1752 Philos. Trans. 1749–50 (Royal Soc.) 46 584 Several Papers concerning a new Semi-Metal, called Platina.

1755 Philos. Trans. 1754 (Royal Soc.) 48 638 The substance brought into England under the name of platina appears a mixture of dissimilar particles.

1786 T. Jefferson Let. 3 Jan. in Papers (1954) IX. 148 You have often heard of the metal, called platina, to be found only in S. America. It is insusceptible of rust as gold and silver are.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 91 Platina..is the heaviest body known to exist.

1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 28 June 7 The prisoner denied that he had ever stolen any platina, and said he was innocent of the charge.

1883 J. T. Taylor Hardwich's Man. Photogr. Chem. (ed. 9) 307 To have it [sc. an enlargement] made on a more stable and permanent base than silver, hence carbon and platina printing find most favour for such a purpose.

1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xlii. 813 Platinum was first recognised in the sixteenth century as a white infusible metal..and was distinguished as ‘platina,’ or small silver.

1996 P. O'Brian Yellow Admiral ii. 27 It is platina, which never corrodes or chokes.

1794 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 84 388 A small piece of purified white lac, in a platina spoon.

1819 J. G. Children Ess. Chem. Anal. 375 Held in a pair of platina pincers.

1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 356 He..determined to try to draw platina-wire.

1949 Amer. Speech 93 Other major types of fox peltries widely used in the fur industry, which we need only list, are..platina fox, [etc.].

1995 E. A. Davis Sci. in Making I. ii. 54 They constructed a pile using ‘thirty-six half crowns with the correspondent pieces of zinc and pasteboard’ and dipped the ends of two platina wires connected to the pile into water.

1790 W. Richardson Chem. Princ. Metallic Arts 167 Platina, eight ounces of brass, and five ounces of spelter.

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 165 The button manufacturers of Birmingham make their platin with 8 parts of brass and 5 of zinc.

1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 3rd Ser. 16/2 For button brass, an alloy of 8 parts of copper and 5 of zinc is commonly used by the Birmingham makers, under the name of ‘platin’.

1958 A. D. Merriman Dict. Metall. 249/1 Platina, an old alloy formerly used for such things as metal buttons which were usually cast. It was white in colour but rather brittle. The composition was Zn 75% and Cu 25%. Also called Birmingham platina.