What are coins made from? For centuries in

What are coins made from? For centuries in the United Kingdom we have used metal to make coins, but this wasn’t always the case. In the past people did not have coins at all. Instead they would use things like shells, beads, or feathers to pay for their goods. This still happens in some parts of the world today.

What are the properties of coins? Coins have certain characteristics. For example, they are strong. What others can you think of? Properties of coins

Magnetism Experiment Create a tally chart like the one below to record your results.

Copper Nickel Zinc Click to change What metals are coins in the United Kingdom made from?

Where else might you find these metals? Copper Nickel Zinc

We will now investigate these metals to try and find out why some coins are magnetic and some are not.

Metals used to make United Kingdom coins Which metal do you think would be best to make coins and why? 2. Are there any problems with any of the metals? (i.e. things that would make the metal not good for making coins from) 3. Could these problems be solved? How?

Making the strip Click on the image to see how a strip of alloy metal is made

Alloy Metals There are four alloys the Royal Mint uses to make United Kingdom coins. Do any of the alloys match what you would have chosen? What do you notice about the percentage of metals used in each alloy? 3. What impact does making an alloy have on the cost? 4. Is there any evidence to explain why some coins are not magnetic and some are not?

Properties of Steel What advantages are there to using steel to make coins instead of alloys? What disadvantages are there? How might those disadvantages be overcome?

Brass plated steel Copper plated steel Nickel plated steel Plated Steel The United Kingdom now makes its 1p, 2p, 5p and 10p coins from plated steel. In order to get the right colour for the coin and protect the steel from rusting, 1p and 2p coins are plated with copper and 5p and 10p coins with nickel. Plating Steel

A good poster should: Grab the reader’s attention with colours and a catchy title 2. Tell the reader what the subject of the poster is, in this case the properties of coins 3. Be organised in to sections so that the information is quick and easy to read (for example, magnetism, cost, colour) 4. Include interesting facts about the subject 5. Include the results of your experiment 6. You might also want to write a conclusion. Don’t forget to talk about your magnetism experiment and your results! Example posters Task: create a poster explaining the properties of coins and the different ways they are made.