Abstract: To reduce costs and permit use of a smaller amount of noble metals in nobel metal contacts, a common metal contact material which forms, in an oxygen-containing atmosphere or in air, non-porous insulating oxides, is coated with a porous noble metal or noble metal alloy cover layer, the pores or regions not covered by the noble metal or nobel metal alloy being permitted to oxidize to form a protective common metal contact material oxide, the noble metal regions in contact with the underlying contact material itself providing for the electrical connection. Preferably, the porous cover layer has a thickness of between about 0.1 to 0.2 .mu.m, and the contact material, separately or applied to a carrier, has a thickness of between 2 to 100 .mu.m, preferably about 10 .mu.