170

WEAR OF COIN.

CIIAP. XXIII.

two parts of alloy ; whether that alloy was of silveralone, or of silver and copper in equal proportions.

Without entering into these numerous experi-ments, it is important to our purpose to remarkthat our British standard gold is proved by themto be less susceptible of loss by abrasion than thatof any other of the several kingdoms of Europe ,or than any that is coined in either Spanish orPortuguese America 1 .

It appears by the same experiments that ourstandard silver suffers a much greater loss of weightby friction than the standard gold, and is equal tothat on gold of twenty-three carats and three-quarters fine. It is also made clear that there is aloss by friction on stamped pieces of gold, some-what greater than on pieces with smooth surfaces.

It is shown by the Appendix No. 1, A, that theloss of weight on three hundred and fifty sove-reigns in the year 1825, which had been coined

1 It appears that the loss on gold by the same quantity offriction was with the different alloys as follows, viz.: on ourstandard gold, if alloyed with silver alone or with equal partsof copper and silver, 4^°^ on 854 grains; if alloyed with tinand copper, 15 7,'V on 846 grains; and if with iron and copper,21 t 4A- on 825 grains. As the alloy in our new coinage consistschiefly of silver, it is said that a practice has lately been adoptedof sending the sovereigns to Paris , where, in consequence of animproved mode of parting the metals by sulphuric acid insteadof nitric acid, the silver was taken out, and an equal alloy of cop-per supplied its place, and then being still standard, the gold iningots has been returned to England and recoined into sove-reigns, which may be distinguished by their deeper colour, butwhich contain the legal quantity of 22 parts in 24 of pure gold.