Sterling versis coin silver

[pathfinder]

When my father passed, about the only thing he left us kids and grandkids were some coins.

Nothing to retire on or even "write home about",just a bunch of silver, all pre 1962. I have @ 125 quarters and 30 half dollars.

I've watched H. House make inlay's from coins,and wondered,how does it compare to Sterling? In other word's, if you mixed the two on a gun, could you see a difference.

With the price of silver, would a thumb piece of sterling be out of place with forestock inlays in coin?

[steg49]

I think you would notice the difference, coin silver will tarnish (turn a blueish color) over time.  I have used coin silver and within three years it begins to show color. Sterling is formulated not to tarnish.  Just my opinion and observation of coin silver.  If you melt the coin silver (about 90% silver) you will get a slag of copper and othe metals floating on the top of the silver.  steg49

[JTR]

Personally, I wouldn't use the coins as inlays. First of all they're way too thick, and some of the coins may well have a collector value beyond just the silver value, so I'd sell them and buy silver sheet for inlays.
Coin silver is a different color than sterling after it ages for awhile, and will tarnish all the way to black given time. If you don't want your inlays to tarnish, use fine silver.

John

[Shootrj2003]

Well,
 Ignoring the value of the coins as coins,I would think that regular cleaning and wax application would keep the tarnish from occurring,as this is normal gun maintenance? I was not ,however aware that sterling would not tarnish which is of course ,a plus.I have probably cost myself money in the past,as if I needed a silver sight and had a quarter of silver it would be hacked up and hammered up in a heartbeat!Sorry coin guys!

[pathfinder]

The thickness is taken care of when ya beat it! I have a Bedford built in the '60's with silver inlay 's and ribbon wire that was tarnished when I received throw gun,didn't know 75% was they untill I cleaned it!

Isn't the opposite true, coin is formulated NOT to tarnish?

I had the coins looked at,nothing worth keeping as a collector piece. Quarters @ $6.00 each, halves @ $12.00.

[davec2]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble here, but fine silver, coin silver, sterling silver....they will ALL tarnish to black with time.  The rate depends on the surrounding environment (especially sulfur), how much handling the silver is exposed to, etc.  There are other silver alloys that will "resist" tarnishing.  One has a very small amount of germanium alloyed in it and another has a couple of percent of beryllium.

And if you melt coin silver, you don't get "a slag of copper and other metals floating on top".  As completely miscible alloying elements, the copper and silver cannot separate.  What you get is a small amount of copper and silver oxide that form, at high temperature, with atmospheric oxygen and float on the surface.  A pinch of powdered borax will gather the oxides up in a molten borax glass and leave a shining button of molten coin silver.

[Shootrj2003]

I' make use of the silver in the coins Pathfinder !that's just me!that's why I look out for silver coins in my change.

[smart dog]

I think you would notice the difference, coin silver will tarnish (turn a blueish color) over time.  I have used coin silver and within three years it begins to show color. Sterling is formulated not to tarnish.  Just my opinion and observation of coin silver.  If you melt the coin silver (about 90% silver) you will get a slag of copper and othe metals floating on the top of the silver.  steg49

Hi Folks,
Unfortunately, the portion of the statement above about sterling is not true.  Sterling silver contains copper to give the alloy strength and wear resistance that fine silver lacks.  It is not formulated to resist tarnishing. However, the copper increases the rate of tarnishing compared with fine silver when it is exposed to certain environmental conditions (particularly if it comes in contact with sulphur compounds).  The more copper alloy added to the silver, the faster tarnishing occurs.  Consequently, coin silver will tarnish faster if it has more copper compared with sterling.  Fine silver will tarnish the slowest.  There are alloys of silver such as Argentum that are formulated to resist firescale and tarnishing, but they eventually will tarnish.  I say this based on quite a bit of experience with different silver alloys.

dave

[JTR]

Guess I should have said tarnish as quickly ..... 

John

[Shootrj2003]

I still say if you clean and wax you won't have to worry about it.

[Mark Elliott]

I have used coin silver and sterling silver sheet.   I can see no practical difference between them.   There is only about 4% difference in silver content.   To use coins,  you will have to beat them or roll them out to the required thickness.    It would probably be easier to just send your silver coins to a recycler and get sterling sheet back in return.    That is what I did.   I sold all my silver coins and scrap and bought sterling sheet.    There are a couple sets of sterling flatware I am due to inherit.   When I do,  they are also going to the recycler to get mill product for a silver mounted rifle.   After all,  who needs actual silverware these days.   Doesn't stainless steel work just fine?

With regard to tarnishing,  if you handle the gun every once in a while,   the silver won't have a chance to tarnish.   Nothing polishes brass and silver like handling it with bare hands.   I have to wear gloves when handling original guns I am restoring so that I don't polish the patina off the brass or silver.    If you do need to remove the tarnish from either,  the quickest way to do it is wipe it off with Ballistol.   The tarnish will just disappear before your eyes without removing any metal. 

[Captchee]

Here is my 2 cents pathfinder
 Myself I see very little difference between coil and sterling .
 Use the coins .
 No need to send them off .  Just hammer them out doesn’t take long  to do
 The wrist inlay on my Hudson valley  I made from a old 1932 liberty dollar  that was very worn from circulation. To the point  lady liberty was just a shape .
  Again use what you have  because you have it

[Tim Crosby]

 
   Do a search on coin silver here and see if it helps.

   http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?action=search2


  Tim C.

[JCKelly]

Listen to Captchee and davec2

I believe that to be really authentic one really should use inlays pounded out of old coins, as that is what would have been the 18th Century practice. Trade silver was often made that way. $#*! of a lot easier to find an old, worn quarter or half dollar than mess around & buy sterling.

