Red v Yellow Colour Gold Sovereigns - Silver v Copper Alloy Content

[Britannia47]

On 02/11/2021 at 00:29, Liam84 said:

I just noticed how nice in colour the IOM sovereign coins are (specifically 1973 in this case, there are some for sale in the trade section I was nosing at). It made me have a look at the high-res images on Chards website and some of the IOM coins do look quite 'yellow'.

Have these had the analysis treatment at any point @LawrenceChard? My apologies if this has already been brought up.

St George the Dragon Slayer v The Viking Horseman - Red v Yellow

The Pobjoy Mint almost certainly use silver in their alloy

 

[LawrenceChard]

On 03/11/2021 at 02:59, AgCoyote said:

Maybe I'm a weirdo(perhaps a given since I'm American) but I kinda like my reddish pink sovereigns. They look really cool when combined with the other 9999 coins.

"Other"?😎

[LawrenceChard]

This might sound like a rhetorical question:

Why do most gold coins look yellow?

 

[Pete]

4 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

This might sound like a rhetorical question:

Why do most gold coins look yellow?

 

That's the colour of pure gold.
As soon as you add other metals that can tint the base colour but you knew that.
Just like mixing paint adding traces of pigment to white.
I would imagine platinum and silver, maybe nickel also, would lighten slightly fine gold and copper would darken it.
Watching Gold Rush on TV the raw gold found in the Klondike looks yellow and not coppery.

[LawrenceChard]

15 minutes ago, Pete said:

That's the colour of pure gold.
As soon as you add other metals that can tint the base colour but you knew that.
Just like mixing paint adding traces of pigment to white.
I would imagine platinum and silver, maybe nickel also, would lighten slightly fine gold and copper would darken it.
Watching Gold Rush on TV the raw gold found in the Klondike looks yellow and not coppery.

Yes, good answer.

2,500 years ago, when the first gold coins were made, who would have accepted them if they were not yellow?

Also, how many people would be sceptical if they were not a colour very similar to pure gold?

[Bixley]

I showed some modern sovereigns to a pal of mine. He took some convincing that they  were  genuine. He showed me a much earlier sovereign that had been given to his son and I had to explain the alloy differences of copper and silver. His wife joined the conversation showing a white gold ring and managed to convince her husband that my coins were pukka.

[JJH]

@LawrenceChardI remember that I read an article in the forum that tested the sov of the same year but different specifications, showing that even the same year but different sizes, the content of silver and copper is different. If you remember correctly, this is issued by you. , But now I was hurriedly looking for it during working hours but couldn't find it. But isn't the rm coinage alloy of the same year produced at the same time into blanks, and then stamped with different size molds? How come there are different alloy compositions, so QEII you have tested so far are all non-silver components, even for special annual fees such as 1989 and 2017?

[LawrenceChard]

9 hours ago, JJH said:

@LawrenceChardI remember that I read an article in the forum that tested the sov of the same year but different specifications, showing that even the same year but different sizes, the content of silver and copper is different. If you remember correctly, this is issued by you. , But now I was hurriedly looking for it during working hours but couldn't find it. But isn't the rm coinage alloy of the same year produced at the same time into blanks, and then stamped with different size molds? How come there are different alloy compositions, so QEII you have tested so far are all non-silver components, even for special annual fees such as 1989 and 2017?

I don't remember that particular post, so if you come across it I will take another look.

In case you missed it, I posted a 1968 sovereign test a few days ago, with 4 ppt of silver:

I see you are Taiwan, so English might not be your first language, but coins are stamped (struck) using dies not molds.

The Royal Mint make some gold proof versions of commemorative coins, gold sovereigns with multiples and fractions, gold Britannias, and other gold bullion coins in various weights. We can presume that production continues throughout the year, so blanks will be made or sourced in various batches through the year, which makes it very likely that the exact alloy content may vary, apart from the fact that some of the coins are fine gold rather than 22ct.

I am currently writing a new article about the colour of gold coins, including gold sovereigns.

 

[GoldDiggerDave]

On 04/11/2021 at 15:40, Bixley said:

I showed some modern sovereigns to a pal of mine. He took some convincing that they  were  genuine. He showed me a much earlier sovereign that had been given to his son and I had to explain the alloy differences of copper and silver. His wife joined the conversation showing a white gold ring and managed to convince her husband that my coins were pukka.

