August 16, 2011

Gold-Aluminum Alloy For Coins?

From The Columbus Journal of Columbus, Nebraska, December 12, 1894:

To Stop Counterfeiting.
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A scientist suggests the use of an alloy of gold and aluminum for the making of money.  He says that counterfeiting would be almost impossible, as the only alloy which can be made successfully consists of seventy-eight parts of gold and twenty-two of aluminum.  The product is said to be of a beautiful purple color, with ruby reflections that cannot be imitated.


Here is a link to an 1899 article available on JSTOR about Gold-Aluminum alloys: http://www.jstor.org/pss/90757

But as cool as it sounds (I can't find a photo!), it would be a poor medium for coins.  According to this webpage, the alloy is very brittle.  I suppose this scientist was focusing solely on trying to find something difficult to make, and not on whether it would  be able to withstand general wear and tear (Oops).

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