NEW COINS

Hokitika Guardian, 30 November 1933, Page 7

NEW COINS

LIGHTER ALLOY USED

TESTS AT ROYAL AUNT,

'WELLINGTON, November 27,

Although a lighter alloy has been nse-d in their manufacture, the new silver coins, of which the first have reached Wellington, are expected to last quite as long as those now in circulation. Durability, in fact, js one of the special features of the n ew alloy, which- has been subjected to thorough tests at the Royal Mint. ' Quarternary, the alloy from which aU New Zealand silver coins are to be made, lias been the base of British coins for about five or six years. It is a special alloy, which, from a technical point- of view, is extremely difficult to manufacture. S : o great are the' obstacles in fact that the Royal Mint- is the only- mint in the world that has carried through the process v it]i success. The only other two mints to make the attempt have been those at Paris and at Budapest, and in each case so much trouble was experienced that neither mint has an y intention of repeating the attempt.

Britain was first faced with the necessity of altering the content- of lis silver coinage about 1922, when ; on -account of an appreciation of ! silver, the coins were actually coni tajniug more of this metal than ! wa-s warranted by their face value. | -The mint then adopted the silver--1 copper mixture, in which these two metals were combined in equal parts, It was found, however that after these coins had been in circulation for four or five years they began to develop a coppery appeariance, and they had to he discarded. It was then that the quarternary alloy was successfully developed and it has been ili'M-oughiv tested out with most satisfactory results. It makes use of only 500 parts of fine silver out of 100, as against 900 parts in the Australian coins that have been in use here and that are now being replaced.

The reduction -in the silver con--te.nt, of (course, represents a great saving to ' the country. The difficulty of manufacturing the qnarternarv. alloy, incidentally, is ore of the reasons why local tenderers could not hope to compete with the Royal Mint. The. new coins have gone rapidly, into circulation, and their design and workmanship are exciting much favourable comment.