Crown gold is a 22 karat (kt)

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

used in the crown coin introduced in England in 1526 (by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

). In this alloy, the proportion of gold is 22 parts out of 24 (91.667% gold). Crown gold is appreciably less prone to wear than the softer 23 kt gold of earlier

gold sovereign The sovereign is a British gold coin with a nominal value of one pound sterling (£1) and contains of pure gold. Struck since 1817, it was originally a circulating coin that was accepted in Britain and elsewhere in the world; it is now a ...

s — an important point for coins intended for everyday use in circulation.

Alloying metal

The alloying metal in England is traditionally restricted to

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

. Copper is still used for the current British

. An exception was the gold sovereign of 1887, when 1.25%

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

, replacing the same weight of copper, was used to gain a better effigy of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

for the

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

of her reign. Elsewhere, both copper and silver have been used in varying proportions.

Circulating coins

In the United States until 1834, gold circulating coins were minted in 22 kt crown gold using about 6% silver as well as copper. From 1834, the fineness of U.S. coin gold was decreased from the 22 kt crown gold standard to 0.8992 fine (21.58 kt); and in 1837 to 0.900 fine (21.60 kt exactly). This 90% gold–copper alloy continued in the U.S. from 1837 until gold coins were removed from circulation in the U.S. in 1933. The South African

Krugerrand The Krugerrand (; ) is a South African coin, first minted on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by Rand Refinery and the South African Mint. The name is a compound of '' Paul Kruger'', the former President of the South ...

, first produced in 1967, is produced in the traditional crown gold recipe of 22 kt gold, with the remainder copper, because it was originally intended to circulate as currency.

Bullion coins

Most current gold coinage is intended as

bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from ...

and not designed for circulation, so the requirement for a hard alloy is much less. Gold bullion coins are commonly 24 kt, 0.999, 0.9999, or even 0.99999

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...

in the case of the

Canadian Gold Maple Leaf The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf (GML; ) is a gold coin, gold bullion coin that is issued annually by the Government of Canada. It is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint. The Gold Maple Leaf is legal tender with a face value of 50 Canadian dollars. ...

. Some bullion coins have stayed with the traditional crown gold standard, including the British sovereign, the

, and

American Gold Eagle The American Gold Eagle is an official gold bullion coin of the United States. Authorized under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, it was first released by the United States Mint in 1986. Because the term "eagle" also is the official United St ...

References

External links

Metal Used in Coins and Medals by Tony Clayton
{{Jewellery Gold Coins Precious metal alloys Numismatics History of British coinage Coinage metals and alloys

Alloying metal

Circulating coins

Bullion coins

See also

References

External links