| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials Science & Technology 2020
|
| Symposium
|
Art and Cultural Heritage: Discoveries and Education
|
| Presentation Title |
Compositional and Structural Analysis of Early Chinese Currencies |
| Author(s) |
Michael Wall, Joseph Elisha McCool, Caroline G. White, Yuheng Wang, Marcus L. Young |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Marcus L. Young |
| Abstract Scope |
Non-destructive analysis using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy was performed to determine the composition and structure of various ancient Chinese currencies, including one Knife Money coin from the Zhou Dynasty and twelve square-holed coins from the Tang and Song Dynasties, is presented. The currency was generally found to be composed of primarily a Cu-based alloy with small amounts of Pb and Sn and trace amounts of other elements and oxides. The main phase present in all the coins is an FCC Cu-based alloy along with FCC reflections from the traces of Pb. The immiscible Pb within these Cu-based alloys was found to be distributed as small globules or islands ranging between 10-80 ìm and scattered throughout the Cu-based matrix. Results from this study are compared with results on similar coins in the same Dynasty periods. |