IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO COINS TO REDUCE LOSS BY WEAR
Year: 1884

page_text: I, WILLIAM RICHARDSON FINCH of Norris's Hotel, Russell Road Kensington in
the County of Middlesex Indigo Planter do hereby declare the nature of my
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO COINS TO REDUCE LOSS BY WEAR,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements applicable to coins to reduce loss
by wear.
It is found practically that the wear of a coin takes place especially in the
earlier stages almost entirely at the milled edge. For the purpose of lessening this
wear I introduce the coin into a ring of thin steel or other hard metal and I close
in this ring at its ends so that the coin cannot again escape from it. The friction
in the use of the coin will then fall mainly on the edges of the steel ring which
being comparatively hard will be little subject to wear and the wear which does
occur will be mainly of the inexpensive metal.
.
By the same means I render it practically impossible to reduce the weight of
coins by the fraudulent process known as sweating.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
-
J WILLIAM RICHARDSON FINCH of Norris's Hotel, Russell Road, Kensington
in the County of Middlesex Indigo Planter do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO COINS TO REDUCE LOSS BY WEAR
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This Invention has for its object improvements applicable to coins to reduce loss
by wear.
It is found practically that the wear of a coin takes place especially in the
earlier stages almost entirely at the milled edge, For the purpose of lessening
this wear I introduce the coin into a ring of thin steel or other hard metal and
I close in this ring at its ends so that the coin cannot againroscapo from it.
The friction in the use of the coin will then fall mainly on the edges of the steel
ring which being comparatively hard will be little subject to wear and the wear
which does occur will be mainly of the inexpensive metal.
J
."
By the same means I render it practically impossible to reduce the weight of
coins by the fraudulent process known as sweating.
In carrying out my invention the rings would be formed by cutting off a tabe
.in sections. To use a familiar aimile, the tubo or pipe would be aliced like a
cucumber, the slices would be so much thicker, than the coin, as would permit of
the,odges being turned in say about 1 times as thick or thereabouts. By thickness
I mean that if the ring were put flat on its side on an even horizontal surface such
as a table that it would be greater in height than the coin so placed. The ring
protecting the coin would be at first infinitesimally smaller in its inner diameter
than the diameter of the coin. . By heating it would expand and take in
the coin.
When hot the coin would be placed therein and while hot or otherwise the
ring and coin would be placed between two concave discs revolving in opposito
directions and made to approach each other. The machine for turning in the
edges may be similar to that used for turning down breech loading cartridges
only the apparatus would be double. Before placing the coins in the rings the
rings should be weighed and made uniform and their weight stamped on them
in grains, in two places, "protector (say) 5 grains." Thus no one would ever be
deceived into believing a sovereign or half sovereign to weigh more than it really
and actually did.
Another method would be to stamp the rings out of metal, two rings could be
stamped at a time, the outer one for sovereigns, the inner one for half sovereigns,
The edges could be swedged in in this case by means of pressure between two
concave dies which would press all round the coin but in no way touch, the effigy
part. The dies would be of the shape of a sovereigns rim with the ring on and
turned down.
The ring of hard metal will serve not only to protect the coin from mechanical
wear but also from sweating, 1st by acids and 2nd by electrolysis.
The protector being of a baser metal than the coin would show very distinctly
any attempts to attack the coins by means of acids, even were the protector

page_text: enveloped in wax to prevent the acid acting on it, still the surface of operations
would be very considerably reduced, all the rim of the coin being saved. It is
generally at the rim that the coin is reduced with most facility without raising
suspicion, and there is a distinct gain in reducing the sphere of the swindlers
operation.
If sweating the coin by electrolysis were attempted it would be more difficult to
provide for the solution of two different metals than for one, and may be made of
such a mixture of metals that electrolysis would affect it far quicker than it would
gold. The tubes or plates out of which the rings are made may be of a mixture of
steel and phosphor bronze almost in equal proportions with one part of silver in
100 parts. Were electrolysis attempted it would tend to work the coin loose
in the ring and thus raise suspicion.
The patent protector ring at all events saves a certain surface of coin enveloped
in it from the acid system of sweating. It stops the sweating of coin as practiced
by abrasion. It increases the difficulty of sweating by electrolysis and above all
in ordinary fair use it saves the coin in every way. One part it does save com-
pletely namely the edges enveloped in the ring and which comes to 10 of the entire
surface of coin.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The combination with or application to coins of protectors consisting of rings of
hard metal encircling the coin and secured upon it substantially as described.
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