I strikes me that this is an unusual choice of metal composition for a coin. The other reference to such an alloy in my cursory internet exploration was on the subject of Roman coins. Are there others? The 50/50 silver-copper composition coin below is a South Korean 10,000-Won commemorative coin from the "Bicentennial of the Catholic Church in Korea" series from 1984. That year, Pope John Paul II came to Korea to canonize 103 martyrs killed in a series of 19th century persecutions of Christians in Korea. The coin's design features three of the more prominent martyrs.
I dunno, but I really like this coin! Can you show a picture of the other side? Thanks. Also, how did you acquire it?
I believe that the United Kingdom had a similar, though slightly different composition, for its silver coinage from 1920-1946.
Here’s some British .500. I can’t find any sources on what metal the other half is though. Canada also used .500 fine for a short time, think it was 1967 and 1968?
See, this is one of those questions (composition) that seem should have a simple answer, but a few minutes of searching got me bupkis.
I obtained by example via eBay. They occasionally come up. This commemorative series was the smallest-mintage of the 1970s and 1980s for South Korea. There was a 1,000-Won cupronickel coin that was issued in the series, too. Both coins only around 700,000 total coins. You can see scads of them at this online retailer's site (in Korean): http://www.sujipbank.com/shop/goods/goods_list.php?category=002004006
Oh yeah! And the New Zealand Half Crowns and Florins! Yeah, but what IS that other half for these commonwealth coins? 50% Ag and 50% ____?
Okay. Got British 50%ers. The alloy was Ag 50% with 40% copper, 5% nickel, 5% zinc. But look at South Africa: Ag 50% with 48% copper and 2% manganese. Newman Numismatic Portal to the rescue!
