Dartmouth Toxic Metal Research: Nickel - Hidden in Plain Sight
Unknown source of strength
Humans have been using nickel for about as long as they have been producing metal wares. A relatively plentiful element — the 24th most abundant on earth — nickel is found in metal ore deposits throughout the world. The ancients prized these ores as a source of metals with desirable properties, such as strength and flexibility, and used them to make everything from coins to knives, axes and weapons. However, the desirable traits of these metal alloys were often attributed to the presence of copper or iron. In fact, archaeologists have discerned from ancient metal artifacts that the ‘iron’ of early metal-using societies was actually a mixture containing from 5 to 26 percent nickel.
Long before nickel was isolated, the ancient Chinese developed a material called paitung (also called paktong or tutenag) that was prized for its silvery luster and strength. According to Chinese manuscripts, paitung was used as early as the third century A.D. in weapons, coins and works of art. Paitung is believed to have contained mainly copper and nickel with small amounts of zinc and tin.
In Europe as well, nickel found its way into alloys unbeknownst to the blacksmiths and smelters of the time. Nickel alloys were used to produce plate and chain armors during the Middle Ages, and the relative abundance of nickel-containing ores made it an inexpensive way to add a fine sheen to coin currency. But it wasn’t until nickel’s discovery in 1750 that this common metal additive was isolated and understood.