CERTAIN NEW ALLOYS OF SILVER WITH OTHER METALS, AND THE PROCESSES EMPLOYED IN THEIR MANUFACTURE
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of 20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Inven-
tion of "CERTAIN NEW ALLOYS OF SILVER WITH OTHER METALS, AND THE
PROCESSES EMPLOYED IN THEIR MANUFACTURE."-A communication from
abroad by Henri Catherine de Ruolz, residing in Paris, in the Empire
of France
Sealed the 31st December 1861, and dated the 16th July 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Denton Abel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th July 1861.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "CERTAIN NEW ALLOYS OF SILVER WITH OTHER METALS,
AND THE PROCESSES EMPLOYED IN THEIR MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
One part of this Invention consists in the formation of several new alloys
of silver with other metals; such alloys I divide into two classes.
The first class consists of an admixture in certain proportions of silver with
copper and nickel, with or without the addition of manganese; the alloys of
this class may consist of 33 parts of silver, with 25 to 30 parts of nickel,
and 37 to 42 parts of copper, making together 100 parts; or they may consist
Price 8d1

page_text: of 40 parts of silver, 20 to 30 parts of nickel, and 30 to 40 parts of copper,
making together 100 parts; or they may consist of 20 parts of silver, 25 to 35
parts of nickel, and 45 to 55 parts of copper, making together 100 parts.
The second class of these alloys consists of an admixture in certain propor.
tions of silver with copper, zinc and nickel, with or without the addition of
manganese. The alloys of this class may consist of 333 parts of silver,
418 parts of copper, 163 parts of zinc, and 86 parts of nickel, making together
1,000 parts; or they may consist of 340 parts of silver, 420 parts of copper,
160 parts of zinc, and 80 parts of nickel, making together 1,000 parts; or
they may consist of 400 parts of silver, 446 parts of copper, 108 parts of zinc,
and 46 parts of nickel, making together 1,000 parts.
Other proportions may be used, but the principle should be adhered to of
diminishing the proportion of nickel for an increase in the proportion of
silver, the proportion of the copper being more or less maintained the same.
The first, fourth, and fifth of the above-named alloys are principally intended
for laminated silver work, the third alloy is intended for castings, and the
second and sixth alloys are intended for silver jewellery.
· Another part of my Invention consists in the manner of purifying, fusing,
and mixing the ingredients of the before-described alloys, by which alone they
can properly be prepared.
may
For the alloys herein-before designated as of the first class I employ the
purest copper of commerce, the nickel of commerce being frequently impure,
be purified in the most efficacious known manner either by the dry or wet
process, but by preference, I purify it in the following manner :-Firstly, if it
is ordinary commercial impure nickel, it is first dissolved in nitro-muriatic acid
or in dilute sulphuric acid; if in the latter the solution must be accelerated
either by the aid of a galvanic battery or by a galvanic action obtained by con-
tact in operating in a platinum vessel. A current of chlorine is then passed
through the solution, the iron is precipitated by boiling with carbonate of lime,
the nickel is then precipitated by carbonate of soda, and the precipitate is again
dissolved by hydrochloric acid. This solution is then greatly diluted with
water and saturated with chlorine gas, after which carbonate of baryta is added
in excess, and the solution left to cool. From this the nickel is eventually
precipitated in a metallic state by means of a galvanic current, or it is preci-
pitated in the form of oxide, which is reduced in the ordinary manner.
Secondly, if the nickel employed be in the form of speiss, then (for the dry
process) I take of speiss 100 parts by weight, of nitre 20 parts by weight, and
of feldspath 100 parts by weight, in total 220 parts by weight. These being
fused together, cobalt is obtained in the form of a blue glass. This is roasted

