THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
THE HIDDEN LIFE OF THE COPPER COIN
The one penny and two penny coins used in the United Kingdom may not seem spectacular at a glance, but the materials it is made from has fascinating qualities. If produced after September 1992, it consists of copper plated steel- which makes the coin magnetic, it is resistant to corrosion and can conduct heat and electricity. Being coated in copper also means that it has antimicrobial propeties. This means that it has the ability to inactivate and kill microbes such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Coins made before 1992 also exhibit this ability due to being made of bronze, an alloy in which copper is bonded with tin and phosphorus. The higher the copper content in the material, the faster the bacteria is killed. Man has exploited the natural antimicrobial properties of copper since the dawn of civilisation. Scientific studies have proven that copper kills the most toxic bacteria.
The antimicrobial properties of copper are intrinsic to the metal, so coatings such as oils, paints or waxes must not be applied. The use of copper and copper alloys for frequently touched hospital surfaces such as door and furniture, bed rails, IV poles, taps, light switches and work stations can help reduce the amount of disease-causing microbes. In addition, those materials may be used in care homes, ambulances, gyms and schools. Antimicrobial copper alloy surfaces have been shown to reduce microbial contamination in between routine cleaning and disinfection, and in laboratory tests, it was shown to kill 99.9% of an MRSA sample in two hours.
Another benefit is that it is unlikely that bacterial will develop any resistance to copper surfaces or that copper will become ineffective against bacteria, this is for three reasons: • Copper is naturally present in the earth’s crust and, to date, no resistant organisms have been demonstrated. Copper-tolerant organisms do exist but even these die on contact with copper surfaces. • Copper kills microorganisms by multiple pathways rather than by acting in a specific way on one receptor. • Microorganisms are killed before they can replicate, thus they cannot pass down genetic material which would allow it to develop resistance.
Copper is already an active ingredient in many different types of antimicrobial products, in agriculture, in marine environments, in healthcare environments and in the home.
So what does this mean for the many one pence pieces and two pence pieces scattered across the united kingdom? Does their copper plated surface mean it can be used to fight microbes? Yes, it does.
WE ARE BLINDED BY IGNORANT OF THE FUNCTIONS OF OBJECTS. WE THINK WE KNOW HOW THEY WORK AND WHAT THEY ARE AND WE ACCEPT IT.
SO WE IGNORE ALL THAT THEY COULD BE- ESPECIALLY MAN
MADE OBJECTS -
SOMEONE
SAID THEY WORK LIKE THIS BUT I SAY
THEY WORK IN A DIFFERENT WAY. CHILDREN
DON’T
THIS
BECAUSE
AND
PUSH
HAVE THEY
HOW
THE
A
PROBLEM
WITH
QUESTION
THINGS
WORLD
WORKS.
ARE WE USING THESE ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF THE COINS TO THIER FULL POTENTIAL? IS IT TIME TO RECONSIDER
THE PURPOSE OF THESE COPPER COINS
IN
A
MODERN
SOCIETY?
THINK ABOUT IT. PENNIES KILL BACTERIA. WITH
SOMETHING
SO
SMALL,
MANOEUVRABLE
AND CLOSE TO HAND AT MOST TIMES, ARE WE IGNORING THEIR POTENTIAL-
TO INTEGRATE
THEM AS ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS IN
OUR
ROUTINES,
INTERACTIONS? LIBERATE
THEM
MUNDANE
WILL
AND
THIS
IS
FROM
THIS THEIR
EXHAUSTED
AND HOW
WE
CURRENT CONTEXT?
REAPPROPRIATION
CHANGE THE PERCEPTION OF THE
VALUE
OF
THE
PENNY?
COPPER CLEANSING Consider the act of washing your hands, this usually involves covering your hand with an antisceptic of some sort to kill any bacteria or harmful microbe on your skin. So could this not be substituted with an amount of pennies to submerge your hand into? So as your hand moves among the pennies, the copper surfaces remove and kill any bacteria present on the surface of your hand. In addition, it alters the tactile experience of washing your hands. The products presented have been designed to be placed beside sinks- either freestanding or wall mounted- to be within a close proximity when washing your hands.
There are two designs, featuring either one hand entrance- so it can stand vertically- or two hand entrances- more suited for wall mounting, and allows both hands to be inserted simultaneously. The product will be made of copper plated aluminium, so that it exhibits a similar antimicrobial property to it’s contents, and so that it is lightweight to position, lift and move. The pennies inside will all be new i.e. from the current year, and at the end of each day, each container and it’s contents will be disinfected via soaking in an acidic compound, to kill of any bacteria which may still be present in the container and then soaking through with water.
EVERYDAY ALTERATIONS How can a social interaction be altered through the integration of a penny? Consider a handshake- two people’s hands in contact for a short period of time. But in that time, millions of bacteria and microbes could have transferred and passed between those two hands. But if a penny was placed between those two hands, the number of bacteria transferred would dramatically reduce, and could this be improved with an increase in the amount of pennies used? How would the interaction between the two hands change? Would the handshake be longer? May the movement of the hands change to become more encompassing and make the coin(s) cover a larger surface area of each hand?
Would a routine reaction become unfamiliar if a penny was implemented into it? When a person sneezes, usually they catch the dispersed bacteria with a tissue, to kill it. but consider catching said bacteria with several pennies- which are close to hand at most times, either in a pocket or wallet. Also, once they have been used, they can be spent to dispose of them. Could the coins be used in filtration systems or in other parts of the world to disinfect contaminated waters? Their small size means that they can shake, move and slide over each other, so a contaminated water sample could be poured through several layers of coins repeatedly and shaken to remove many harmful microbes riddled in the water.
MADE TO BENEFIT OTHERS? WHY DO ONLY TWO COINS IN THE CURRENT UK CURRENCY SYSTEM FEATURE A COPPER SURFACE? DO THEY EXIST TO CLEAN THE OTHER HIGHER VALUE COINS THAT COME INTO CONTACT WITH THEM?
When you recieve change after purchasing something, most of the time a one pence or two pence piece is present among them. Can this be seen as being presented with an antibacterial agent, purging your hand of most bacterial life on your hand? Should this be considered as a function of the coin and an integral part of the transaction? Should all coins be plated in copper to achieve this effect from all coins? The amount of people who experience this has been severely decreased, as the ever growing popularity of shopping online and various card payment methods will continue to suppress the coin. Maybe credit cards should be coated in copper to acquire a similar ability to the coins.
INFORMATION SOURCED FROM http://www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/coin-design-and-specifications/one-pennycoin www.kme.com/assets/uploads/oldkme/file/datasheet/RI/MDS_MZ65_CuNi25_english.pdf http://www.wieland.de/commonmedia/content/media/bereichsspezifischedokumente/ pressundziehprodukte_1/antimik/pub-201-antimicrobial-copper-faqs.pdf