Posted 01/14/2019 09:29 am
Why did we not see aluminum coins until the 20th century?
From Wikipedia:
Before then, aluminum was more valuable than silver or gold:
the cost to produce the small amount of aluminium made in the early 19th century was very high, higher than for gold or platinum. Bars of aluminium were exhibited alongside the French crown jewels at the Exposition Universelle of 1855, and Emperor Napoleon III of France was said to have reserved his few sets of aluminium dinner plates and eating utensils for his most honored guests.
Production costs using older methods did come down, but when aluminium was selected as the material for the cap/lightning rod to sit atop the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., it was still more expensive than silver.
In 1886, American Charles Hall, and Frenchman Paul Heroult independently invented a cost effective electrolytic process for refining aluminum. Hall's process was quickly commercialized in 1888 and became the first Alcoa factory.
From Wikipedia:
Before then, aluminum was more valuable than silver or gold:
the cost to produce the small amount of aluminium made in the early 19th century was very high, higher than for gold or platinum. Bars of aluminium were exhibited alongside the French crown jewels at the Exposition Universelle of 1855, and Emperor Napoleon III of France was said to have reserved his few sets of aluminium dinner plates and eating utensils for his most honored guests.
Production costs using older methods did come down, but when aluminium was selected as the material for the cap/lightning rod to sit atop the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., it was still more expensive than silver.
In 1886, American Charles Hall, and Frenchman Paul Heroult independently invented a cost effective electrolytic process for refining aluminum. Hall's process was quickly commercialized in 1888 and became the first Alcoa factory.
Edited by tdziemia
01/14/2019 09:49 am
01/14/2019 09:49 am
