edited by MARYVIRGINIAORNA, 0.S.U
thumbnail fketchef Metal Substitutions in Wartime Coinages
CDllege of New Rochelle New Rochelle. NY 10801
Colnaae Metal C h a m s Brouaht About bv World Wars I and II'
Hugh A. Akers Country
Lamar University Beaumont, TX 77710
Auslria
With the trend towards inclusion of more descriptive material in chemistry, many texts have, in addition to mmtioning uses of specific elements, also included infi~rmationon the sources and distribution of the annronriate raw materials. There are often comments on thezfec'ts of strategic supply interruptions, using the recent oil embargo as an example. For instructors interested in this area there are actual physical examples of the effects of s u ~ ~interru~tions lv preserved in the cdinage of many countries. &rent &dents h e t m young to remember that because of wartime metal demands. United States cents of 1943 were made of zinc-coated steel and fivecent pieces (called "five-cent peaces" in some circles) during World War I1 were made of a copper-silver-magnesium alloy. Under normal circumstances a number of factors such as cost, inertness, availability, appearance, and hardness are involved in the selection of a metal or alloy used for coinage. During wartime, with supply interruptions and armament production taking precedence over domestic requirements, there was a redefining of the relative \.slues of tht, various metals. Metal price changrs often complicated the situation; however, in most instances the prices of domestically produced metals were "fixed" durine wartime. Theenclusrd table lists some of the significant &inage changes brought about by World Wars I and 11. Numerous other chanees had a less sienificant effect of the circulating coinage as j;dged by mintage fieures. In most of the examnles listed. there was a return after the war to the pre-war coinage metal. For many countries wartime adaptations included making smaller, thinner, or holed coins to save vital supplies, while in other cases there were no wartime coins minted or there was a shift to paper currency. Inflation was a major factor in the choice of coinage metal in several countries. Gradual debasement of the coinage did not occur during the World Wars; rather, there was a complete switch in metal content from the strategic andor imported metals to less strategic, domestically produced metals. Significant debasement was often a postwar phenomenon, as in Great Britain in 1920 and 1947. During the World Wars there actually was an increase in mintage of silver coins in Canad& Great Britain, and the United States. Because of limited supplies, Sweden produced only a portion of its wartime coinage from silver (see table). Scrap material was frequently used for coinage: the United States produced one-cent pieces during 1944 and 1945 from salvaged shell casings. Prewar coinages were often produced from various combinations of copper, nickel, and tin. During wartime these elements also found increased importance as components of numerous steels and alloys used for shell casings. Central ~~
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Belgium
Denomination
War
2 Heller 20 Heller 5. 10. 25 Centlme
50 Centime Bulgaria Canada Denmark
France Germany
Hungary
Japan Netherlands
Norway Romania Sweden Switzerland
1 Franc 10. 20 Stotinki 1 Lev 5 Cent 1.2.5 Ore 1.2.5 Ore 10, 25 Ore (several) 1 Pfennig 5. 10 Pfennig 1 Pfennig 5. 10 Pfennig 2 Filler 2 Filler 20 Filler 1.5, lOSen 1 Cent 5 Cent 10,25 Cent 1, 2, 5 Ore 10, 25, 50 Ore 2 Lei 20 Lei ~
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1, 2, 5 Ore lo, 25. 50 Ore 1, 2 Centime
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Coinage Metal Prior During cu Ni Cu-Ni Ag Ni Cu-Ni Cu-Ni Ni bronze bronze Cu-Ni (various) cu Cu-Ni bronze Al-bronze bronze bronre Ni bronze bronze CwNi Ag bronze Clr-Ni Clr-Ni Ni-brass bronze Ag bronze
Fe
Fe zn zn Zn zn Fe Cu-Zn. Fe Fe Zn. Ai zn Ai, Zn Al Fe Zn zn Fe zn Fe Al, Sn-Zn zn zn zn Fe zn zn
zn Fe Ni-bronze, Ag Zn
a Data and metal deswiptians from: Harris. R. P.. "A Guide Bmk 01 Modern Evmpean Coins," Whitman Pub1 Co.. Racine, WI. 1985; Krause, C. L. and Mirhler. C., "Standsrd catalw of Wwld Colno," Krause Publlcatlons,lola. WI, 3972.
Eurone nroduces some comer while most of the world's nickel comes &om Canada. 110; is readily available in Central Europe. as is zinc from deposits in Poland and Germanv. Consequkntly, areas dominated by the Central and ~ x i s b o w e r s had iron and zinc coinages during the World Wars. These changes were suitable for emergency coinages only. Many of the iron alloys used for World War I coinages oxidized readily, while zinc coins were rather soft. World War I1 created tin shortages in much of the world, but because Japan controlled the major tin sources in southeast Asia this metal was less strategic to the Japanese, who used it as a major component in alloys for wartime coinage.
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Brief descriptions of phenomena, topics. facts, etc., which chemlcal educators have found to be of interest in their teaching, are presented in this column in a "note type" format.
Volume 61
Number 1 January 1984
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47
