I am doing some reading and the term billion came up referencing some form of metal. In the back of my mind I think it is poor grade silver or gold. Anybody know what I am referring to and can tell me what it is?
Not to be confused with Billion. Billon is an alloy of a precious metal (most commonly silver, but also mercury) with a majority base metal content (such as copper). It is used chiefly for making coins, medals, and token coins. The word comes from the French bille.[1] The use of billon coins dates from ancient Greece through the Middle Ages . During 6th and 5th century BC, some cities on Lesbos island used coins made of 60% copper and 40% silver. In both ancient times and the Middle Ages, leaner mixtures were adopted, with less than 2% silver content.[2][3] Billon coins are perhaps best known from the Roman Empire, where progressive debasements of the Roman denarius and the Roman provincial tetradrachm in the second century AD led to declining silver and increasing bronze content in these denominations of coins. Eventually, by the third quarter of the second century AD, these coins were almost entirely bronze, with only a thin coating or even a wash of silver.[4] ------- Nero & Tiberius Billon Tetradrachm of Alexandria. Year 13.
Your link doesn't work, Randy. It searches Yahoo for Cointalk?? From wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billon_(alloy)
Thanks guys! Ahab had it right for the wrong reason. Randy had the correct spelling, billon. No i after the l. I had my glasses on too and still did not catch that. What is it coming to?
I know of no direct relation between "billon" and "billion," thought I do not think it impossible. Here's one of the best billon pieces I own: Claudius II Alexandria, Egypt BI Tetradrachm Laureate, cuirassed bust r. Eagle standing left, head r. with wreath in beak
yeah, I like that one. Also I dont think its limited to ancients i.e. I remember hearing about some modern coins being made of billon, just not where from
I have examples up to the Middle Ages, there are certainly more out there. Hugh IV Capet Duchy of Burgundy BI denier – 18mm Dijon, 1218-1272 AD +VGO BVRGVNDIE DUX in aniline +DIIONENSIS central cross with diagonal staff topped by three pellets on each side
You will also find French pieces and German States pieces fromn the 1800's made of billon. There are plenty of others. Technically the 40% silver clad half dollars are billon since they are less than 50% silver
Those are some nice pieces. FYI, I was looking at the Canoe Money of Siam made of Billon when I started the thread.
Switzerland had billon circulation coins between 1850 and 1877, for mid-range denominations. See here (no images, just the data): http://www.swissmint.ch/upload/_pdf/dokumentationen/d/KGuNKG-CHMuenzen.pdf According to this page (in German), the silver content of these coins was between 50/1000 and 150/1000. But as explained here before, other billon coins may have a somewhat higher silver content ... Christian