page_text: washed, and dissolved in sulphuric acid, and is then treated in the manner
indicated in the before-mentioned process. By whatever process the nickel
may have been purified, it is very advantageous to remelt the same with
ferrocyanide or ferricyanide of potassium before using it for the alloy. The
best proportions are, for 1,000 parts by weight of nickel 50 parts by weight
of ferrocyanide, or 25 to 30 parts by weight of ferricyanide of potassium.
Frequently this process alone suffices for purifying the nickel of commerce,
which is thus obtained in well fused and regular ingots of as large dimensions
as required.
After the nickel is purified it is fused together with the copper in the pre-
sence of charcoal, ferrocyanide, or by preference, ferricyanide of potassium
being employed as a flux, which imparts to the alloys peculiar properties.
In forming an alloy with the greatest possible per-centage of silver, and the
least amount of copper, so as to be as little oxidizable as possible, I add with
advantage manganese to the ingredients, having found that a certain propor-
tion of nickel cannot be exceeded without deteriorating the qualities of the
alloy. For this purpose I add to the mixture of copper and nickel before they
are fused, carbonate of manganese (previously exposed to a red heat in a closed
vessel, together with charcoal), so as to obtain a preliminary alloy consisting
of copper and nickel together 80 to 90 parts, and manganese 20 to 10 parts,
forming together 100 parts. In this case I employ as fluxes, borax, ferro-
cyanide, or ferricyanide of potassium and charcoal. The manganese unites
very readily with the copper, the nickel and the silver forming with them
a malleable alloy, which can be worked with ease.
For the alloys herein-before designated as of the second class, I employ the
purest zinc and copper of commerce, and the nickel purified in the manner
herein-before described. I prefer first to fuse the copper and zinc together,
and to make sure by adding zinc, if necessary, that these two metals exist in
the proportions indicated in the three last above-named alloys. The brass
thus obtained is then fused together with the purified Bickel, employing
the same fluxes as those above indicated for the first class of alloys.
The above remarks as to the addition of manganese for high per-centages of
silver in the alloys of the first class also apply to those of the second class. For
the formation of the definite alloys the preliminary alloys prepared in the
before described manner are fused together with the requisite quantity of
silver, for which purpose I employ either one or several of the following fluxes
phosphorus, ferrocyanide, or ferricyanide of potassium, charcoal, and borax.
If phosphorus is employed, phosphide of copper should be formed in the
first instance by any of the known methods. The per-centage of phoshorus in

page_text: the same is ascertained by analysis, and it is added to the alloy in such quan-
tities as to obtain from one half to two per cent. of phosphorus in the alloy. I
prefer to prepare the phosphide of copper by heating during 10 hours eight
parts of copper in small fragments with one part of a mixture consisting of 40
parts of charcoal, and 27 parts of acid or super-phosphate of lime. The
definite alloys may also be fused simply with the above-described mixture of
charcoal and acid phosphate of lime, in which case the relative proportions of
the alloy and this mixture should be 1,000 parts of alloy to 100 parts of the
phosphorised mixture. The effects produced by this introduction of phosphorus
in the alloys consist in a increase of fusibility of homogeneousness and of
whiteness. To preserve these advantages, due to the presence of phosphorus,
when the alloys are required to be rolled, forged, or pressed, it is necessary to
restore to them their ductibility and malleability which the phosphorus has
in a great measure deprived them of. For this purpose, after having obtained
homogenous ingots by the aid of phosphorus, this element is either wholly
or partially removed by maintaining the metal at a red heat during the
several hours in a closed crucible together with charcoal.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Charles Denton Abel in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 16th January 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DENTON ABEL, of 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles Denton Abel, Her special licence that I, the said Charles Denton
Abel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Charles Denton Abel, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "CER-
TAIN NEW ALLOYS OF SILVER WITH OTHER METALS, AND THE PROCESSES EMPLOYED
IN THEIR MANUFACTURE," a communication to me from abroad by Henri

