Copper or not so copper coins?

Answer i): 1) Open up the CES software and when prompted, select Level 2. There are three options: Browse; Select and Search, by default the Browse option is selected. 2) By using the search option you can search for specific terms. Select the search option and type in bronze. A results list is generated and double-clicking on any material will produce its detailed description in the box on the right. Double-click on bronze to review its description and note down its price (given in Great Britain Pound per kilogram i.e. GBP/kg).

Figure 1: Obtaining information for Bronze using the search facility.

3) Repeat step 2) but this time type in low carbon steel or mild steel. Select low carbon steel from the results list and note down its cost from the description given. The price of bronze is: The price of mild steel is: 3.205 4.172 GBP /kg. 0.223 0.383 GBP /kg.

By converting the prices into pence per gram (p/g) gives: bronze: 0.3205 0.4172 p/g; mild steel: 0.0223 0.0383 p/g.

a) Material cost of bronze coins 1p coin Minimum cost = 3.56g x 0.3205 = 1.14p Maximum cost = 3.56 x 0.4172 = 1.49p So the cost of bronze used to make a 1p coin is 1.14 1.49p. 2p coin Minimum cost = 7.12g x 0.3205 = 2.28p Maximum cost = 7.12 x 0.4172 = 2.97p So the cost of bronze used to make a 2p coin is 2.28 2.97p. b) Material cost of mild steel coins 1p coin Minimum cost = 3.56g x 0.0223p = 0.08p Maximum cost = 3.56g x 0.0383 = 0.14p So the cost of mild steel used to make a 1p coin is: 0.08 0.14p. 2p coin Minimum cost = 7.12g x 0.0223p = 0.16p Maximum cost = 7.12 x 0.0383 = 0.27p So the cost of mild steel used to make in a 2p coin is 0.16 0.27p.

Answer ii) Thus, using bronze for coinage purposes costs more than the actual face value of the coin. By replacing bronze with a mild steel core, the costs are significantly reduced and the material costs involved are much lower than the face value of the coins. It must be noted for the latter that as the coins are copper plated the overall costs would be slightly increased to include further material costs (due to the very thin layer of copper) and the extra processing costs. Indeed copper-plated steel coins were introduced as a result of increasing metal prices on the world markets and hence as a cheaper alternative to bronze coins. The copper plating serves two main purposes: 1) it prevents the underlying steel from corrosion and 2) so that the coins appear aesthetically similar to their predecessors.

Answer iii) Using CES (follow steps 1-3 given in answer part i) and note the density values for bronze and mild steel from the respective descriptions given. Density of bronze: Density of mild steel: 8500 9000 kgm-3 7800 7900 kgm-3

The density of steel is lower than bronze, hence to maintain a similar mass and diameter of the coins, the copper plated coins are thicker than their bronze counterparts. The thicknesses1 for: 1p coins are: bronze = 1.52mm; copper-plated steel = 1.65mm 2p coins are: bronze = 1.85mm; copper-plated steel = 2.03mm

Answer iv) Using a mild steel core means that coins since 1992 are magnetic, hence the easiest way to distinguish between the pre-1992 and 1992- coins is by using a magnet.