THE ENIGMA OF ZINC AND ALUMINUM

AFNCoin

Hello-

I always wondered about this and maybe some of you can help -

Almost all the coins I find in assorted junk boxes that are of zinc and aluminum are badly worn and abused. This prompted my question, If an older coin is made of zinc or aluminum wouldn't that make the prospects of it making it in-tact (UNC, etc.) harder since zinc and aluminum are softer metals? And if so, why are most Aluminum coins and Zinc coins in the Krause so cheap even at UNC grades? Maybe I've seen too many junk box examples and not real specimens, but to me this is an Enigma. I have several Netherland and German coins that are made of Zinc / Aluminum, and it seems to me that they just would be harder to find in uncirculated condition rather than say an 1908 German 5 Pfennig that is nade of steel. Any thoughts on this? Anyone.....

AFN

JohnZ

Hi AFN, and welcome to the boards. I'm currently collecting WWI coins and Notgeld, many of which are minted of base metals such as aluminum, zinc, and iron. Your assessment of their availability in UNC is correct. They are much more difficult to find than one would be led to believe by Krause, but a great many of the values in Krause are simply wrong.

All three of these metals are highly reactive, and prone to corrosion. Because of this, many have also been harshly cleaned. Furthermore, most of them were extensively circulated, and rarely collected. All of this should figure into a substantial premium on nice coins, but the fact is that there aren't many collectors out there. It comes down to supply and demand.

P.S. I don't have any of my books with me at the moment, so I may be wrong, but are you sure about a 1908 5 Pfennig made of steel? If memory serves me correctly, they were minted of copper.

spoon

This reminds me, I need to post another VTS

AFN, you're right.. a lot of the zinc and aluminum coins are in bad shape. Luckily though most of the coins that were minted in aluminum and some in zinc had high mintages so there is a decent supply out there. But because these metals aren't considered nice by many it can nevertheless be tough to find good condition pieces.

With zinc, the coin can have nice detail but also have ugly white oxidation. One thing with aluminum is that it is really easy for a coin to go from BU to AU, skipping Unc. The fields are delicate so if they get scratched up by touching, it really stands out, even if the detail is full. Most of the time coins will still be advertised as Unc

Some of the German war issue zinc coins like those from Gent and the Reichskreditkassen are tough to find at affordable prices in any grade. A lot of the zinc stuff can be expensive in true unc.. probably because of these German collectors I'd say. But aluminum is still pretty cheap in the high grades--except where the mintage is low (like Togo )

spoon

5 pfennig, 1890-1915 = CuNi

cladking

Zinc and aluminum coins are sometimes hoarded too. There are many issues of these
coins which are readily available in unc or gem but are normally seen beaten up when
found in junk boxes or occasionally are seen here even in better grades.

There are some issues which are extremely elusive in unc but I'm not sure the proportion
of these is any higher than cu/ni or other base metal coins. (other than bronze).

Zinc may be an especial problem since even when a few coins are preserved in unc, they
will often corrode and be lost as a collectible. Other than a few of the Austrian coins, you'll
be hard pressed to find any common zinc coins in choice or gem unc.

wybrit

All good and well, but the market interest in these metals is low. Don't get me wrong, I have some aluminium coins as well and find them fascinating. I just think few share our views on this.

cladking

<< <i>All good and well, but the market interest in these metals is low. Don't get me wrong, I have some aluminium coins as well and find them fascinating. I just think few share our views on this. >>



This basically is the best argument against all the moderns but I believe it is
mostly a prejudice caused which is unique to the times we live in. It obviously
could last indefinitely, but I personally believe that eventually people will become
interested in collecting latter half of the 20th century century coinage. If they do
there will be many surprises about the availability of these "common" coins.

There has been a growing collector base for many years though it is still quite small.

wybrit

I'm in agreement with you with regards to predecimal material 1937-1961 (1947-1961 for Cu-Ni). Many of the dates and most of the denominations of British material will soon be very tough to get in true UNC. Most of the material still in the UK has that seaside haze on it - not attractive toning.

MacCrimmon

Yep, Swiss zink is very tough with virgin colour. It always tends to be at least a light grey on the lettering and devices with the bright silver lustre creeping out in the sharp recesses of the design. Of course, the whitish corrosion is usually a factor as well in otherwise nice mint state pieces.

sumnom

It is hard to find nice alumunim pieces but when you do, they are worth the wait. They look fantastic.

AFNCoin

I agree, I have an easier time finding Aluminum pieces that are decent, but the zinc is a different story, some of the zinc pieces I have do not have the whitish haze on them but rather a darker black appearance that makes the strike look weak or smudged, I wonder if this is what normal wear on a zinc coin looks like, rather than normal wear on a copper or nickel type coin. I.E. just like silver looks when it gets old and worn, it is instantly noticable from other coins that are say nickel. I stand corrected on the 1908 German Pfennig it isn't steel - I stand corrected alot.


AFN