page_text: Catherine de Ruolz, residing in Paris, in the Empire of France, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Denton Abel,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Denton Abel, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
One part of this Invention consists in the production of several new alloys
of silver with other metals; such alloys I divide into two classes.
The first class consists of an admixture, in certain proportions, of silver
with copper and nickel, with or without the addition of manganese, and
prepared in the manner to be hereafter described.
The composition of this class of alloys may be modified according to the
three following combinations marked A, B, and C.
A.-Silver
Nickel
Copper
B.-Silver
Nickel
Copper
33 per cent.
-
25 to 30 per cent.
37 to 42 per cent.
40 per cent.
20 to 30 per cent.
30 to 40 per cent.
The silver exists in greater proportion in this alloy than in that marked A.
C.-Silver
Nickel
Copper
20 per cent.
25 to 35 per cent.
45 to 55 per cent.
The silver exists in a less proportion in this alloy than in that marked A.
The second class of these alloys consists of certain proportions of silver,
copper, zinc, and nickel, with or without the addition of manganese, and
prepared in the manner to be hereafter described.
The composition of this class may be modified according to the three
following combinations marked 1), E, and F.

page_text: Of the above described alloys, those marked A, D, E, are principally
intended for rolled, stamped, or drawn, silverwork; the one marked C is
intended for castings, and those marked B and F and intended for silver
jewellery.
I claim the production of alloys of silver as above described, in which the
quantity of silver may be varied from 20 to 40 per cent., according to the use
to which the alloy is to be applied, and in which the principle is maintained of
diminishing the proportion of nickel when the proportion of silver is increased,
the other constituents of the alloy being maintained in the proportions herein-
before mentioned.
Another part of this Invention consists in the processes employed for
purifying, fusing, and alloying the constituent parts of the herein-before
described alloys of silver, by which processes such alloys can alone be properly
prepared.
PREPARATION OF THE PRELIMINARY ALLOY.
For the alloys herein-before designated as of the first class, and marked
A, B, C, I employ the purest copper of commerce, the nickel of commerce
being frequently impure, may be purified in the most efficacious known
manner, either by the dry or wet process, but, by preference, I purify it in
the following manner:-
Firstly, if it is ordinary commercial impure nickel, it is first dissolved in nitro-
muriatic acid, or in dilute sulphuric acid; if dissolved in the latter, the solution
must be accelerated either by the aid of a galvanic battery or by a galvanic
action obtained by contact in operating in a platinum vessel.
of chlorine is then passed through the solution, the iron is precipitated
by boiling with carbonate of lime; the nickel is then precipitated by
carbonate of soda, and the precipitate is again dissolved by hydrochloric acid.
This solution is then greatly diluted with water and saturated with chlorine
gas, after which carbonate of baryta is added in excess, and the solution is left
to cool. From this the nickel is eventually precipitated in a metallic state by

page_text: means of a galvanic current, or it is precipitated in the form of oxide, which
is reduced in the ordinary manner.
Secondly, if the metal employed be in the form of speiss, then (for the
Total, 220 parts by weight.
Upon these being fused together, cobalt is obtained in the form of a blue
glass. The residue is roasted, washed, and dissolved in sulphuric acid, and is
then treated in the manner indicated in the before-mentioned process. By
whatever process the nickel may have been purified,itis very advantageous to
remelt the same in a crucible, with the admixture of ferrocyanide of potassium
or of ferricyanide of potassium before using the same for the purposes of
alloying. The best proportions are, for
1,000 parts by weight of nickel.
50 parts by weight of ferrocyanide of potassium, or
25 to 30 parts by weight of ferricyanide of potassium.
Frequently, this process alone suffices for purifying thenickel of commerce,
which is thus obtained in well fused and homogenous ingots of as large dimen-
sions as may be required. The nickel after having been puriffed by the before-
mentioned process, or obtained from any other source, is fused with copper,
charcoal, or other suitable carbonaceous material, being added together with
ferrocyanide of potassium, or by preference ferricyanide of potassium, which,
being employed as a flux, imparts to the alloys peculiar properties. In the
production of an alloy, which shall contain the highest per-centage of silver
and the lowest amount of copper, so as to be as little oxidizable as possible, I
add, with advantage,manganese to the ingredients, having found that a certain
proportion of nickel cannot be exceeded without deteriorating the qualities of
the alloy. For this purpose I add to the mixture of copper and nickel, before
they are fused, carbonate of manganese or oxide of manganese, (which has
been previously exposed to a red heat in a closed vessel together with charcoal)
so as to obtain a preliminary alloy consisting of copper and nickel, in the
proportion of from 80 to 90 parts, and of manganese 20 to 10 parts, forming
together 100 parts. In this case I employ as fluxes, borax, ferrocyanide or
ferricyanide of potassium and charcoal. The manganese combines very
readily with the copper, the nickel and the silver forming with them a
malleable alloy which can be easily worked.

