Gold Leaf Publique Deposited
- Gold Leaf. Gold of any fineness rolled and beaten to extreme thinness. Pure gold, because it is soft and malleable, can be beaten to a foil as thin as 1/250,000 of an inch (.000004 inch, .0001 mm). As such it still retains the property of gold no matter how thin it becomes. It is used on objects which cannot – because of their size, location, material,or other reason – be goldplated. Gold leaf is prepared in "books" with gold foil interspersed with tissue pages; it is removed page by page and applied to the desired surface (an outside dome or statue, gold trimming on frames, illuminated pages, wide range other uses). It is not often used in the medallic field because of the ease in which all numismatic items can be goldplated. Gold leaf can be rubbed off with numerous rubbing of the hands – actually into the pores of the skin. Artificial gold leaf – called Dutch metal – is made of fuming zinc over thin copper strips; it bears a deep gold color, but unlike gold leaf Dutch metal requires a heavy lacquer to protect its slightly unstable finish.
excerpted with permission from
An Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology
For Artists, Makers, Collectors and Curators
COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY D. WAYNE JOHNSON
Roger W. Burdette, Editor