g’day Jennifer
There is much available about Electrum - some of it is
here:
http://www.limunltd.com/numismatica/articles/electrum-coins.html The
word “Electrum” doesn’t just refer to the 50/50 Au/Ag binary alloy.
cheers
Allan Heywood
Pliny put electrum at 80%Au to 20%Ag. Davidson says native Au/Ag
alloys have 20% or more Ag with 70/30% common. Musuem research often
puts it at 60% to 40%. The variation is due to the fact that
electrum is a name given to naturally occurring alloys, and
consequently would vary from place to place.20
Any alloy composed of gold and silver ONLY can be called electrum,
which is traditionally described as pale yellow with a greenish
tint. Any Au/Ag alloy with 50% or more Ag will be white (i.e., 12K
at best). All Au/Ag alloys with 30% or more Ag will have a melting
point of 1000 degrees Centigrade.
Janet in Jerusalem
Actually…
Manu ancient electrum articles contain small amounts of platinum and
other metals, including copper and zinc!
Tony Konrath