Editing Gilding metal

{{Short description|Brass composed of copper and a small amount of zinc}}
[[File:Gilding metal jug.jpg|thumb|[[Raising (metalworking)|Raised]] jug, in gilding metal. Made in an English school metalwork class, 1970s–1980s]]
'''Gilding metal''' is a form of [[brass]] (an alloy of [[copper]] and [[zinc]]) with a much higher copper content than zinc content. Exact figures range from 95% copper and 5% zinc<ref name="Untracht, Gilding metal" >{{Cite book
  |title=Metal Techniques for Craftsmen 
  |last=Untracht  |first=Oppi
  |author-link=Oppi Untracht
  |year=1968
  |isbn=0-7091-0723-4
  |ref={{harvid|Untracht}}
  |page=18
|publisher=Doubleday }}</ref> to “8 parts copper to 1 of zinc” (11% zinc) in [[British Army]] Dress Regulations.<ref>War Office (1904) ''Dress Regulations for the Officers of the Army (Including the Militia)''. London: [[HMSO]]. p. 4</ref>

Gilding metal is used for various purposes, including the [[Full metal jacket bullet|jackets]] of [[bullet]]s, [[driving band]]s on some [[artillery shell]]s,<ref >{{Cite web
  |url=http://www.gd-ots.com/sitepages/artillery.html
  |title=105mm Advanced Cannon Artillery Ammunition Program (ACA2P) § 155mm M107
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307111507/http://www.gd-ots.com/sitepages/artillery.html
  |archive-date=7 March 2007
}}</ref> as well as [[painted enamel|enamel]]ed [[badge]]s and other [[jewellery]]. The sheet is widely used for craft metalworking by hammer working.<ref name="Untracht, Gilding metal" /> It is also used particularly as a lower-cost training material for [[silversmith]]s.  Starting in 1944, [[shell casings]] made of gilding metal were melted down by the [[United States Mint]] to be made into [[Penny (United States coin)|pennies]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lincolncents.net/1943-lincoln-steel-cent/|title=1943 Steel Cent {{!}} Lincoln Steel Penny|date=8 August 2009 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-23}}</ref>  These pennies replaced the less popular [[1943 steel cent|steel cent]] of 1943, and the pennies of this composition were produced until 1946.

Gilding metal was also used for the "bronze" [[Olympic medal]] at the [[2020 Summer Olympics]] held in Tokyo, Japan in 2021.<ref >{{Cite web
  |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/31/sport/olympic-medals-value-explainer-scli-intl/index.html
  |title=How much are Olympic medals worth?
  |website=[[CNN]]
 |date=31 July 2021
 |language=en-US
  |access-date=2021-08-01
}}</ref>

Gilding metal may be [[Annealing (metallurgy)|annealed]] by heating to between {{convert|800|-|1450|F|C}}.<ref >{{harvnb|Untracht|page=49–50}}</ref> It should be cooled slowly afterwards, to reduce risk of [[crack (fracture)|crack]]ing.<ref >{{harvnb|Untracht|page=246}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Pinchbeck alloy]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Copper alloys]]
[[Category:Brass]]
[[Category:Ammunition]]


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