Nickel alloys currency

History.—Alloys containing nickel and copper have been known and used for several thousand years as witnessed by the existence of ancient currency dating back several centuries before the birth of Christ. Nevertheless, nickel itself was not recognised or isolated as a separate entity until Cronsted, about a.d. 1750, showed that niccolite or kupfernickel, obtained from a cobalt mine in Sweden, contained a new metal. A few years later he succeeded in isolating this metal in an impure form and termed it nickel. The word nickel is equivalent to goblin or devil, and the term kupfernickel was one of... 

A very important alloy containing 25 per cent, of nickel and 75 per cent, of copper finds extensive application in the manufacture of currency both in Europe and in the New World. Reference has already been made to this in previous pages.1 Monel metal is an alloy of nickel and copper made by the Orford Copper Company by direct reduction of the nickel-copper matte obtained from the Sudbury ores (see p. 82). It is therefore termed a natural alloy. It contains from 60-72 per cent, of nickel, the remainder consisting mainly of copper with iron ranging from 0-5 to 6-5 per cent. The United States Government specification, issued in July 1910, for monel metal requires 8... 

The development of new materials is governed by the current societal need and availability of resources. However, the adoption of a material depends primarily on its cost, which is even observed by changes in the chemical makeup of currencies through the years. Coins currently comprise worthless ferrous alloys rather than high concentrations of metals such as gold, silver, copper, and nickel that comprised early coins. When a new technology or material is introduced, there is almost always a high price associated with its adoption. For example, consider the cost of computers and plasma televisions when they first became available - worth tens of thousands of dollars ... 

In 1855 the Belgians decided to reform their low currency coins and, after experimenting with a number of alloys, were the first to employ one containing copper 75 and nickel 25. In 1857 the U.S.A. replaced their cumbrous copper cent pieces by an alloy of copper 88 and nickel 22, the latter metal then costing 2 per pound and was admittedly added to raise the intrinsic value of the coins. Later, in... 

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