You hand a modern sovereign to someone who's not in the know and most are underwhelmed, done this with a mate of mine he said "it looks like a copper penny"  gold should be the colour of the gods, this is why they colour base metal coins bright yellow gold to add a perceived value to something that's practically worthless.  We have a subconscious attraction to the bright yellow gold that's the same colour as the rising sun,  there's  interesting link between sun worshiping civilisations and the value they placed on gold.  

 

 

 

[LawrenceChard]

On 10/10/2021 at 09:57, Thelonerangershorse said:

At the risk of being completly banned from the Forum, can I just say, I happen to like the current colour.

I was going to say "No you can't!", but that would be grammatically, logically, and factually, incorrect, as you can, and you did, so...

No you may not!

Of course, you are entitled to your opinion, and I believe in free speech, but there are some things you should not say on TSF, at least not if you want to have any friends left.

Actually, I asked a few Chards staff recently, and was astounded that some of them said they preferred the red colour rather than the yellow colour. 

I should have re-phrased the question and asked if they were buying a gold sovereign, which colour would they prefer to get. I hope the answer to this would be yellow, otherwise we either need new, replacement, staff or the current lot need to go for correctional training! 😎

Note to Moderators:

Is this a potential banning matter?

[RDHC]

During the great debasement of the silver coinage under Henry 8th and, I think, perhaps his immediate successors, it was said that the new coins 'blushed for shame' because there was so much copper in them that they looked reddish rather than silver. Seems an appropriate comment now, too. Elizabeth I restored the silver content. Rather a shame that her namesake should now have to be associated with coppery sovereigns. 

Quote

 

 

[LawrenceChard]

On 09/10/2021 at 22:14, LawrenceChard said:

It is almost universally agreed that gold sovereigns, together with multiples and fractions would look better yellow by adding some silver to the alloy, rather than the modern coppery red colour created by using only copper in the alloy, and no silver.

I have frequently commented on it, and produced XRF alloy analysis as evidence that there was always silver in older sovereigns, and that the absence of silver, producing red gold coins is a recent (since about 1957) aberration.

There are many threads on TSF which mention this, and also infomation and blog pages on the Chards website.

On Thursday 23rd September, I wrote an e-mail to Anne Jessop and two other members of the Royal Mint management team, stating the case for adding silver, and doing so as early as in the anticipated 2022 Royal Coat of Arms sovereigns.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a response as early as the next day, but it was only from one of the recipients letting me know they had forwarded it to a more appropriate member of their team. Following that, I had been expecting a substantive response shortly afterwards, even if it was to say "no", or "thanks". It has been almost three weeks now, and a thought just occurred to me, that the delay and absence of response may just be because I have hit a proverbial nail on the head, and that they are about to issue yellow gold sovereigns with some silver content, in which case, they would not wish to pre-empt their embargo or announcement. Or perhaps they are mulling over my suggestion...

Any bets?

 

On 10/10/2021 at 01:54, Foster88 said:

@LawrenceChard I admire you for taking both the time and trouble to raise this with RM. However, as you have said in your previous posts, for them to change the composition of the sovereign now would be to admit they made a mistake.

Like many here, I prefer the true gold look of my older sovereigns.

Maybe a leopard will change its spots or maybe the RM will change the composition of the sovereign with the change of monarch.

I hope they’ve taken your advice on board, I’d love to see the 2022 sovereign in its true gold colour (alloyed with silver).

Maybe, if many don’t like the colour of the 2022 sovereign but will still buy it, they’ll be thinking like  D i c k Emery when they see it...

”Oh you are awful, but I like you.” 😂

(Now he’s wayyyy before my time)

 

On 10/10/2021 at 07:16, dicker said:

Agree completely @LawrenceChard.  I genuinely think the Bullion Sovereign would be purchased by more people if it was gold in colour and had a better strike.  
 

Best

Dicker

 

On 10/10/2021 at 09:30, MickB said:

The Royal Mint could possibly make them with silver for proof coins only. Bullion just being bullion could then stay the same.

 

On 10/10/2021 at 09:40, TheShinyStuff said:

On a macro level, this makes perfect sense. However on a silver per sovereign level, the price could be easily absorbed. I haven't done the sums, but if it wouldn't amount to more than a penny or two per coin. An extra fiver per sovereign would represent even more healthy profit for the RM and I expect we would all happily pay it. 

