What was the thickness of 3c Nickel stock?

[IGWT]

Or, if you don't know the thickness to which the metal was rolled, what is the typical thickness of a 3c Nickel? Thanks for the help!

[RI AL]

I can find every other specific about the size/weight of the 3 cent nickels, but the thickness is not mentioned in Breen. Is there anything else I can help with??

 

Ri Al

[skippy]

deleted

[IGWT]

I calculate it to be near 0.035 in. Any confirmation?

[DaveG]

There was another post about planchet thickness a while ago, and (as I recall) Roger Burdette (RWB) replied that the Mint didn't have written specifications for planchet thickness during the 19th century.

[WoodenJefferson]

Link

 

Correct about RWB, here's the link.

[Conder101]

I calculate .85 mm or .033 inch

[IGWT]

I calculate .85 mm or .033 inch

 

That's pretty darn close to my calculation of 0.035 inches (and I'll bet that we used different methods, which would enhance the confirmation). Thanks, Conder!

 

Where's Prethen? I'll bet he could take some measurements for us if he doesn't already know the answer.

[MikeInFL]

Didn't I measure one a few weeks ago for you?

 

If not, let me know and I can measure it over the weekend....

[IGWT]

Didn't I measure one a few weeks ago for you?

 

If not, let me know and I can measure it over the weekend....

 

Nope. This is the first time that I've ever asked the question of anyone. You must be confusing me with George Clooney.

[MikeInFL]

Wow, that's really weird. Someone asked the same question and I remember very specifically measuring my 3CN with calipers. I'll do it again over the weekend, and let you know...Mike

[Conder101]

How and where do you measure a coin with calipers and get a meaningful answer about it's thickness? Especially an answer about the thickness of the stock it was produced from. Use point source calipers, measure a couple dozen different places on the coin and take an average?

[pendragon1998]

Depends on how you define thickness on an object of variable thickness. Maximum thickness? Average thickness? Rim thickness?

[Conder101]

The original post was looking for the thickness of the planchet stock so you would have to find an average. It's just easier to do the theoretical calculations.

 

density of the alloy is 8.92 grams/cm^3

 

The coin weighs 1.944 grams so its volume is 1.944 *(1/8.92) = .218 cm^3

 

A blank 1.79 cm in diameter has an area of 2.52 cm^2

 

So to get a volume of .218 cm^3 the thicknes would have to be .218/2.52 = .087 cm or .87 mm or in inches .87/25.4 = .034 inches

[BECOKA]

The original post was looking for the thickness of the planchet stock so you would have to find an average. It's just easier to do the theoretical calculations.

 

density of the alloy is 8.92 grams/cm^3

 

The coin weighs 1.944 grams so its volume is 1.944 *(1/8.92) = .218 cm^3

 

A blank 1.79 cm in diameter has an area of 2.52 cm^2

 

So to get a volume of .218 cm^3 the thicknes would have to be .218/2.52 = .087 cm or .87 mm or in inches .87/25.4 = .034 inches

 

I love it when people take a simple scientific approach.

[IGWT]

The original post was looking for the thickness of the planchet stock so you would have to find an average. It's just easier to do the theoretical calculations.

 

density of the alloy is 8.92 grams/cm^3

 

The coin weighs 1.944 grams so its volume is 1.944 *(1/8.92) = .218 cm^3

 

A blank 1.79 cm in diameter has an area of 2.52 cm^2

 

So to get a volume of .218 cm^3 the thicknes would have to be .218/2.52 = .087 cm or .87 mm or in inches .87/25.4 = .034 inches

 

What amazes me is how close I came in my calculation -- 0.035 inches, just 0.001 inches off from your calculation -- using a completely different approach. I applied a little common sense to take a shortcut with what I know about Shield Nickels. A Shield is 20.5 mm and weighs in at 5g. A 3c is 17.9 mm and weighs in at 1.94 g.

 

What's important here are the ratios, not the actual values (the ratio of areas is constant to the ratio of diameters, so we don't need the actual area). The Shield is 0.24390 g/mm, and the 3c is 0.10838 g/mm. The coins are the same metal, so we would expect equivalent g/mm if the coins were the same thickness; but, of course, they're not the same thickness. How much thicker is the Shield 5c than the 3c? The ratio tells us that the Shield 5c must be 2.25 times thicker than the 3c (0.24390/0.10838 = 2.25). I happen to know that a Shield 5c is typically 0.08 inches thick, so figured that a typical 3c must be 0.035 inches thick (0.08/2.25 = 0.035).

 

My method was a little half-assed compared to yours.