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EURO BLISTERSAccording to a new study published in a letter to the journal Nature, Euro coin users may get blisters - their high nickel content is giving people with allergies rashes and blisters after contact. "There's another complaint against some euro coins -- they cause skin irritation in people who are sensitive to nickel. Scientists at the University of Zurich studied the phenomenon by taping one- and two-euro coins to the skin of patients with nickel allergies. After 48 to 72 hours, all the patients showed a strong allergic reaction, including redness and blisters. The researchers say these coins [the two-Euro] cause more irritation than other coins with similar levels of nickel, and they think they know why. The one- and two-euro coins are made with a ring of one metallic alloy surrounding a central "pill" of another alloy. Both alloys contain nickel. When the coins are exposed to sweaty hands, ions flow between the two compounds, which generates a tiny electrical charge, and makes both metals corrode faster than they would by themselves. The amount of nickel released can be more than 300 times the levels permitted under European Union regulations. The scientists confirmed the effect by soaking coins in artificial human sweat. The reaction also takes its toll on the coins: They changed color and showed signs of corrosion." http://money.cnn.com/2002/09/11/news/international/euro_skin/index.htm See also the December 2, 2001 E-Sylum (v4n49) for an earlier item on this topic. -Editor]Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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