Davourak Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Hello, I am new to coin collecting. I have seen some coins advertised along the lines of "24k gold 100 mills". What does the 100 mills refer to? I tried searching online and found nothing (I guess the word mills is too generic). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 They're gold plated - the reference is to the thickness of the plating. Generally speaking, most items advertised as such are generally items that I would suggest be bought only if you appreciate them artistically, as collectibility and resale value is generally very limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davourak Posted June 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 But what does the "mills" refer to? Sounds like millimetres but obviously not. Maybe micrometres? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 It's an undefined term. Some believe it to be millionths of an inch, but I've yet to see anything that provides a definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Huh. Tried figuring it out, too, with no luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davourak Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I also thought that maybe it means how many times the gold has been milled to make it into gold leaf to use for coating the coin? Or maybe 100 layers of gold leaf? Some are listed as 100 mills, some as 500 mills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Plating is done chemically and doesn't involve gold leaf, which would be gilding. Regardless, as an undefined term, "100 mills" to one manufacturer or retailer may not be the same as "100 mills" to another. I can only repeat my previous advice to ignore gold content (since any would be very limited in value, perhaps several pence) and simply buy an item if you will enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug2222usa Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 It's mils, M-I-L-S. A mil is 0.001 inch. So 100 mils is about one-tenth of an inch, which, in turn, sounds way too high for gold plating. See "mil" in Wikipedia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccg Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 It's mils, M-I-L-S. A mil is 0.001 inch. So 100 mils is about one-tenth of an inch, which, in turn, sounds way too high for gold plating. See "mil" in Wikipedia. I understand that yes, "mil" is a unit of thickness as well as a general term for 1/1000 (occasionally seen in currency, if if I remember correctly, in Canada is monetarily defined as $0.001), but the question here is "mills" M-I-L-L-S, as seen on a lot of private mint products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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