US Mint Reports Findings of Alternative Coin Materials Research

[jeff of pa]

The United States Mint has issued the first biennial report to Congress required under the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010. The report includes an analysis of the production costs for each circulating coin, the findings of an alternative metals study, and Mint's recommendations with regards to potential changes in coin composition.
After a "thorough and meaningful" research and development study that took nearly two years to complete with an outside consultant, the US Mint has indicated that additional work is required before recommendations can be made for any specific changes in coin composition of methods of coin production.



Steam corrosion tested one cent trial strikes on aluminized steel


Wear tested five cent trial strikes on unplated copper alloy


US Mint Reports Findings of Alternative Coin Materials Research | Coin Update

 

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[Generic_Lad]

Any chance that some of the trial pieces will "go missing" and end up on the auction block 25 years later?

 

[jeff of pa]

I'm no Washington fan, after all..... he was a president, & war monger

However those Martha Nickels are cool

 

[dejapooh]

Any chance that some of the trial pieces will "go missing" and end up on the auction block 25 years later?

Doubtful. They may disappear, but they will not show at public auction.

I'll tell you, if I found one, I'd be on the first flight to Switzerland... or a country without extradition treaty. Public Auction in Serbia or something would be the only place to sell something like that (or a 1933 $20, or a 1974 Aluminum Cent)...

 

[jeff of pa]

Pattern Coins exist in Collections, But not sure if these would be considered Pattern coins since
their main purpose is to test the metal, Not the look, But Pattern coins are usually off metal also

For those of you not familiar with this fascinating area of numismatics, patterns are prototypes for coins that, for the most part, were never approved for circulation. Most patterns are very rare, some unique, and others unknown outside of museums.

http://uspatterns.com/

 

[nsdq]

can we go back to copper and silver ?

 

[adaminnh]

Im with nsdq. Simple,lasting,beautiful silver and copper. How much taxpayer dollars have been spent for a bunch of pencil pushers(no offense intended,the world needs pencil pushers) to sit around trying to come up wirh a 'cheap' and 'easy' alloy over the years? I bet it would have been cheaper to just use the damn silver. And their 'frankencoins' rot away after a year in the dirt. I do like that martha though...

 

[dejapooh]

can we go back to copper and silver ?

Boy, I sure hope not.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I think theri environmental tests are lacking. How can a coin that eats itself (like the zincoln) ever pass an environmental wear test? Those things are toasted in a matter of weeks in saltwater.

 

[jeff of pa]

apparently environmental wear testing is a new thing.

Or set up for media to look like they actually work at the mint

then again maybe that is what they are looking for Disposable Coins.
Something to keep them replacing coins. "Job Security"

 

[Jason in Enid]

But yet they claim the reasoning behind the push for changing $1 for $1 coins is that the coins have an expected life of 20 years, where a paper bill is only about 2.

 

[50cent]

I like the new coins better, the penny does a diservice to lincon, the (newer 2000s and so on) nickles really make jeffereson look awful, and washington never, looked good on the quarter. All current coins (usually!) found in circulation, except the dollar coins (both large and small) look awful, worse than their predecessor's and worse than their successors .

I'm no Washington fan, after all..... he was a president, & war monger

However those Martha Nickels are cool

Please do not insult George Washington; that is not cool and it is not a laughing matter, or are you just joking? Though, seeing clad of the same coin of the same person day after-day can be nerve wracking to the point where you start disliking whoever is on it.

 

[maipenrai]

how about just dumping the penny! no need to spend millions to produce a better one, it is still worthless!

 

[50cent]

How about dumping tax, only reason there are pennies still. No retailers would deal with the confusion and no banks would deal with the hassle of ordering them.

Getting rid of pennies instead of tax, at least in the US, will simply make everything be rounded up homie. Things are all ready rounded up if you know what I mean.