billon
[bil-uh n]
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noun
an alloy used in coinage, consisting of gold or silver with a larger amount of base metal.
an alloy of silver with copper or the like, used for coins of small denomination.
any coin struck from such an alloy.
Origin of billon
1720–30; < French: debased metal, orig. ingot, equivalent to Middle French bille log (see billet2) + -on noun suffix
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for billon
Historical Examples of billon
The same result could be got by taking the billon money of Florence and calculating from its silver contents.
The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896William Arthur Shaw
In this rsum the mention of billon money has been generally avoided, as unduly complicating the subject.
The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896William Arthur Shaw
The gold coins do not so signally fail; it is in the inferior metals, especially the billon and copper, that the difficulty lies.
The Confessions of a CollectorWilliam Carew Hazlitt
The particular coins so designated, were billon or copper, and are described in Lindsay's "Coinage of Scotland," p. 183.
billon
noun
Word Origin for billon
C18: from Old French: ingot, from bille log; see billet ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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