170 WEAR OF COIN. 



CHAP. XXIII. 



two parts of alloy ; whether that alloy was of silver 

 alone, or of silver and copper in equal proportions. 



Without entering into these numerous experi- 

 ments, it is important to our purpose to remark 

 that our British standard gold is proved by them 

 to be less susceptible of loss by abrasion than that 

 of any other of the several kingdoms of Europe, 

 or than any that is coined in either Spanish or 

 Portuguese America 1 . 



It appears by the same experiments that our 

 standard silver suffers a much greater loss of weight 

 by friction than the standard gold, and is equal to 

 that on gold of twenty-three carats and three- 

 quarters fine. It is also made clear that there is a 

 loss 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 the 

 loss of weight on three hundred and fifty sove- 

 reigns in the year 1826, which had been coined 



1 It appears that the loss on gold by the same quantity of 

 friction was with the different alloys as follows, viz. : on our 

 standard gold, if alloyed- with silver alone or with equal parts 

 of copper and silver., 4 T 2 & Q on 854 grains ; if alloyed with tin 

 and copper, 15 ^^ on 846 grains ; and if with iron and copper, 

 21 T 6 oo on 825 grains. As the alloy in our new coinage consists 

 chiefly of silver, it is said that a practice has lately been adopted 

 of sending the sovereigns to Paris, where, in consequence of an 

 improved mode of parting the metals by sulphuric acid instead 

 of nitric acid, the silver was taken out, and an equal alloy of cop- 

 per supplied its place, and then being still standard, the gold in 

 ingots has been returned to England and recoined into sove- 

 reigns, which may be distinguished by their deeper colour, but 

 which contain the legal quantity of 22 parts in 24 of pure gold. 



