamped into token
colns. Their availability as substitutes
for the alloys Of which the minor coins
-nickels aud cents--are now made
will be ascertained and samples sub
mitted to Congress.
OF all the countless possible alloys 10
be obtained from copper. tin. nickel
and aluminium IN different combina-
lions. perhaps fifteen or twenty may be
found fairly satisfactory. II is possible
that one or two Of these may advan-
tageously be brought into use for gen
eral coinage. No fault has been found
with the present lie. and sc. pieces.
The experiments are merely ordered TO
keep in touch with the times and TO
gain q knowledge OF resources. The
Philadelphia mint. while having no
regular experimental department, is
well quipped to make the tests.
Aluminium, which has never yet
found a place in the currency Of any
nation, Is to be worked up into trial
coins. Ii Is also to be given chance
in new alloys. Aluminium Is metal
of which but little has been known I'M
til recently, and il has been found use
J full in so many ways that sort of pop
ular idea prevails that 1t would be good
for coins. Chief among its advantages
would be its very light weight Cents
, made of it could be readily distinguish
ed from coins OF the same size 10y this
remarkable lightness alone.
, DIR. u. X. futile, the chief retiner of
| the mint. who knows all about the
properties of metals, Is somewhat
skeptical. however, as to whether alu-
minum will come out of the proposed
} tests with flying colors. Ii is extremely
, difficult to anneal. and when heated
/ will suddenly ran like butter instead CT
J becoming plastic. There would be
| trouble in rolling 1t into the long strips
3 from which disks are cut preparatory
/ to stamping. or course, 1t can he
! worked, but not with sufficient ease
| and rapidity to make it practicable for
: coming on large scale.
. Pure nickel has recently been coined
q in Switzerland. but it has been found
| just as difficult to handle as aluimnum,
I though for a different reason. Such
\ great heat Is necessary to bring 1t into
? condition for coming that the operation
@ is slow and expensive. While pure
nickel coins might be satisfactorily
Y made in the minis of Switzerland, II
Q does not follow that the same would
il be true at the Philadelphia mint, which
n is called upon to turn out fifty times
n as many 5-cent pieces as the mints OF
[ that country, and could not spare the
n time to work over them.
a The 5-cent coin now IN use contains
, only % per cent. of nickel, the remain
:. ing 10 per cent. being of copper. Nickel
!, more than any other metal. has th'
/, property Of giving its color to an alloy
n Even an alloy of 90 per cent. of coppe
- and 10 per cent. of nickel will be nearl.
n white. The advantage of using a great
% piece is therefore not apparent, espe
!. cially as more than % per cent. of
!. makes the alloy refractory.
n The experiments at the mint will in
- elude different combinations of nicke
II copper and zine, forming the alloy
=. known under the head of German 81
"a yer; copper and tin, which produc
a.. bronze aluminium and copper, whic
make aluminium bronze. German 81
q yer has been used for coins by one q
the small South American states, an
proved fairly adapted for the purpos'
Bronze IL commonly used for coins {
e' small value. 1t is doubtful If aluminium
ed bronze in any form viii be found a.
ceptable, as it is hard to work, and Ia
Sn yellow. brassy appearance, resen
bling gold, which is to be avoided
to all coins of small denominations.
ne Philadelphia Record.