You could argue that RM has been missing a trick. @LawrenceChard could be on to something...

 

On 10/10/2021 at 09:57, Thelonerangershorse said:

At the risk of being completly banned from the Forum, can I just say, I happen to like the current colour.

 

On 11/10/2021 at 14:57, sovereignsteve said:

@LawrenceChard

Does my memory fail me (again!) or have I seen you post a comparison of the XRF results of different eras of sovereigns?

You have stated that the mint started producing only gold/copper alloys in 1957, ba'ht any silver, but George v sovs seem equally "red" to my eyes. Any data?

 

On 22/10/2021 at 08:09, RDHC said:

What puzzles (and annoys) me is that you can get gold coins with only copper as the alloy that look a great deal better than the Mint's current offerings. I have in mind the 20 kroner coins issued by Denmark and Norway/Sweden from the later 19th century to WW1, of which I have a few examples. What's more these 20 kroner are only 0.900 pure gold i.e. less pure than a sovereign. Yet they have an attractive 'old gold' colour, not the paler pure gold of, say, a Britannia, but equally not the dreadful pinky 'rose gold', 14 carat look of current sovereigns. I doubt if this is because  of natural ageing, but I am open to correction on this point. I assume that copper is copper wherever found (or is there a different variety mined in Scandanavia??), so somehow the mints for these coins found a way of avoiding the rose look  (probably unintentionally). I have not found any technical analysis of these coins - perhaps Lawrence Chard could help? - but they don't seem to have any silver in them (not naturally found in Scandanavia, so far as I know).

Any ideas anyone?

 

On 23/10/2021 at 14:18, LawrenceChard said:

Thanks.

I did write to the Mint about a month ago, then chased them after 3 weeks, I have had a response, and will report on it soon in this topic thread.

 

On 23/10/2021 at 17:12, Foster88 said:

This sounds hopeful.

I don’t know if anyone received a surgery email from RM recently? I don’t usually bother with those things.

I did fill it out and at the end there were comments to suggest how might they improve their products. I put in the comments that they should return to the old ‘gold’ colour sovereigns and reintroduction silver in future.

Wether this will even get read is anyone’s guess but they might just start listening.

 

On 02/11/2021 at 00:29, Liam84 said:

I just noticed how nice in colour the IOM sovereign coins are (specifically 1973 in this case, there are some for sale in the trade section I was nosing at). It made me have a look at the high-res images on Chards website and some of the IOM coins do look quite 'yellow'.

Have these had the analysis treatment at any point @LawrenceChard? My apologies if this has already been brought up.

 

On 02/11/2021 at 13:17, dicker said:

Remarkable that just a “trace” of silver makes such a difference to the tone of a Sovereign. 
 

Thanks for the test results!

 

On 02/11/2021 at 16:43, Foster88 said:

Which makes you wonder, with such little extra cost to the mint at 0.4% why wouldn’t they add the silver to newer sovereigns.

I think if they continue to exclude the silver content from future releases it’s to save face and not to admit they made a mistake by ever removing it in the first place.

 

On 04/11/2021 at 14:13, LawrenceChard said:

This might sound like a rhetorical question:

Why do most gold coins look yellow?

 

 

On 04/11/2021 at 14:23, Pete said:

That's the colour of pure gold.
As soon as you add other metals that can tint the base colour but you knew that.
Just like mixing paint adding traces of pigment to white.
I would imagine platinum and silver, maybe nickel also, would lighten slightly fine gold and copper would darken it.
Watching Gold Rush on TV the raw gold found in the Klondike looks yellow and not coppery.

 

On 04/11/2021 at 14:41, LawrenceChard said:

Yes, good answer.

2,500 years ago, when the first gold coins were made, who would have accepted them if they were not yellow?

Also, how many people would be sceptical if they were not a colour very similar to pure gold?

 

On 04/11/2021 at 15:40, Bixley said:

I showed some modern sovereigns to a pal of mine. He took some convincing that they  were  genuine. He showed me a much earlier sovereign that had been given to his son and I had to explain the alloy differences of copper and silver. His wife joined the conversation showing a white gold ring and managed to convince her husband that my coins were pukka.

