or the longest time, the three metals from which coins have been made are copper, silver and gold. We’ll admit that there have been some others, such as zinc, tin and aluminum, but will also comment that these are relatively new additions to the mix. We’ll even admit that in ancient days, the learned folks who made coins had realized how to make both bronze and brass alloys. But for the most part it was always copper, silver and gold. Curiously, we are going to make note of the fact that among those three, at least with United States coinage, the underlying metal is always