page_text: For the prodution of the alloys herein-before designatedasofthesecond class,
and marked D, E, F, I employ the purest copper and zinc of commerce, and
I purify the nickel in the manner herein-beforedescribed, orinanyotherknown
manner, and I prefer, firstly, to fuse the copper and zinc together, so as to
obtain an alloyinwhich thesetwometalsshallexist in the proportions indicated
in the three alloys marked D,E,F. The alloy thus obtained is then fused with
nickel, the same fluxes as those herein-before indicated for the first class of
alloys being employed; I add manganese when the alloy contains a high
per-centage of silver, as in the alloys of the first class.
of
PREPARATION OF THE DEFINITE ALLOYS.
The preliminary alloys,such as before mentioned, having been prepared in
the manner described, are fused together with the requisite quantity of silver,
employing either one or more of the following fluxes or reducing agents,
namely, ferrocyanide of potassium,ferricyanide of potassium, charcoal, borax,
together with phosphorus. In those cases where I wish to produce an alloy of
phosphorus and copper, I prefer to employ the phosphide of copper. The per-
centage of phosphorus in the same being ascertained byanalysis, thephosphide
copper is added to the silver alloy in such quantities as to produce an alloy
containing from one half to two per cent. of phosphorus. I prefer to prepare
the phosphide of copper by heating eight parts of copper in small fragments
with one part of a mixture consisting of 40 parts of charcoal and 27 parts of
acid or superphosphate of lime. The definite alloys of silver may also be fused
at once with the above-described mixture of charcoal and of acid phosphate
of lime, previously heated to a low red heat, and in which case the relative
proportions of the definite alloy and the phosphatic mixture should be
1,000 parts.
Definite alloy
Phosphatic mixture
100 parts.
If this method be employed, the longer the alloy be heated the greater will
be the amount of phosphorus contained in such alloy. The effects produced by
such introduction of phosphorus in the alloys consist in an increase of fusibility,
an improved homogeneousness, and an increased whiteness. In order to
preserve these advantages due to the employment of phosphorus, and yet
give back to the alloy its ductility and malleability, which it loses by the
introduction of the phosphorus, it is necessary to eliminate the same almost
entirely from the alloy, after having by its aid obtained homogeneous ingots.
This is effected by heating it during several hours in a closed crucible in
the
of charcoal dust.
presence

page_text: With respect to the various herein-before described processes employed in
the manufacture of the hereiu-before named alloys of silver, I claim,-
First, the employment of ferrocyanide, or ferricyanide of potassium for
the purification and reduction of the nickel employed for such before-
described alloys.
Secondly, the employment of a galvanic current in the purification of the
nickel for aiding its solution and for operating its precipitation.
Thirdly, the employment of ferrocyanide of potassium, or of ferricyanide
of potassium, as fluxes or reducing agents in the formation of the before-
described alloys.
Fourthly, the introduction of manganese into the before-described alloys.
Fifthly, the introduction into, and, when required, the subsequent
elimination of phosphorus from the before-described alloys.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Denton Abel, have hereunto
set-my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
CHARLES DENTON ABEL. (L.S.)