Gilding metal
Gilding metal is a copper alloy, a brass, comprising 95% copper and 5% zinc. British Army Dress Regulations define gilding metal as “8 parts copper to 1 of zinc”.
Gilding metal is used for various purposes, including the jackets of bullets, driving bands on some artillery shells, as well as enameled badges and other jewellery. The sheet is widely used for craft metalworking by hammer working. It is also used particularly as a lower-cost training material for silversmiths. Starting in 1944, shell casings made of gilding metal were melted down by the United States Mint to be made into pennies. These pennies replaced the less popular steel cent of 1943, and the pennies of this composition were produced until 1946.
Gilding metal may be annealed by heating to between. It should be cooled slowly afterwards, to reduce risk of cracking.
