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<p>[QUOTE="PaddyB, post: 2920511, member: 40017"]Before anyone gets too excited, these two are more typical of the tin farthings you will come across:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]707045[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]707046[/ATTACH] </p><p>1690 William & Mary tin Farthing on the left, Charles II 1684 tin farthing on the right (date on edge).</p><p>By the way - a few of other thoughts:</p><p>1. The copper plug is also believed to have been to reduce the tendency for these coins to corrode. Workers in tin had discovered centuries ago that Tin in contact with Copper survived much better than Tin on its own - some electrolytic effect similar to Galvanised Iron. Maybe some metallurgist could confirm?</p><p>2. It wasn't the water that did for tin, it was the chemicals in the air and soil. The best examples of Tin coins currently turn up in the mud from the bottom of the Thames in London, which is alternately fresh (ish) or salty.</p><p>3. The real killer for Tin artifacts is cold. Depending on the exact composition of the sample, as the temperature drops it transforms from the Grey Tin (metallic) allotrope to the White Tin (powder) allotrope. This was one of the factors that led to Napoleon's defeat in Russia - his soldiers buttons were made of Tin and fell apart in the cold weather, leaving his men to the elements.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="PaddyB, post: 2920511, member: 40017"]Before anyone gets too excited, these two are more typical of the tin farthings you will come across: [ATTACH=full]707045[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]707046[/ATTACH] 1690 William & Mary tin Farthing on the left, Charles II 1684 tin farthing on the right (date on edge). By the way - a few of other thoughts: 1. The copper plug is also believed to have been to reduce the tendency for these coins to corrode. Workers in tin had discovered centuries ago that Tin in contact with Copper survived much better than Tin on its own - some electrolytic effect similar to Galvanised Iron. Maybe some metallurgist could confirm? 2. It wasn't the water that did for tin, it was the chemicals in the air and soil. The best examples of Tin coins currently turn up in the mud from the bottom of the Thames in London, which is alternately fresh (ish) or salty. 3. The real killer for Tin artifacts is cold. Depending on the exact composition of the sample, as the temperature drops it transforms from the Grey Tin (metallic) allotrope to the White Tin (powder) allotrope. This was one of the factors that led to Napoleon's defeat in Russia - his soldiers buttons were made of Tin and fell apart in the cold weather, leaving his men to the elements.[/QUOTE]
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