In the Treasure Corner - Costly Coins, Pricey Pennies

[Dan Hughes]

"Psst! Hey Bud! This penny cost me almost two cents - yours for just a penny! And this nickel cost almost eight cents - wanna buy it for a nickel?"

That's the United States Mint, selling its coins for below cost. As they have been doing for years.

How to handle the problem? Suggested fixes include using cheaper metals, or simply doing away with the coins altogether.

This show examines the cost of minting coins. Give it a listen at In the Corner with Dan Hughes.

The photo, by the way, is of an alternative-metal nickel design.

 

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[cactusman]

I wish they would do away with $1, $5 and $10 bills and make coins in those denominations. :-) What does the future hold for our coins? Who knows, but I fear things will take a turn for the worse in a few years. My guess is that the penny will go away, and we'll see either a clad steel nickel, or a stainless steel nickel, and perhaps the same for the dime. Good thing I'm more into cache hunting, jewelry hunting, as well as gold and meteorites. But if the coins go, I'll miss the easy scores when I only have a couple of hours to kill at a park. Of course there will be tons of coins to find for years, just as there are silver coins being unearthed every day by metal detector users.

Here is some more on the subject...


Pennies and nickels cost more to make than they're worth:

Changing U.S. coins could save millions, but may cost businesses billions - Jan. 11, 2016


Implications of Changing Metal Compositions
What GAO Found:

U.S. GAO - U.S. Coins: Implications of Changing Metal Compositions


Alternative Metals Study - The United States Mint:
https://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/PDFs/ctcr-alternative-metals-study-2012-08-31.pdf