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 Replies: 8 / Views: 2,329 |
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Valued Member
United States
178 Posts |
I recently acquired a Seated Justice - Ship token (Breton 1004) listed as LC-56B1, which is the 1815-dated variety struck on copper. I already possess a LC-56A2 in my collection, which is the 1812-dated variety struck on brass, and couldn't help but notice that my newly acquired token appears to have the same brassy-yellow colouration. For LC-56B, the brass (2) variety is significantly rarer than the copper (1) variety. Is it even possible to discern a token's composition based on its visual appearance? I understand that many factors can allow copper-based coinage to acquire a wide variety of colours from toning. However, my two examples possess nice detail, are problem-free, and are of similar grade allowing for ease of visual comparison. Pictured below are the two tokens. I took the photos in a manner to try and accurately capture their colours. LC-56B? on left and LC-56A2 on right   Any thoughts are appreciated! Cheers |
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
Not my area just wondering, is there a known weight difference? Maybe try a XRF test? John1  |
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Valued Member
 United States
178 Posts |
I have not been able to gather any information regarding weight other than the average weight of both varieties (in Charlton). An XRF would unequivocally assign the variety, but I do not have the means to conduct such a test. I was hoping that someone familiar with Breton 1004 or other brass/copper tokens would be able to chime in on potentially helpful visual cues.
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
I guess we will have to wait and see what other members say. John1 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
667 Posts |
My experience is that copper and brass tone to similar colors. If the piece has a yellowish green under tone then I tend to classify it as "brassy". If red tinged brown then "copper". Only an XRF will ultimately determine truth. Check with your local B+M shop they may have an XRF machine.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5244 Posts |
SPP-Ottawa has stated that the composition cannot reliably be determined from the visual appearance. He has done a number of tests with an XRF.
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Valued Member
United States
493 Posts |
Oriole, I agree, SPP-Ottawa has done extensive work on this topic using early large cents. Colour is not a reliable indicator of composition. Hopefully he'll chime in on this thread with a couple of comments.
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Moderator
Canada
10458 Posts |
Quote:
Is it even possible to discern a token's composition based on its visual appearance? No. I have tested a large number of tokens, working with Chris Faulkner and his token collection. Colour is NOT a reliable indication of composition. "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
178 Posts |
Thank you for all of your responses! This has been educational for me. Looks like I'm going to have to try to get my hands on an XRF!  Cheers |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 2,329 |
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Posted 02/28/2020 8:02 pm
