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EO Extra: A Brief History of Zinc
Welcome to the first EO Extra! The purpose of EO Extras are to give you all some background on cemetery history, stones, or individual stories that need to be shared.
Please note: this information has been compiled from a multitude of sources, including interviews with individuals, and a good chunk of it is based on my own knowledge of the subject. I am by no means an expert, but merely offer this information for background purposes. EO Extra pages will be updated as new information is found, as the research is ongoing.
Zinc headstones are fairly common, however not as common as they should be in my personal opinion. Zinc stones are typically made of iron that is coated with Zinc, however some monument experts I've spoken with say that many of them are solid zinc.
Some Facts about Zinc Stones
Zinc was primarily used between ca. 1890 and 1920, although examples from slightly before and slightly after do exist.
Zinc stones were the cheapest of all the stone materials; they could often be as cheap as 1/3 the cost of fashion stones
Although economically smarter, many people still used the expensive stones because, let's face it, nobody wants to skimp on Grandma's eternal memorial.
Despite its low cost, Zinc has thus far proven itself against the tests of weather and time. Some of the best preserved stones I've seen are made of Zinc.
Examples of Zinc Markers
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