American pre-Lyndon coins usually 90%silver 10%copper; sterling 92.5%silver 7.5%copper.

Silver was considered a noble metal prior to the industrial revolution. Specifically, prior to widespread use of "stone coal", which when burnt releases a lot of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. The element Silver, and alloys of silver, tarnish in our Industrial Air to form silver sulphide. That is the black stuff.

I learnt the distressing way that wood, specifically an old pine table from Samuel Hambleton's plantation, will tarnish silver plate. On one's Sharps 4bbl derringer.

There are no doubt people  so familiar with silver-copper alloys that they can tell the difference by color of the tarnished item. Yeah.

Lordalmighty just hammer out a quarter. Heat it dull red now & again w your propane torch & quench in water. Then hammer on.

[Danny H.]

davec2, are you just using the Borax you buy in the laundry detergent aisle?

P.S. Love your work,been a fan for some time.

[Shootrj2003]

Yes,the borax in the laundry aisle(20 mule team Borax-remember Death Vally Days?I think that's where they get it)good stuff to have around for forging and other uses.

[Robby]

I recently purchased a sheet of sterling silver from the same guy I always do. He supplies a local college book store. I cut out my inlay, an oval, about 1-1/2"x 2-1/4", annealed it the usual way. It had a mottled appearance and when I tried to form it to contour it was stiff, so I warmed it up again and quenched it this time and it cracked. It was hard as rock and had a coppery look in the crack. I have no idea what kind of material this could have been. when received it looked and felt like the sterling I had always bought. Vender has no idea either, and took it back, no problem.
I'm mystified, any ideas
Robby

[pathfinder]

I cant help at all Robby! But I guess my short answer is, use the coin as if it were Sterling.

Too let you know how much I didn't know, I thought Sterling was 100% silver! THAT'S why I come here for answers.

Suppose I should have taken Curly Gostomsky's lead, he used sanded pre '64 quarters as thumb pieces. George's outline is just a shadow. Kinda cool.

[davec2]

Danny H.  - Yes, 20 Mule Team Borax from the laundry isle.  This is the hydrated version and works fine for fluxing solder joints or casting melts.

Robby - Sounds like the silver was contaminated with lead or zinc.  This sometimes happens during the refining process from scrap.  The batch would need to be re-refined to remove the contaminants.  Worth doing for gold.  I usually throw contaminated silver away...not worth the trouble and chemicals to save it (unless you have a $#*! of a lot of it.)

[kutter]

Any of the pre-64 US 'silver' coins are 90% silver content.
 Even the few made after '64 that still had some silver content were 40%  The Kennedy 1/2$ up to '70,,the Eisenhower 1$ '71 to '75(?)
..even the WW2 nickels are 35% silver.
If they have no collector value and only silver content value (melt value) use them for inlays.
You can turn them over to a coin/precious metal recycler for melt value and sometimes get sheet stock sterling or coin silver in exchange.
But there will be a cost involved as the recycler has to make a profit too and will take a cut of the value.

Sheet stock can leave you with waste too as you cut out ovals and circles from the sheet. Those little trimmings add up. Of course you can always recycle them back to the same place again or melt them down yourself.

Silver work hardens very quickly while being hammered or bent especially the lower alloys. Anneal it often.

..and as already pointed out,,they all tarnish eventually even 99Fine.


It's good that it tarnishes,,that's what makes the engraved markings on the inlays look so nice on an older piece that's been handled and used. Same as with brass.

[Pvt. Lon Grifle]

I have several rifles with half dollar/dollar coin silver inlayed as hunter 's moons on cheekpieces.  Sure they tarnish, but a few swipes of my thumb and they are as new. That is why silver blade fronts sights are so nice also. Nothing shows as nicely  in forest gloom as a silver  front sight,...... well, maybe ivory. Lon

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I like using the coin silver for front sight blades!!  $8.00 quarter makes a bunch of blades. And they do shine is the shade

[JTR]

There are no doubt people  so familiar with silver-copper alloys that they can tell the difference by color of the tarnished item. Yeah.

So you honestly can’t see a difference in color?
To me, there’s a subtle but distinct color difference between them in their untarnished state.

John

[Pete G.]

Coin silver is historically correct for most inlays. Worn or junk coins are perfect to hammer out thin. Juat anneal often.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Any of the pre-64 US 'silver' coins are 90% silver content.
 Even the few made after '64 that still had some silver content were 40%  The Kennedy 1/2$ up to '70,,the Eisenhower 1$ '71 to '75(?)
..even the WW2 nickels are 35% silver.
If they have no collector value and only silver content value (melt value) use them for inlays.
You can turn them over to a coin/precious metal recycler for melt value and sometimes get sheet stock sterling or coin silver in exchange.
But there will be a cost involved as the recycler has to make a profit too and will take a cut of the value.

Sheet stock can leave you with waste too as you cut out ovals and circles from the sheet. Those little trimmings add up. Of course you can always recycle them back to the same place again or melt them down yourself.

Silver work hardens very quickly while being hammered or bent especially the lower alloys. Anneal it often.

..and as already pointed out,,they all tarnish eventually even 99Fine.


It's good that it tarnishes,,that's what makes the engraved markings on the inlays look so nice on an older piece that's been handled and used. Same as with brass.

I agree with all this. If I had silver coins I'd use them, but to me getting Sterling .925 is much easier than getting hold of silver coins .900 these days. And I can get it in the thickness I want. Sterling is at the lowest I've seen it in a long time $28. The last time I got it it was about $35.

Like Dr. Tim Boone I've started using it for my front sights. It seems to be easier for me to see even in low light.

All this being said Pathfinder, if you got silver coins by all means use them. Or send them to me.