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This
is a unusual fantasy coin of Vatican, again a masterpiece production of Mr. Fred
Richard Zinkann. It is a Papal 3 Ducat, Pope Mathew I with 25mm in
diameter. It was minted in 1989. There is no Pope named Mathew in the
history. Most of the
the unusual metal struck for Mr. Zinkann were from Mintmaster Coining of
Franklin Park. Most of these coins produced in unusual metals over the past
10 years were sold or given to museums. He has kept one of each, for his own
reference. The blanks were very expensive, especially the chromium and
rhenium. Most of the unusual metal used by Mr. Zinkann were mostly stable at
room temperature. They do not oxidize readily. That is one of the reasons
that he tried them as coinage. Another reason was their densities, some of
which are denser than silver. Designs imprinted on them will last many
decades.
Chromium
is a hard white metal which is unsuitable for coinage, but
which has been used to plate steel coins. Hafnium
has few uses except in the nuclear industry, where its high
neutron capture cross-section makes it useful for control rods in some
nuclear reactors. Rhenium
is very scarce white metal. Tantalum
is a hard blue-coloured metal with a very high melting point. Too expensive
and difficult to work for coinage.
Titanium is a strong light metal that is corrosion resistant.
It could be used for coins, and has been used to strike medals. However,
there are problems in producing a sheet of the metal with a smooth enough
surface for coinage purposes, and this increases the cost of producing coins
in bulk using this metal. |
