Bi-metallic coins have become increasingly popular since the first modern day coins were released almost 20 years ago. The general definition of a bi-metallic coin implies that any coin made from 2 or more metals will fall into this category. This means gold or silver plated coins, embossed coins and gilded coins all fall into the category of a bi-metallic coin. Collectors of bi-metallic coins will however argue that the only true bi-metallic coin is where two or more parts, made of different metals, are joined (fused or otherwise) to form a single coin. This definition seems to be the one used by the many bi-metallic coin clubs that have appear around the world over the last 20 or so years.
The idea of a bi-metallic coin is not a
new one. It is believed that one of the first bi-metallic coins was struck
between 1625 and 1649 when the English rose farthing had a brass wedge inserted
into the copper based coin as an anti forgery device. Late in the same century
farthings and halfpennies made of tin with a square copper plug in the centre
were minted. Use of the bi-metallic coin spread to Germany around 1730 when
tokens were struck made of silver with a copper core.
The US mint experimented with a bi-metallic 1 cent coin in 1792. A copper blank had the centre punched out and a silver plug was inserted before the final striking of the coin. The pressure from the minting press caused the core to be fused to the outer ring.
The modern bi-metallic coin started when
cameo gold or silver mint marks or privy marks were added a coin. The true
bi-
metallic coin later appeared where an outer ring was fused to a central piece
where both pieces were made of different metals. There are many methods of
producing a bi-metallic and each manufacturer has its’ preferred method. The
most common way (although there are many variation on how this is done) is where
a rim is created on either the inside surface of the out ring The outside surface of the core is then milled. The two parts are then put together to form
a blank. When the coin is struck the pressure caused by the strike causes each
part of the blank to expand. The rimmed surface will close over the inner core.
Metal from the non milled surface will flow into the indentations of the milled
surface causing the two pieces to fuse.
The first true modern bi-metallic coin
was issued in 1982 by the Italians. It was a 500 lira coin. San Marino and the
Vatican issued similar 500 lira coins in the same year. It was the French in
1988 that issued the first circulation bi-metallic coin. The introduction of the
modern bi-metallic coin has proven to be so popular that in just under 25 years
since the production of the first modern bi-metallic, over 100 countries
regularly mint a bimetallic coin of some sort.
Australia has produced many bi-metallic
coins all being collector pieces. The success of Australia’s circulation
currency and the popularity that it has with the Australian people has probably
stopped the introduction of bi-metallics into our circulation currency. The
first true bi-metallic being the $5 “women’s enfranchisement” coin produced in
1994 by the RAM. The Bradman $5 coin of 1996 and 1997 was the second produced by
the RAM. The year 2002 saw the RAM produce a “tri-metallic” coin for the
Commonwealth Games. This $5 coin was made of Copper, Silver and Gold.
Although this article is very general and glosses over the surface of the bi-metallic, it is an interesting part of numismatics which Australia has played a part in. I hope from this article, someone out there will gain enough interest to do further work in this area of collecting.
References:
CAB Magazine June 1997.
The FIFA Soccer Wold Cup in 2006 will
undoubtedly be the biggest sporting event the world has seen behind the Olympic.
The host of this event is Germany. In the last 2 years a number of countries
have released coins to celebrate this event even though it is still two years
away. These countries include Germany, Switzerland, Canada and Australia.
The Australian legal tender issue was by the Perth Mint. They released a $25 ¼ oz gold proof coin, a $4 1/10 oz gold proof coin and a silver proof holey dollar and dump set.
I am the first to admit that in the past I have not been a huge fan of Perth Mint products. Over the years they have produced a huge quantity of trinkets that tend to celebrate two flies crawling up a wall. Mintage figures have been high. My view however is slowly changing. This is reflected by the fact that this is my first review of a Perth Mint product in almost 18 months of publishing this magazine.
I personally like the look of all the 3 products released, in particular the holey dollar and dump. They are attractive coins. I however have two criticisms of these coins. The first is that the gold coins, particularly the $4 gold proof, do look small. This however was done to keep the price of the coin under the $100 mark. The second is that the packaging is not of the quality offered by the RAM. This however is the case with most Perth Mint products.
These coins do have a relatively high mintage. This should not be a distraction to buying these coins as most of them are destined for Europe. Given that soccer is the worlds biggest sport, both by participation and fans, these coins are bound too have a large buyer base particularly in the lead up to this event. I envisage that these coins will at least maintain value. If you are worried about the mintage you can not go wrong buying the lower value holey dollar and dump and $4 gold proof coins based on looks alone.
