Question

What are coinage metals.

Answer 1

Coinage metals are part of group of three malleable ductile transition metals forming group 11 of the periodic table copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au) which are used for making coins. Their outer electronic configurations have the form nd ¹⁰(n+1)s ¹. Although this is similar to that of alkali metals, the coinage metals all have much higher ionization energies and higher standard electrode potentials. Thus, they are much more difficult to oxidize and are more resistant to corrosion making them ideal for making coins.