Should it be magnetic?

[Stu W]

Hello,

Can anyone advise if an 18 year Long Service medal should be magnetic? I understand that early issue 18 year Long Service medals were made of German silver and given a heavy silver wash. Later models were made from zinc with a light wash. I know zinc isn't magnetic. How about German silver?

Thanks in advance for whatever assistance is forthcoming.

Regards,
Stu

[keifer kahn]

German silver is also known as "Neusilber"
EK Frames are typically made from it.

Its basically Nickel Silver and is an alloy comprised of nickel,copper and zink.

Its "non" magnetic.

[Stu W]

Thanks

Thanks very much.

Regards,
Stu

[khstover]

yes it should be!!!

Hi,

Nickel is a magnetic metal! See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel

Regards,

Kevin

[Stu W]

Thanks

Hello Kevin,

Thanks to you also for your response and the link.

Regards,
Stu

[Darrell]

German silver is also known as "Neusilber"
EK Frames are typically made from it.

Its basically Nickel Silver and is an alloy comprised of nickel,copper and zink.

Its "non" magnetic.

Nickle is magnetic in it 100% pure form, however like the US coins (which is majority % Cu) are not.

What % are the 18 year service medal Ni? I would assume NOT 100%, but a mere plating. That being said no = magnetic?

Can someone actually check one in there collections to confirm?

[keifer kahn]

Darrel is right,


The question was, "Is german silver magnetic?"

Not is "Nickel magnetic?"

This is where some peoples responses confuse others,it annoys me when people fly in with answers and dont understand the subject.



We are talking about an alloy here not a chunk of 100% nickel pulled from the ground and turned directly into a medal.


Nickel along with iron and cobalt are also known as the "magnetic triad".

Nickel is highly corrosive resistant and is used in a lot of industrial magnets.

But in the case of german silver the percentage of nickel is too low to make the alloy magnetic.

I add that if german silver was magnetic then every Neusilber Ek frame should stick to a magnet.

Ek frames are 100% NON MAGNETIC.

[SurvivingPanzer]

Ek frames are 100% NON MAGNETIC.

Newb question here but are not the cores of EKs iron, which is magnetic? I ask because if you have a big enough magnet could you get a false positive on a EK frame because the magnetic picks up on the iron core?

[keifer kahn]

Hi SP,
I know exactly the phenomenom you are talking about.
There is a distinct difference between direct magnetism and "illusionary magnetism". Try sticking a magnet on a ferrous based metal and then try it with reasonable thick non magnetic barrier (brass for example) between the magnet and and see the difference in the magnets attraction.Keep increasing the thickness and eventually the magnetism gets weaker and weaker.

Also,

Try the magnet test on the frame of a brass cored ek.

or on the frame of a dissasembled ek without a core.

Hard i know if you are not privy to either but it will show my point.

One other way on your normal Ek(iron centre,neusilber frame) is to try picking an ek up with the points of the corners of the frame with a magnet.This proximity removes any "illusionary magnetism" from the core.
Then,
Try then picking up an ek by the iron core with a magnet.You wont have a problem.


Im starting to think i need to get a life,

[mrg]

Hi Guys should be NON magnetic. All the best

[Tom Yanacek]

The majority of Wehrmacht Long Service Awards (25,18, 12, and 4 year) were die struck from iron and then plated or given a color wash. Some were struck from non-ferrous material, but most were made from iron and therefore magnetic.
Best regards,
Tom

[mrg]

Hi Tom all a bit confusing asked about EARLY 18yr service crosses, which were Non magnetic later ones were made from iron as you say meaning some were magnetic early ones non. That the way i read it. All the best

[Tom Yanacek]

Hello MRG,
Have to disagree with you. Wehrmacht Long Service Awards were produced from about 1936 to 1940, so all must be considered early quality. Most were awarded pre-WWII, and by the end of 1940, I believe, all awards of these medals ceased. The majority of 18 Year Long Service Awards are iron and magnetic. They are beautiful and you would never think that they are made of iron unless you tried taking a magnet to them. These medals should not be found in zinc either.
Best regards,
Tom

[keifer kahn]

The following are the typical percentage breakdowns for the different metals used in German Silver,

Copper..... 50-61.6%
Zink..........19-17.2%
Nickel........30-21.1%

Tin,lead and cadmium were also used .


Nickel in this low percentage,as in the US coin example, is too low to be magnetic.

The above example is also somewhat generous as the percentage of Nickel can sometimes be only 18%.

[khstover]

thanks for the explanation

Hi,

Thanks for laying out your reasoning on the percentage of nickel. It would be an interesting expriment to take a magnet of a given strength and see what percent nickel something had to be before you could detect it.

Kevin