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Message:: [QUOTE="Valentinian, post: 2122692, member: 44316"]In spite of wikipedia (which can be written by anybody, and in the case of "potin" is wrong) the term "potin" refers to the metal used in some low denomination early coinages of Britain and Gaul. Whatever those coins are, metallically, is what "potin" is.    "British Iron Age Coins in the British Museum"  by Richard Hobbs says "so-called because of their high tin content but perhaps more correctly termed cast bronzes."  Melville-Jones in his "Dictionary of Ancient Greek Coins" admits the term has been misused to refer to low-silver coins but notes the real distinction is that "potin" coins apparently did not have any intentional silver, rather a signifiant amount of lead. "Billon" refers to silver content which is intentional but usually below about 20% (such as late tetradrachms from Roman Alexandria, Egypt.) Daphne Nash in "Coinage in the Celtic World" mentions potin's "glossy tin-rich fabric" (p. 122).   I have four books on metallurgy in ancient numismatics and did not find an article analyzing "potin" coins for metal content. If someone can quote some analyses of Gallic or British coins said to be "potin" we will know the definition of the metal. The experts who write books are in agreement that it is not low silver that makes the coin potin, rather copper with a high tin or lead content.   I hope members of this list will, in future, make the distinction between "billon" and "potin."[/QUOTE]