Tin (chemical symbol Sn, from the Latin stannum) is a soft, silvery-white metal with a low melting point and good resistance to corrosion. It is too soft for durable coinage on its own, and tin coins wear quickly in circulation. Tin was used for circulation coinage in Southeast Asia, where it was locally abundant, as well as in Britain and some of its colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries. It is also encountered in numismatics as a material for coin patterns and medals.
