| Author |
 Replies: 20 / Views: 2,572 |
Page 2 of 2
|
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
101 Posts |
Wow I didn't know they were changing the nickel composition. Is there any press release or article outlining the change in more detail? That would be very interesting to look into!
Steve
|
|
Valued Member
United States
144 Posts |
The legislation is just being proposed, so there's been no decisions yet (I think the mint will be allowed to come up with a suitable composition).
Besides seniorage (which helps the mint directly), whenever money leaves circulation (either in the U.S. by being collected, or by leaving the U.S. altogether), it has the effect of a permanent interest-free loan to the U.S. gov't.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2273 Posts |
It's impossible to make a steel penny in this day and age for less than one cent. Many of the high quality steels cost more than this just for the metal and then there are high fabrication costs since steel wears dies quickly.
A penny is far too little money to be represented by a coin.
Perhaps they could petition Cogress to restore the value of the penny.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
1,2, and 5 Eurocent coins are copper-plated steel although I do not know their production costs.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
quote:
It's impossible to make a steel penny in this day and age for less than one cent. Many of the high quality steels cost more than this just for the metal and then there are high fabrication costs since steel wears dies quickly.
Who said anything about high quality steel? You use a cheap low quality steel and plate it. Sure once the plating develops breaks it will rust, but the cent is a throwaway item normally used just a few times and then retired. It doesn't have to last. |
|
Valued Member
United States
144 Posts |
I think they should retire the cent and issue a debased 2 cent piece. Then you can make any value up to 0.99 except for 0.01 and 0.03 without the use of a penny.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
204 Posts |
I agree with Greyhav - plus it would make it easier to put your Two Cents in. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2273 Posts |
Even The lowest grade scrap steels are selling for 15c per pound now days and prices are still escalating. Steel production is an exothermic reaction so upward pressure on prices won't be as high as on other base metals but this is still high.
Steel fabrication costs are quite high so even the cheapest rolled steel should run about 25c per pound. By the time it's punched and coated it will easily be 40c/ lb. These are extremely conservative estimates.
A pound of steel, I believe, will make about 130 penny sized coins. So we're in the .3c area just in planchet costs. They'd be lucky to get a quarter million strikes from dies if striking these so coining costs would probably be at least in the 1c area for a conservative total of 1.3 cents.
Frankly this is really all pretty meaningless when you're talking about a rational currency system. Each time a penny is used it costs individuals and companies far more in handling and counting costs than one cent. We lose money on these coins everytime they are used. It would make far more sense to eliminate them than to use them. Even if they sprang forth from the earth and were free to the government, it would be advantageous to simply rebury them.
Time don't fly, it bounds and leaps.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Steel weighs just slightly more than Zinc (about 1,1 times as much) so a steel cent would also weigh about 2.5 grams (Same weight as what a 1943 steel cent weighed.) so a pound of steel would make 180 cents. Even with a 40 cent a pound material cost that would give a material cost of .2 cents apiece.
I agree that there would be higher coining costs because of shorter die life, but I think it would be about twice your estimate. Softened steel is softer than the coppernickel alloy they use for the five cent pieces and they are getting between 300 and 500 thousand strikes.
I'm not saying that a steel cent would be a long term solution but I think they could be brought in for a cost somewhere in the .7 to .8 cent apiece range. Use of plated aluminum instead of steel would greatly improve on those figures becuse a pound of aluminum, although more expensive (around the same cost as zinc), will produce about 500 cents from a pound of metal.
I also agree that the cent needs to be eliminated though just due to the handling cost in daily commerce where use of the coin exceeds the value of it.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2269 Posts |
Two years ago I visited Italy. I only saw two, one cent euros. I made plenty of transactions, but 1 cent coins were rare. I can't imagine why?
Whatever the Italians are doing to reduce the use of the cent, is obviously working. Maybe we should take notice.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1571 Posts |
I think that if the cent were eliminated, they would have to make everything end in 5, or 0, and make the 9/10 cost illegal! That way we would get a nickel as the smallest amount of change for an item. Then make the nickel from the same alloy as the 1909 cent. Then we could keep working on the varieties, and not worry about having a one-cent coin that costs almost Two Cents to produce. Dump the dime, and dollar bill. Make the the coinage then 5 cents, 25 cents, fifty cents, two dollars, ten dollars, fifty dollars, one hundred dollars. Then re-call all the two-bit sized dollars! Just don't mess with IKE! Dick |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2269 Posts |
Like someone else suggested, a 2 cent piece might be a good idea. Europe uses the 2 cent euro and it really does circulate.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
We all know the cent and nickel cost more money to make than they are worth but us goverment is making up for it big time making dimes, quarters, dollar coins, halfs, proof sets us mint products to pay for the nickels and cents. If they can keep making money on other coins like they do then they can keep making them no problem. Like the dollar coin it cost maybe 20 cents to make it. Thats 80 cents profit per coin.
One other thing I learning. All those bu rolls like halfs , dollars that peaple buy from us mint over face or buy them from bank The goverment makes money if you never spend them in world on consumer goods.
Chevrolet454ss
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2269 Posts |
The Government makes money anytime we set aside a coin from circulation.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
439 Posts |
Kinda makes me wonder how much they made just from all the State Quarters people have set aside by the roll. |
|
Page 2 of 2
|
Replies: 20 / Views: 2,572 |
Page 2 of 2
|
First Page
Posted 08/10/2007 11:03 am