 

On 05/11/2021 at 18:54, GoldDiggerDave said:

You hand a modern sovereign to someone who's not in the know and most are underwhelmed, done this with a mate of mine he said "it looks like a copper penny"  gold should be the colour of the gods, this is why they colour base metal coins bright yellow gold to add a perceived value to something that's practically worthless.  We have a subconscious attraction to the bright yellow gold that's the same colour as the rising sun,  there's  interesting link between sun worshiping civilisations and the value they placed on gold.  

 

I just finished the blog /article I had been intending to write.

I only took me a few hours to write, but then I had been chewing it over for a few months, before which I had spent about 50+ years absorbing a lot o knowledge about coins including gold sovereigns.

Although I say "finished", I still consider it as a draft, but here goes (TSF Special Preview):

Gold Coins – Yellow or Red?

Historically, gold coins have contained small amounts of silver, which has helped retain a colour similar to pure gold.

 

In the beginning there was gold

Humans were probably aware of it about 40,000 years B.C., and started using it to make things about 5,000 years B.C.

A major reason why people like gold is its yellow colour, indeed the Latin word for it is aurum. Aurora means dawn or shining dawn. All other metals are grey except for copper which is red.

The first gold coins are generally thought to have been made in Lydia about 500 years B.C., but “Ying Yuan” gold coins were also made in China at about the same time.

The Lydian coins were made of electrum, which is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. Electrum varies in colour depending on the proportions of gold and silver it contains, but it is pale yellow. The more silver, the paler it is.

All gold coins intended for exchange or circulation have been yellow, apart from a few rare exceptions. It is almost certain that if people had been offered payment in gold coins which were not yellow, but red, would have rejected them.

Just recently, someone reminded me that 1869 Sydney Mint Australian sovereigns were made in red gold, alloyed only with copper. I don’t know why. I have not had chance to test one of these, so the published information may be incorrect. Today I noticed one source stating that many Swiss 20 Francs are composed of 90% gold and 10% copper, but this is incorrect as I expected. I tested eight different dates from 1896 to 1935, and all had a silver content, between 2 and 7 parts per thousand, which was enough to make them look yellow, not red.

Wikipedia states that red gold became popular in Russia in the early 19^th century, for use in jewellery.

I am not aware of any other traditional circulation gold coins which are red gold, without any silver content. Even Krugerrands, when they were introduced in 1967, contained some silver, and were a pleasant, normal yellow colour for a gold coin. Krugers were the first modern bullion coin, made as a piece of investment gold rather than for circulation. In some recent years, Krugerrands have been alloyed only with copper, and no silver, which means they are now a coppery-looking red colour. This probably does not matter, as they are mainly bought as a convenient, cheap, lump of gold, rather for any aesthetic or collectable appeal.

In recent years, gold sovereigns have noticeably been a rather unpleasant, cheap-looking coppery red colour. While there are a few people who seem to like this colour, I know that many more people doubt and dislike it. Some people were convinced that they were being cheated and defrauded because they thought they had been supplied with fake or imitation coins.

Over the past six years or so, I have tested thousands of coins, using a Niton XRF metal testing and analysis machine, including hundreds of gold sovereigns, fractions and multiples. The model we used is calibrated with precious metals in mind.

The sovereigns we have tested range from 1817 to 2021 inclusive, and we have also tested sovereigns from all seven mints. My experience shows that most sovereigns do contain a small but significant amount of silver, a typical silver content being as little as 0.4%, yet this is sufficient to attenuate the effects of the copper content. Older sovereigns, from 1817 onwards, tend to have a higher silver content than more recent ones, up to 1932. Even the 1925 London Mint sovereigns most of which were struck between 1949 and 1951, are a pleasant yellow, and contain a normal amount of silver for their apparent year.

I have not yet done enough testing or enough research on Queen Elizabeth II sovereigns, although from experience, most from 1957 to 1968 look yellow rather than red. Even many of those issued from 1974 onwards look a pleasant yellow colour. The most recent year tested, 2021, are distinctly red, and are alloyed only with copper, and no silver. I need to test more QEII sovereigns, to be able to form a clearer picture of when the decline in colour quality and silver content set in, although I suspect it has mainly occurred from 2000 onwards.

What puzzles me most is why this has happened.

