aluminum

[physics-fan3.14]

Talk to me about aluminum coins. Is there anything special I need to know? Special storage or care techniques. I know there are different techniques for silver and copper, is aluminum special? I started pursuing a French Colonial typeset, and many coins are aluminum. So, talk to me about alumimum coins.

 

My Most Recent Purchase

[WinstonWare]

I keep my aluminum in the fridge

[LuvToCollect]

[cladking]

Aluminum is easy to store but easy to go bad. It's relatively inert so you just need to give it the same care as you would copper or more reactive metals. A little bit of error will destoy these though.

 

The beauty of aluminum as a coinage material is the extremely low cost of fabrication and the metal. They take a strike extremely well and cause very little die wear. The weakness is that they virtually "evaporate" in circulation. Many are lost to feats of strenght as people show they can bent them in their hands or they just erode away. There is a tendency for large numbers to be set aside by collectors because of their low face value but for there to be a high attrition on these and complete attrition on those in circulation. They do not last long in the ground or in landfills.

 

They're almost more a consumer good than a coin. They can last up to about twenty years if they're thick enough in circulation.

[gmarguli]

They oxidize rather easily. Never dip one or you'll watch it "fizz to ugliness". Don't store them in envelopes or albums.

[physics-fan3.14]

Don't store them in envelopes or albums.

 

By album I assume you mean like a Whitman or Dansco? I have put them into 2x2s and have them in plastic pages. Do I need a desiccant?

[gmarguli]

Yep, that's the type of album I was referring to.

 

2x2's should be fine.

[Star City Homer]

They oxidize rather easily. Never dip one or you'll watch it "fizz to ugliness". Don't store them in envelopes or albums.

 

If you have an otherwise nice aluminum coin, but it has a bit of dirt on it, is there some solution to use to get off the grubbies?

 

(I've been getting a few of those nice French Colony aluminums lately to...cool coins for cool prices)

 

 

 

Cathy

[SignatureSelect]

I actually collect Power of the Forse coins. The coins are made of aluminum. Everything these guys are saying is true. on a side note they scratch very easily and once they get a stain it can't be removed. there is almost no safe way to clean aluminum coins. I actually hate the fact that the coins are aluminum because many of them cost more than real coins and they can't even be certified.

[gmarguli]

They oxidize rather easily. Never dip one or you'll watch it "fizz to ugliness". Don't store them in envelopes or albums.

 

If you have an otherwise nice aluminum coin, but it has a bit of dirt on it, is there some solution to use to get off the grubbies?

 

(I've been getting a few of those nice French Colony aluminums lately to...cool coins for cool prices)

 

I use MS70 on them. You actually can dip them in Jeweluster, but it needs to be a very quick dip and rinse immediately.

 

The French Colony coins are nice designs. They can frequently be found in nice condition, but rarely super nice. I've probably submitted 100 of them and I can only recall getting 1 in MS67.

[gmarguli]

I actually collect Power of the Forse coins. The coins are made of aluminum. Everything these guys are saying is true. on a side note they scratch very easily and once they get a stain it can't be removed. there is almost no safe way to clean aluminum coins. I actually hate the fact that the coins are aluminum because many of them cost more than real coins and they can't even be certified.

 

Why can't they be certified?

[physics-fan3.14]

Do aluminum coins tone? I can't recall having seen one with color. If they do tone, what is the mechanism (such as sulfur, etc.)

[MunkyMan95]

Does aluminum foil tone?

[mgoodm3]

Aluminum does got an oxide coating on it (white). It's more of a protective coating than a destructive (rust) type coating.

[RWB]

Aluminum is very reactive, but on exposure to air quickly forms aluminum oxide which is resistant to further chemical attack. Anything that breaks the original oxide layer will expose the coin or token to damage. In common use, moisture is the biggest enemy of preserving aluminum coins, and the paper of an album tends to hold moisture. It does not tone becuse the surface you see is the oxide, not the thin-film sulfates and sulfides commonly seen with silver and copper.

 

Although it takes a good impression at low relief, aluminum does not flow well under coining pressure. It also abrades easily to a powder which clogs dies. Some of the aircraft alloys would probably make good coins, but they are too expensive for use.

[SignatureSelect]

I actually collect Power of the Forse coins. The coins are made of aluminum. Everything these guys are saying is true. on a side note they scratch very easily and once they get a stain it can't be removed. there is almost no safe way to clean aluminum coins. I actually hate the fact that the coins are aluminum because many of them cost more than real coins and they can't even be certified.

 

Why can't they be certified?

 

I would just assume that a reputible TPG coin service would not grade a coin that is not either issued from a government or made from precious metal. Since the coins were issued By kenner with action figures and they are made of aluminum. They don't follow the previously stated guidelines I would assume they would need to follow to be certified.

[DC Dawg]

I would just assume that a reputible TPG coin service would not grade a coin that is not either issued from a government or made from precious metal. Since the coins were issued By kenner with action figures and they are made of aluminum. They don't follow the previously stated guidelines I would assume they would need to follow to be certified.

Ummm... TPGs grade Lincoln cents and they are 99.2% tin covered by copper. Neither tin nor copper are precious metals, yet they certify these coins.

 

Most modern coinage is made from non-precious metals and they can be certified.

 

Many TPGs will certify tokens and other commemorative issues by non-government entities. There's a thread on these forums that discuss an adventure with ICG, which was very interesting--especially when they certified a sample made during a class at an ANA convention!

 

ICG will not certify wooden nickels. But other than that, they will certify almost anything! I think this is a good thing, especially for those who do not collect "mainstream" items.

 

Scott

[Zoins]

I are a number of darkside coins made of aluminum. Just search for 'aluminum' under 'Coins & Paper Money' on eBay.

[zrlevin]

99.2% tin covered by copper

 

Cents are (I checked my facts this time) zinc and not tin. Hence the nickname Zincolns. It is beside the point however, as zinc is not a precious metal either.

[Oldtrader3]

Aluminum coins could be hard anodized which would protect them much better from wear, but the process would be too expensive for the small denominations that employ aluminum.

[DC Dawg]

99.2% tin covered by copper

 

Cents are (I checked my facts this time) zinc and not tin. Hence the nickname Zincolns. It is beside the point however, as zinc is not a precious metal either.

Oops... I did mean zinc!

 

That's what happens when I try to do this late at night!!

 

Scott

[cladking]

Aluminum may be the coinage material of the future. No, not for new series but for obsolete issues. Many people don't like these (especially in this country) because they are so light but there are hundreds of series that have already been issued. Like most modern coins they tend to be exceedinly common or distressingly scarce but this tendency is even pronounced with the aluminum coins. There are few of these that are actually scarce in all grades because they tend not to be redeemed when recalled since they are so low value that it's not worth the effort. The ones that escape the melting pot under these conditions tend to be in poor shape and tend to degrade further or even to be discarded.

 

Some of the nazi aluminum is especially tough but if you seek nice specimens you'll find many very scarce coins. The demand for most aluminum coins is even weaker than for other moderns.

[Architecht]

...Many are lost to feats of strength...

 

For some reason this just struck me as funny. Festivus challenge to the mint?

[cladking]

...Many are lost to feats of strength...

 

For some reason this just struck me as funny. Festivus challenge to the mint?

 

It's mostly children.

 

Someone discovers he can bend one in his hands and almost everyone is soon trying it.

 

You can really see this if you collect school lunch tokens. The ones for elementry schools are usually OK but most of the thinner ones for middle and high schools are bent or otherwise mangled. The same thing happens to circulating coinage but not all of it is intentional.