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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;cladking, post: 24894, member: 68&quot;]Italy hit on a pretty good composition for durability.&nbsp; They made some of their larger denomination coins out of stainless steel.&nbsp; While this isn&#039;t especially hard compared to some these coins wore extremely well.&nbsp; The metal has a low coefficient of friction so rather than sloughing off metal as they rub against one another, they merely slide.&nbsp; These were also large thin coins which gave them more area to rub on and less weight pushing them together.&nbsp; These remained in circulation for decades and showed little wear.&nbsp; Even worn coins tend to be fairly shiny so new coin blends right in with the old.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the modern era durability has not been a big concern since high attritions tend to take care of the older coins and most have circulated fairly briefly before being removed and melted. As has been pointed out, the velocity of coins now days tends to be much lower due to electronic transactions and high mintages.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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