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Partial Plate, Partial Plating

Partial Plate, Partial Plating.  A two-color finish made by plating only a portion of a medallic item, as a goldplating of a portrait on a silver medal. Partial plating is accomplished by masking – with a metal jig or liquid stop-off lacquer –and is done for the artistic effect of the contrast of the two metallic colors. While such partial plating is not bimetallic (which requires two separate metal components) it is also done for the same artistic reason of the contrasting metal colors. The term is also call parcel-plate or parcel-plating (note hyphenation).  See mask, masking.

excerpted with permission from

An Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology

For Artists, Makers, Collectors and Curators

COMPILED AND WRITTEN BY D. WAYNE JOHNSON

Roger W. Burdette, Editor


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