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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;The Eidolon, post: 4564146, member: 102103&quot;]Billon is generally any silver alloy of less than 50% fineness, mixed with base metal</p><p>(usually copper, but could be other metals too).&nbsp; Typically not used to describe </p><p>modern issues such as 40% silver half dollars.&nbsp; Nor electrum.&nbsp; Billon is not a </p><p>specific fineness, and can cover a wide range up to 0.500.</p><p><br /></p><p>Why billon coins might be issued (quoting myself from Quarantine Diary, p. 6):</p><p>1) To conceal a debasement.</p><p>2) To keep coins at a familiar size after a debasement.</p><p>3) To allow coins of a small denomination to still have value based on silver content.</p><p>4) To allow small-value silver coins to not be impractically small.</p><p><br /></p><p>And why are billon coins mostly no longer used:</p><p>1) Improved minting technology allowed copper and other base-metal coins to be circulated at face value higher than metal value. (Copper was widely counterfeited.)</p><p>2) Billon was seen as a &quot;waste&quot; of silver. It was not widely accepted in international trade, and the silver is expensive to recover to a purer form.</p><p>3) It is hard for ordinary people to assess the value by weighing.</p><p>4) It is relatively bulky for small purchases.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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