11-21-2005, 01:42 AM
Quote:Should one bother to use this material for some items and yellow brass for others or isn't it worthwhile?
Well like I said, all the original pieces I have in my collection don't look significantly different from regular 70:30 yellow brass, so I don't see any reason to go to the trouble and expense to get brass that has a slightly lower zinc content unless your intent is to go for metalurgical accuracy over all else.
It seems to me that a variance of 5% among the sample of metal tested isn't exactly small, so makes me wonder just how strict the 'recipe' for making brass really was anyway. It must also be borne in mind that if the sample population that resulted in the 15-20% zinc-content data was small, it may not be reasonable to take it as anything other than a very general idea of the composition of orichalcum.
I have a couple of orichalcum coins (a Dupondius and a Sestertius) that, judging by their colors, appear to have quite different zinc contents; one is quite yellow- moreso than modern yellow brass- and one that is rather red-gold, so I'd bet their zinc contents are outside the 15-20% range.
Mike- do you know how many pieces were tested to yield the 15-20% zinc range you mention?
See FABRICA ROMANORVM Recreations in the Marketplace for custom helmets, armour, swords and more!
