Quiz time for: It don't ring true??

[TANSTAAFL]

I will give you a hint, but it may not be worth a plugged nickle. ::

 

[Huntinfool]

Real silver coins have a distinct ring to them when dropped on a hard suface!

Chuck

 

[Claude Mathis]

"Ring True" = I believe it refers to the sound of a bell ringing to the correct note.

"Plug nickel" = This is US slang dating to 1888. Back when coins actually contained valuable metal, it was a counterfeiting practice to remove the silver or other valuable metal from the center of the coin and replace it with a plug of lead or other base metal. Hence, plugged nickel.

 

[amccall]

If you have ever looked at the old cash registers some of them have a little table made of marble or some other hard surface were the cash drawer would come out. That is were they would see if the coin was a cast metal forgery. I have a two of the those nickels pre 1913 era. :m2c:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Bingo, give that man a cigar. :redthumb:

In colonial times, riverboat men were the most notorious about fabricating phony coins, they had a lot of idle time on their hands going down river and put it to counterfeiting.

Pieces of eight (Spanish dollar was legal tender long after we became the USA) was one coin they especially favored to work their tricks upon. They would often cut the center out of the coin and then plug the hole with German nickel silver. (which contains no silver at all) Merchants and citizens in the settlements soon caught on and would bounce the coins on a rock, stones hearths or any solid hard surface before accepting them. Real silver coins gave off a distinctive ring, if it was phony, it landed with a thud. The cry would go up, it don't ring true and ain't worth a plugged nickel.

The Spanish dollars were often cut up into 8 (pieces of eight) equal parts to make change, the resulting terminology is still in usage today. 25 cents is two bits, 50 cents is four bits and seventy five cents is six bits.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Bingo again, you got it near dead on the plugged nickel part. :thumbsup:

 

[Slamfire]

Well I heard it was a term women use to describe their engagement rings, some fellers actually try to git away with cubic zirconia. :no:

 

Seem the US Govn't learned a lesson from them counterfiters from years ago.
It is how our coins today are made, and sad to say it isn't worth diddley since they took the gold standard off either.

Woody

 

[jaybeach]

Let's not go there, woody - it's too depressing (no pun intended) :haha:

 

To "ring true" might also apply to selecting an anvil. Those that did not ring clearly were considered defective and that was generally correct in the old days when wrought ones were made with welded faces. A bad weld made a "clank" but a good anvil would ring like a bell when tapped with a hammer.

 

[Claude Mathis]

From the Net...

Ring of truth

Meaning:
To be correct, to be true.

Origin:
The origin of this phrase becomes obvious when you realize the original usage was to say that something did or did not "ring true".

 

[Zonie]

From what I was told, one can also say it "doesn't ring true" when talking about a double barrel shotgun.
If I was told correctly, the barrels, if hung from a wire (without the gun attached) will ring nicely if the solder joint between the barrels is good.
If the joint is defective, they will not ring. They just "clunk".

 

[CrackStock]

Anvil,

About the anvils, it is interesting that I keep hearing about anvil rings. I went to Harbor Freight and bought a Russian anvil that sounded better than the anvils costing 2 to 3 times as much. Have you seen these?

Needs a bit of dressing on the horn, but the price was right.

Also, do you know of a good source for a rivet forge?

As to ring true, my family ran a store for many years and we were told that they bounced the coins on the counter to see if they rang true. I think that the bell answer is a later usage.

CS

 

[Dave Poss]

Sorry to dispell all the above, but the true origin of ring true originated in the late 1800's. Mothers would fill a tub with water and soap and tell their kids it was time for their weekly bath. After each one bathed, she would inspect the tub for a "ring" of dirt. If the kid faked taking a bath, there would be no ring.
therefore, a dirt ring indicated that the child did not lie about bathing...thus a ring of truth..or it would ring true!






ok..so I made that up...big deal! :crackup:

 

File a new penny... :crackup: you can cut the copper cover aluminum in two with a common pair of sizzors.

Woody

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Get back in the tub, and wash your mouth out with lye soap. ::