potin

[coppernickel]

Potin

Potin -- term for base metal coins meant to pass for silver coins. (copper clad Ike's, halfs, quarters, and dimes.)

Billon -- term for coins with less than 50% silver. (40% halfs, silver nickels.)

I presume you have heard of billon before, but potin is new to me. Reading from Alexander Del Mar's, Money and Civilization: A history of the monetary laws of various states since the dark ages, and their influence upon civilization. (1886)

He was describing the last days of the Venician Empire having only billon and potin coins.

After researching out these terms there is an appropriate and NOT offensive term for the base coins we have left in circulation.

Any ideas or is this too much jargon

[theo]

I like "potin." I've also heard these coins referred to as "pot metal "coins. However "billon" seems like it can easily be mistaken as "billion"

[johnbrickner]

More very interesting information I have never heard before. Now, same as theo I've heard of "pot metal" but, "billion" and "potin" are all new. Personally, I don't think these terms will stick as well used terms now or in the future but, only because I've never heard them used and they certinaly don't get used much here.

[scyther]

Interesting. I've heard of billon, but I thought it had to be lower; I didn't realize 40% halves would count. Potin's new.

[uthminsta]

Interesting. I've heard of billon, but I thought it had to be lower; I didn't realize 40% halves would count. Potin's new.

That's about what I thought. Krause uses 'billon' often in the World Coin catalogs, especially on older coins. But I did not know the term meant it contained silver. Oops. I suppose with 200+ year old coins of low silver content, it may be hard for their researchers to find and verify info on the specific fineness. Thus 'billon.'

EDIT: I'm gonna run with this idea a bit and build a type list of some of the more common low-purity silver. I say more common because most of these have been scrounged by me from the junk bins and then gone from my hands to Market Harmony or Scrapman for purification.

100 fine: Mexico peso 1957-67.
300 fine: Mexico peso 1950; fifty centavo 1950-51; twenty-five centavo 1950-53.
400 fine:
----- Panama half balboa 1966-72
----- Sweden ten ore 1874-1962; twenty-five ore 1943-61; fifty ore 1943-61; krona 1942-68; 2 kronor 1942-66. 5 kronor 1952-71.
420 fine: Mexico fifty centavo 1935.