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Message:: [QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 4535248, member: 110350"]I also have a question about terminology.  It's my understanding that once a silver coin has less than 50% silver content, it should be referred to as "billon" rather than as "AR." But I see plenty of coins that are generally characterized in catalogs as billon -- one example would be provincial tetradrachms from the 2nd and 3rd centuries -- that are still frequently described as "AR" by dealers, as long as they're silver in appearance.  Is it considered inappropriate to describe a coin as AR if it's known to be less than 50% silver?  In turn, at what point does a coin become so debased that one should stop using the term "billon," and just call it AE?  Or "silvered AE" if it looks like it has a silver wash? Is "silvered billon" a term that's ever used? I get confused sometimes about what to call a particular coin in my own records, when I see its type described three different ways in terms of its composition, depending on the catalog or on the dealer.[/QUOTE]