The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1897-01-07
MAKING CENTS OF ALUMINIUM.
Tests at the Mints to See " such a Thing
is Practicable.

| is Practicable.
In the short period that will elaps
before Congress convenee again in DE
cember a series Of interesting expert
ments in coinage will be conducted a
the mint in this city. Metals and al
loys heretofore untried for the purpos
will be tested and stamped into tokeI
coins. Their availability as substitute
for the alloys OF which the minor coin
-nickels and cents--are now made will
be ascertained and samples submitted
to Congress-.
OF all the countless possible alloys t.
be obtained from copper, tin, nickel
and aluminium in different combina'
tions, perhaps fifteen or twenty may b'
found fairly satisfactory. 1t is posi-.
BILE 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 cent and fve-ceni
| pieces. The experiments are merely
| ordered to keep in touch with the times
| and to gain a knowledge Of resources
| The Philadelphia mint, while having
no regular experimental department, is
well equipped 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. 1t is also to be given chance
in new alloys. Aluminium is meta
of which but little has been known un.
til recently, and 1t has been found use.
full in so many ways that popular idea
prevails that 1t would be good fol
coins. Chief among its advantages
would be its very light weight. Cents
made of it could readily be distinguish.
ed from coins of the same size by this
remarkable lightness alone.
DIR. ID. X. Tuttle, the chief refiner al
the mint, who knows all about the
properties Of metals, Is somewhat skep
tical, however, as to whether alumni
mum will come out Of the proposed
tests with flying colors. 1t is extremely
difficult to anneal, and when heated
will suddenly run like butter instead
of becoming plastic. There would be
trouble in rolling it into the long strips
from which disks are cut preparatory
to stamping. or course 1t can be work.
ed. but not with sufficient ease and
rapidity to make 1t practicable fol
coming on large scale.
Pure nickel has recently been coined
just as difficult to handle as aluminium
though for a different reason. Such
great heat is necessary to bring it into
condition for coming that the operation
Is slow and expensive. While pure
nickel coin might satisfactorily be
made in the mints of Switzerland, Il
does not follow that the same would
be true at the Philadelphia mint, which
Is called upon to turn out fifty times
as many fve-cent pieces as the mints
of that country, and could not spare
the time to work over them.
The five-cent coin now in use con- |
tains only % per cent nickel, the re. |
naming 75 per cent. being of copper |
Nickel, more than any other metal, has |
the property of giving its color to an |
alloy. Even an alloy of 80 per cent |
Of copper and ten per cent of nickei |
will be nearly white. The advantage
Of using greater proportion of nickel
n the five-cent piece is therefore not
apparent. especially as more than TWEEN.
-y-five per cent. Of it makes the alloy
The experiments at the mint will
include different combinations of MIC
sel, copper, and zinc, forming the al.
Oys known under the head Of German
silver; copper and tin, which produce
,ronze; aluminium and copper, which
make aluminium bronze. German sill
'er has been used for coins by one OF
he small South American States, and
'roved fairly adapted for the purpose.
Bronze is commonly used for coins
4 small value. 1t is doubtful If alum
mum bronze in any form will be found
as it Is hard to work and
as a yellow brassy appearance, re-
gold, which is to be avoided
A all coins of small denominations
Press.
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