First, I have been unable to find any specification for sovereigns in any of the various “Coinage Acts” which states the composition of sovereigns other than they should be 22ct gold. There appears to be nothing to stipulate whether the gold is alloyed with copper, silver, or indeed any other metal. Back in the days when sovereigns were struck most years, there may have been some traditions or procedures followed, so that previous years’ practices, perhaps communicated by word of mouth or informal notes, were maintained, and that these included the use of a small proportion of silver. If there were any instructions to use red gold, these may have been interpreted as meaning to use mainly copper, rather than all copper. If we take 22ct gold to contain 91.66% gold, which I will round to 91.7%, then the balance would be 8.33% rounded to 8.3% or 83 parts per thousand (ppt). I have tested a small number of British sovereigns containing more silver than copper, but never any with 83 ppt silver and 0 copper.

When sovereign production resumed in 1957, after a quarter century break, perhaps any unwritten or informal practices had been forgotten, and whoever was in charge of production at the Royal Mint simply sourced or produced 22ct gold blanks, without any concern about the composition of the remaining 83 ppt of admetal. Whether any silver was included was not considered to be of any importance or relevance. “Bullion” sovereigns were produced from 1957 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1982, with a few gaps. From my rather subjective observations, most of these were reasonably yellow rather than noticeably red. “Bullion” sovereign production restarted in 2000, and has continued every year since. Again, I have not noticed the deterioration of the colour quality of the earlier years of this period, but the most recent years, it has been very noticeable that sovereigns have been red, and those I have tested have had 83 ppt of copper, with no silver. I need to test a quantity of each year from 2000 to 2022 (soon), to try and establish when the worst of this deterioration occurred.

Although we are aware that most people we have spoken to prefer yellow rather than red coloured sovereigns, and we have conducted a very small poll, we intend to poll a larger number of people to obtain more convincing data.

In September 2021, I e-mailed three senior figures at the Royal Mint, briefly outlining the case for returning to the traditional yellow colour by reinstating some silver content. I have received replies from two of them. One informed me understandably that it was too late to implement any changes for this forthcoming 2022 year, but “As part of our ongoing customer research with our customer base we are in the process of review (sic) the market opinion on the colour of the Sovereign, and make an informed decision on this for future launches.” While my interpretation is that this means “no”, there is a glimmer of hope that they will see sense before the 2023 issue. It would be even better to change during the production life of the 2022 issue, and I am convinced this would provide a clear indication of public opinion and preference. It could also be embarrassing for the Mint if people choose to shun the earlier red ones, and the new yellow ones attracted stronger demand. Presently, there will be many people who are ignorant of tradition, possibly never having seen an earlier yellow gold sovereign, and whose eyes may be opened if and when they are easily able to compare.

For the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, 1887 British gold coins, including sovereigns, Jubilee head sovereigns from the London Mint had a higher silver content, typically about 12 ppt, and these can easily be distinguished from most other bullion sovereigns by their distinctly more pleasing yellow colour. This was done deliberately for the historically important occasion of her Golden Jubilee. It would have been fitting if a similar change could have occurred for the Platinum Jubilee of our current queen. Alas, it seems extremely unlikely to happen.

To help demonstrate the colour differences, we decided to photograph a new 2021 bullion sovereign using carefully controlled and calibrated lighting conditions and processing.

We needed to decide what to use for comparison. There was no simple automatic choice.

We considered the first modern sovereign 1817, 1887 Jubilee head London Mint, and a few other candidates. Part of the problem was to ensure that each coin was in near identical condition.

Eventually, we chose a 2005 Australian bullion sovereign, produced by the Perth Mint. This was struck from 917 ppt gold, and 83 ppt silver, with no copper. We photographed this coin using identical lighting and processing. We then combined them in one single composite image showing their reverses side by side. The difference is obvious, almost startling, and I believe, very convincing.

TSF members can always let me know which you prefer, if I have omitted anything, etc...

Edited November 9, 2021 by LawrenceChard

[Arganto]

1 hour ago, LawrenceChard said:

I know that many more people doubt ad dislike it.

Reads well, gets the salient points across and would be an eye opener for a Royal Mint executive if they weren't already aware. This is a pleasant mix of traditional writing and modern copy.

One mild typo is all (quoted above) which you would have picked up prior to publishing anyway. 

