Is Silver Magnetic?
Silver coins are not magnetic. Ferromagnetism is found in other metals like iron, nickel, and cobalt and their alloys. Their magnetism is the result of an alignment of atoms that act like tiny electromagnets and is called ferromagnetism.
Does Silver Display any Characteristics of Magnetism?
Silver is a diamagnetic metal. Silver will demonstrate a slight repulsion to magnets when exposed to a strong magnet or magnetic field. It lacks unpaired electrons and therefore is not attracted to magnets.
Diamagnetism is a property of all materials and always influences a material’s reaction to a magnetic field. Metals that exhibit primarily diamagnetic behavior, like silver, do not have unpaired electrons.
What is the Difference Between Diamagnetic and Ferromagnetic Materials?
Materials that display ferromagnetic properties have unpaired electrons in one of several periodic blocks. Unpaired electrons can attract magnetic fields.
These electrons align themselves with a given magnetic field. The alignment results in a magnetic field of its own, which is attracted to forces like the field of a magnet.
Are Any Coins Magnetic?
While some coins have magnetic properties, only one circulating American coin has enough ferromagnetic material to be considered magnetic. That is the 1943 Lincoln steel penny.
This makes looking for Lincoln steel pennies and one and two-pence coins easy with a magnet.
