Open for Discussion - - Goloid for US Coins

1630Boston

William Wheeler Hubbell
Biography [from NNP]
Born in Philadelphia. Read law and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar. He handled patent cases. Married Elizabeth Catherine with eight children.

In 1857 he was stricken with "National Hotel disease," in a case of arsenic poisoning. He invented fuses used to good effect during the Civil War.

He patented Goloid, a mixture of gold, silver and copper, on May 22, 1877, and proposed it for U. S. coins. The Mint struck trial coins but rejected the proposal because it was difficult to tell the difference between Goloid and silver coins.

He died on his farm in Virginia.

Goloid is an alloy of silver, gold and copper patented by Dr. William Wheeler Hubbell on May 22, 1877 (U.S. patent #191,146). The patent specifies 1 part gold (about 3.6%), 24 parts silver (about 87.3%), and 2.5 parts copper (about 9.1%, all by weight); however, the patent also states that "The proportions may be slightly varied" and goes on to specify that the silver portion can range from 20 times to 30 times that of the gold, and the copper could range from one-eighth to one-twelfth (from 12.5% to 8.33%) of the total mixture.

thebeav

It looks like a great material for coin composition.
We would need larger denomination coins in order to use it though.
Sure beats the copper, brass and manganese of a Sacagawea or president dollar !

FlyingAl

Edit: I was wrong, it failed because there was no way to distinguish it from .900 silver coins, and the native silver used to strike the coins would have gold impurities, thus ruining the balance of the alloy.

moursund

Maybe if it had a catchier name than 'goloid'.. Should have called it 'mithril'.

1630Boston

https://youtu.be/UWK_9broi8w

1630Boston

14-Nov-2021 $4,320 Heritage Auctions 2021 November 11-14 U.S. Coins Signature Auction #1336
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1879 $1 Goloid Metric Dollar, Judd-1626, Pollock-1822, R.4, PR65+ PCGS. William Barber's design for the Goloid Metric dollar with a capped head of Liberty on the obverse, paired with a reverse that carries the statutory as well as elemental inscriptions. A circle of stars about the central inscriptions breaks the otherwise continuous wording. STATES is unevenly spaced, a minor diesinking error that is unusual for the era. Struck in goloid (a silver alloy that includes a small portion of gold) with a reeded edge. The surfaces are almost entirely brilliant and the fields are deeply mirrored on each side. A slight cameo effect is evident from the contrast between the mirrors and the mild mint frost over the devices.
From The Pacific Rim Collection.

Namvet69

Very interesting. The first Liberty is very attractive. The braided hair is particularly well done. Thanks for sharing. Peace Roy

LanceNewmanOCC

nice thread, info, presentation etc.

LOVE the obv of coin in the op.

i do like the informative rev, more or less. this is what patterns were for, testing, creativity, looking for better/more optimal solutions, etc. (perhaps some neat collectables and showcasing of talent)

i'm guessing that particular amalgamation of metals had to do with the values at that time as it seems a bit random to me, not being an expert in such matters. i do understand from decade to decade, certain metals were not feasable to be used/considered for actual coinage so that may give context to why these in particular at that time were considered and in the quantities chosen.

since the morgan dollar was successfully and well on its way by this point, 1880s, without some legit reason(s) to come up with new dollar patterns would seem a bit out of place. i could think of a few but it would still be a stretch.

tbh, i'd rather have these discussions weekly about the coinage, designs, compositions, varieties, variations, marriages etc than some of the stuff we've relegated to recently (including myself). arguing with trolls, new members, 100 ebay counterfeit tracking threads etc doesn't hold a candle to these kinds of threads. imo @Zoins

1630Boston

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1630Boston

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
nice thread, info, presentation etc.

tbh, i'd rather have these discussions weekly about the coinage, designs, compositions, varieties, variations, marriages etc than some of the stuff we've relegated to recently (including myself). arguing with trolls, new members, 100 ebay counterfeit tracking threads etc doesn't hold a candle to these kinds of threads. imo @Zoins

Well said @LanceNewmanOCC

ricko

@1630Boston ... Thanks for an interesting thread. Nice pictures of the Goloids as well. Cheers, RickO

jesbroken

Very nice thread, @1630Boston Informative and a subject I was only vaguely aware of without details.
Thanks,
Jim