CHEMISTRY PROJECT

COIN ANALYSIS

S.V.PRITISH
XII-‘D’
INTRODUCTION

THEORY

COIN ANALYSIS

EXPERIMENT

1. AIM

2. MATERIALS REQUIRED

3. PROCEDURE

4. RESULT

CONCLUSION

BIBILOGRAGHY
INTRODUCTION

COINS-A HISTORCAL APPROACH

The history of coins extends from ancient times to the present, and is
related to economic history, the history of minting technologies, the
history shown by the images on coins, and the history of coin collecting.
Coins are still widely used for monetary and other purposes. Ancient
India in circa 6th century BCE, was one of the earliest issuers of coins in
the world.

Since that time, coins have been the most universal embodiment
of money. These first coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring
pale yellow mixture of gold and silver that was further alloyed with silver
and copper. Coins were first made of scraps of metal. Ancient coins
were produced through a process of hitting a hammer positioned over
an anvil. The rich iconography of the obverse of the early electrum coins
contrasts with the dull appearance of their reverse which usually carries
only punch marks. The shape and number of these punches varied
according to their denomination and weight-standard. The type of
mintage method (being hammered, milled or cast) does limit the
materials which can be used for the coin. For example, antimony coins,
(which are very rare) are nearly always cast examples, because of the
brittle nature of the metal, and thus it would break if deformed, which is a
key part of the milling and hammering process. Coins today are of great
value and are used in our day-to-day lives.
THEORY
A coin is a small, flat, (usually, depending on the country or value) round
piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange
or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large
quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often
issued by a government.

Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic

materials. They are usually disc shaped. Coins made of valuable metal
are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used
as money in everyday transactions, circulating alongside banknotes.
Usually the highest value coin in circulation (i.e. excluding bullion coins)
is worth less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the
face value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the
value of the metal they contain, for example due to inflation. Each
country institutes strict guidelines for the composition of its currency. The
outside vendors who provide the metal or "stock" to the mint must follow
these guidelines to the letter. Originally, the U.S. penny (or cent) was
composed of 95% copper and 5% zinc. In 1982, this composition was
changed to copper-plated zinc. A zinc alloy with traces of copper
constitutes the core of the coin, while the outer surface
is electroplated with copper. Five-cent coins are composed of
cupronickel, an alloy of75 % copper and 25% nickel. Dimes, quarters,
half dollars, and dollar coins are made from three layers of metal that
have been bonded or "cladded" together. The outer layer is 75% copper
and 25% nickel, while the core is pure copper.
COIN ANALYSIS
Coin analysis is the process by which one can determine the types of
metal cations in a particular coin. This is mainly used to check for
counterfeit coins. The value and purity of the coin can also be
determined by this method. There are numerous ways in which this
method can be carried out. We even have machines like coin detectors
to carry out this process. In this project we would analyse oins made of
simple metals of nickel, copper or silver by means of electrolytic process.
Using a known metal of higher reactivity than the coin taken and an
electrolyte, a circuit is connected. Once the ion drift takes place,
corresponding indicator added to the electrolyte to test for the presence
of these simple metal cations.
EXPERIMENT

AIM

To identify the presence of different metal ions in coins.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

Wire, battery, Coins strip, Whattmann filter paper, Potassium

Nitrate Solution, Porcelain Tile, Potassium, Potassium Ferrocyanide,
Di Methyl Glyoxime.
PROCEDURE

 Prepare a saturated solution of potassium nitrate to be used as

electrolyte.

 Soak a whattmann filter paper completely in this and place it on a

clean dry porcelain tile.
 Now, place the coin and aluminium strip on the filter paper.

 Attach coin to positive terminal of battery and aluminium strip to

negative terminal.

 Pass current through the strip for about 15-20 minutes

 Remove the coin and aluminium strip.
RESULT

 Now add

EXPERIMENT OBSERVATION INFERENCE

Spray potassium Blue colour Presence of

Ferrocyanide copper

Add di methyl Pink colour Presence of

glyoxime nickel
CONCLUSION

 The given coin contains copper and nickel ions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin#History
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coins
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_metals#Chemical_elements_
used_in_circulating_coins
 http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Coin.html