Kudos.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Liam84
My own typo 🤣

[LawrenceChard]

2 hours ago, RDHC said:

During the great debasement of the silver coinage under Henry 8th and, I think, perhaps his immediate successors, it was said that the new coins 'blushed for shame' because there was so much copper in them that they looked reddish rather than silver.

Seems an appropriate comment now, too. Elizabeth I restored the silver content.

Rather a shame that her namesake should now have to be associated with coppery sovereigns. 

 

That's a very well made point!

[LawrenceChard]

45 minutes ago, Liam84 said:

One mild typo is all (quoted above) which you would have picked up prior to publishing anyway. 

 

You reckon? 🙂

[Arganto]

1 hour ago, LawrenceChard said:

You reckon? 🙂

You strike me as a man who proof reads a few times before the kettle is put on then a few more as the digestives are dipped, I doubt much gets past you 👀

[HerefordBullyun]

Just now, Liam84 said:

You strike me as a man who proof reads a few times before the kettle is put on then a few more as the digestives are dipped, I doubt much gets past you 👀

Hes sharp as a razor Mr @LawrenceChard. In comparasion - I'm close to a butter knife.

[LawrenceChard]

55 minutes ago, Liam84 said:

You strike me as a man who proof reads a few times before the kettle is put on then a few more as the digestives are dipped, I doubt much gets past you 👀

Not at all. I am still finding errors on our heritage websites from 1998 to 2000. I often don't run a spellcheck! 🙂

[LawrenceChard]

57 minutes ago, HerefordBullyun said:

Hes sharp as a razor Mr @LawrenceChard. In comparasion - I'm close to a butter knife.

I once had a butter knife confiscated. I think it was at airport security. There is almost always no way to have an intelligent discussion with security people. I tried to demonstrate that I could not stab or cut myself with it, but...

That's a knife. Knives are not permitted.😟

[HerefordBullyun]

4 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

I once had a butter knife confiscated. I think it was at airport security. There is almost always no way to have an intelligent discussion with security people. I tried to demonstrate that I could not stab or cut myself with it, but...

That's a knife. Knives are not permitted.😟

The CAA really have strict rules now. Dems the rules now. 

[Roy]

37 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

I once had a butter knife confiscated. I think it was at airport security.

Why would a person be in possession of a butter knife when travelling abroad? Had you packed crumpets too? Now, there's an alibi 

I used to carry a micro screwdriver in my wallet because my glasses were forever loose. Used to 😔

 

[LawrenceChard]

14 minutes ago, Roy said:

Why would a person be in possession of a butter knife when travelling abroad? Had you packed crumpets too? Now, there's an alibi 

I used to carry a micro screwdriver in my wallet because my glasses were forever loose. Used to 😔

 

I think it was so I could make cheese sandwiches when I was skiing, and probably back in the days when I used to butter my bread.

It wouldn't do for someone to run amok with a micro screwdriver! 😎

[HerefordBullyun]

24 minutes ago, Roy said:

Why would a person be in possession of a butter knife when travelling abroad? Had you packed crumpets too? Now, there's an alibi 

I used to carry a micro screwdriver in my wallet because my glasses were forever loose. Used to 😔

 

Ive had a screw loose for years. The joys of being a Dysfunctional veteran. But least I can entertain.

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by HerefordBullyun

[Roy]

3 minutes ago, LawrenceChard said:

back in the days when I used to butter my bread.

Indeed, it's always best to know which side one's bread is buttered.

Re: the screwdriver, my keys were allowed and I could do a lot more damage with those, if I were so inclined.

[sovereignsteve]

19 minutes ago, Roy said:

Why would a person be in possession of a butter knife when travelling abroad? Had you packed crumpets too? Now, there's an alibi 

I used to carry a micro screwdriver in my wallet because my glasses were forever loose. Used to 😔

 

I used to have a small penknife attached to my keys. Up until a few years ago I was travelling around the world quite a bit and I carried this knife everywhere no problem. I did notice quite a marked difference in airport security after they started banning liquids and anything vaguely sharp. To no avail, my little pocket knife went unchallenged through security check after security check, smuggly hiding amongst my keys.

All good things come to an end sadly, it was spotted and confiscated while leaving Belgrade, Serbia. They are a bit keen there!