294? EXPERIMENTS QX VARIOUS ALLOYS OF GOLD. 



or both of thefe metals, which, even in the proportion of tffs 

 part of the mafs, was already proved to be capable of de- 

 ftroying the ductility of gold. 

 Faffs refpeft'ng Mr. H. lately made fome farther inquiries concerning the va- 

 Swedi copper. r | et j es Q r Swedifli copper, and was informed, that the fine gra- 

 nulated copper is made in this country from the Swedim cake- 

 copper, merely by the ordinary procefs of ganulation; and, as 

 the quality even of this copper has been found variable, the 

 Deputy Mafter of the Mint has of late employed Britiih cop- 

 per, which has been refined exprefsly for the purpofe, and feems 

 to anfwer perfectly well. Reflecting the variable and occa- 

 iional very bad quality of the copper dollars, Mr. Swedenftierna, 

 a learned Swedith gentleman at prefent in London, has fa- 

 voured him with fome particulars, in a letter, of which the fol- 

 lowing is an extract*. 

 Copper dollars. " But with regard to dollars, I fliould be much furprifed if 

 they had ever been perfectly pure ; becaufe, as far as 1 know, 

 they have always been made of the copper of Fahlun, of 

 which the ores have always been more or lefs mixed with ful- 

 phurated lead, and perhaps antimony. However, as thefe 

 dollars were originally ftruck under the Reign of Frederic king 

 of Sweden, and it is p^ffible that the ores at Fahlun might have 

 been then purer, it is probable that thefe dollars may have been 

 purer at firft than thofe whicli have (ince been counterfeited; 

 for thefe dollars having been called for in India, and ordered 

 more particularly in confiderable quantity, by the Aliatic Com- 

 pany of Copenhagen, others have been ftruck lince repeated- 

 ly, and of all kinds of copper without diftinction. This fact, 

 at leaft, explains the caufe of their inequality of compofition." 

 " It remains to be thewn whether any of thefe dollars are 

 perfectly pure. For my part, I am mod inclined to think, that 

 the demand in India has arifen from the convenience of form, 

 and that prejudice has given them credit and circulation as 

 money. For feveral years of late, the Danes, having found 

 this copper too dear, have themfelves counterfeited the mark, 

 and ftruck them at Rocraas in Norway; and this muft afford 

 another variety of this copper." 



♦ The Extract is in French, of which I give the tranflation. W. N. 



GOLD 



