Numismatic definitions
Like most fields of expertise, numismatics has its own lingo. Find the numismatic definition of a term by entering it in the field below.
Copper
Metallic element, chemical symbol Cu, widely used as a coinage medium for 2,500 years. Pure or almost pure copper was used for subsidiary coinage in many countries until the mid-nineteenth century, but has since been superseded by copper alloys which are cheaper and more durable: bronze (copper and tin), brass (copper and zinc), Bath metal or bell metal (low-grade copper and tin), aluminium-bronze (copper and aluminium), potin (copper, tin, lead and silver) or cupro-nickel (copper and nickel). Copper is also alloyed with gold to give it its reddish hue, and is normally alloyed with silver in coinage metals. When the copper exceeds the silver content the alloy is known as billon.
