VOCABULARY TERMS: OCCLUDED GAS AND OXIDES

Occluded Gas. Trapped gas bubbles in ingots or castings creating a pocket where no metal exists. If retained in the ingot, occluded gas may remain in the metal through other operations, as rolling, blanking or striking; if so they could cause laminating in blanks or struck pieces. If any metalworking activity reaches the pocket of occluded gas it may exhibit a blister in the surrounding metal. Blanks made from rolled strip that contains pockets of occluded gas would be light weight and not pass a ring test. Obviously struck pieces from these blanks would also be light weight and not ring true. Finished pieces with such condition would be rejected if caught by inspection.

Occluded gas bubbles – which may be air or any other gas – can be removed by vacuum degassing if the metal can be melted or remelted. Should such blisters occur on the hardened metal of any casting or cast piece they would require chasing to smooth out the surface. Such trapped gas is a casting anomaly; it would exhibit porous surface, blowholes or pock marks. It should be avoided in any casting operation. See lamination error.

Occluded Oxides. These are small particles or clumps of oxide (often copper oxide or lead oxide) that occasionally are embedded in coinage ingots. If rolling brings the particles to the surface, the rolling mill operation can cut out part of the strip. Occasionally, particles will appear only after the coin or medal is struck

To read the complete entries on the Newman Numismatic Portal, see:
Occluded Gas (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionarydetail/516417)
Occluded Oxides (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionarydetail/517308)

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