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Around 1964 my father brought home a strange looking coin from work. He was an engineer employed by the Haynes Stellite Division of Union Carbide Corp. Haynes Stellite made metal alloys primarily for military and industrial users that were wear, corrosion and/or heat resistant.
The coin is approx. 1.25 inches in diameter and has the same "spread eagle holding olive branches and arrows" stamped on both sides with type around the edge which reads "32nd President of The United States Of
America 1933-1945". It is dull silver in color and approx. 3/16 inches thick. The coin's edge is plain with a lot of random striations, imperfections and what appear to be a few random letters (see picture scans). I think the coin was "softly struck" since some of the detail is
not sharp or is absent (e.g. in the shield).
After doing some research on the Internet, I discovered that there were apparently around 100 or so coins made by Haynes Stellite in 1964. They were submitted upon request to the Treasury Dept. as well as a sample being given to each U.S. Senator in attempt to convince them of the
alloy’s feasibly as new coinage material. I think it is made out of a "Columbium (a.k.a. Niobium)" based alloy, which is very wear resistant and extremely difficult to counterfeit.
Any information or suggestions you might have would be appreciated.
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