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 Replies: 73 / Views: 11,823 |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
There is ONE transuranium element that you CAN collect, albeit in small amounts.
That is Americium, element # 95, at. wt. 241 or 243. It is a radiation product extracted from spent fuel elements.
It is commonly found in smoke detectors. It will cost you about $2000 per gramme, but I guess that no one would sell you that much. There is about 0.28 microgrammes in a smoke detector.
So let's all go out and buy our smoke detectors, just to bust them up to add Americium to our collections. I think I will buy two, and actually use one for smoke detection!
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New Member
 United States
35 Posts |
Yep, and if you have one of those smoke detectors, you also therefore have Neptunium. Np is one of the elements in the Am-241 decay series, and it has a much longer half-life than Am-241, so it will build up over time. So, after about 20 years your sample will contain about 3% Np.
Now if only I could figure out how to make my hoard of copper pennies gradually turn into gold over time!
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New Member
United States
35 Posts |
Hi, it's been a few years. Hope y'all don't mind an occasional thread necromancy but I thought this was relevant. I've put my elements on-line here: http://www.omnicoin.com/collection/xphobeI finally found an antimony coin that didn't bust my budget (only because gxseries already had his and so wasn't bidding against me :P ), and I've put up photos of my Uranium medal. Tony Clayton very kindly sent me a scan of the original article "World's Coinage Uses 24 Chemical Elements". I was surprised to learn that as complete as Jay Rowe's collection was, it did not include Chromium or Manganese, both common elements used in WWII to make nickels (Canadian and US, respectively). |
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Moderator
 United States
189222 Posts |
Quote:
Hi, it's been a few years. Hope y'all don't mind an occasional thread necromancy but I thought this was relevant. It is your topic and it is relevant.  |
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
It's not a thread necro if it's the original poster.  This is among the coolest collections to appear here, and we're happy you've chosen to share your progress with us. Numismatics is a broad hobby, and this collection is eloquent proof of it. |
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Moderator
United States
189222 Posts |
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It's not a thread necro if it's the original poster. Well, unless it is an obvious self-serving bump.  However, sometimes even those are forgiven.  |
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Moderator
Canada
10460 Posts |
Very cool collection!! I also have the same 2008 Molybdenum medal as yours, in my collection (but I collecting mineral mining-related exonumia, not metals)...
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
Very cool collection. |
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New Member
United States
35 Posts |
SPP-Ottawa, has your molybdenum medal changed over the years? Mine originally had a bright silvery proof-like finish, but now it's a fine gray haze. I read that molybdenum does oxidize at high temperatures, but mine has been at room temp all these years. I've kept it in a mylar flip, so I know it's not PVC damage.
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Moderator
Canada
10460 Posts |
Mine remains unchanged... in an Aiir-Tite capsule.
"Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
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Valued Member
United States
204 Posts |
This is a really cool idea! I might start collecting coin elements soon!
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
I have finally found my reference to hydrogenium: Ref. P.117, 'British Coin Designs and Designers', by H.W.A. Linecar, publ. in 1977, G Bell & Sons, Portugal Street London. (ISBN 0 7135 1931 2). It is a metallic alloy of hydrogen dissolved in Palladium. Palladium has the ability to absorb over 600 times it's own volume in hydrogen at standard laboratory temperature and pressure. Thomas Graham conducted experiments in dissolving various gasses into metals such as in the storage of acetylene. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and Master Worker in The Royal Mint London during the years 1855 until 1869, and also Professor of Chemistry at the University College, London. He concluded that because so much Hydrogen was dissolved into the Palladium, that a metallic alloy had been formed, and further concluded that hydrogen must be a vaporized metal, because it alloyed into the Palladium. He proceeded to strike an off metal pattern Half Sovereign from the resulting alloy. The Russians proceeded further, and also struck some experimental coins and gold plated them, to stop the Hydrogen fro slowly gassing out. Mints proved to be the ideal place to carry out this sort of experimentation at the time. |
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Moderator
United States
189222 Posts |
The worthiest of necro-bumps. |
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Replies: 73 / Views: 11,823 |
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Posted 02/13/2011 10:36 pm
