| Author |
 Replies: 21 / Views: 10,628 |
Page 2 of 2
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4870 Posts |
This is all very interesting. Was there actually a copper shortage? That would explain a penny shortage. But if there wasn't a shortage of copper then why didn't the mint just churn out more penny's?
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
I think this may be a confusion of two different things. Yes banks were paying a premium, and the Mint did have a program where anyone turning in $25 in cents could get a certificate of appreciation signed by Director Mary Brooks.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
462 Posts |
Quote:
Well, due to copper prices rising so high, if you recall in the coin "history books", the mint made 1 1/2 billion experimental cents made of aluminum due to of (1) high copper prices, and (2) penny shortage of 1974. However, all of these cents were melted and none were released in circulation. That we know of  |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
1001 Posts |
Quote:
Link has been fixed. Didn't know it was broke, it worked for me after I posted it... Thanks anyway! |
|
Moderator
 United States
189969 Posts |
The forum was breaking it. Bobby had to tweak something on the back end.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
959 Posts |
Never really noticed the penny shortage. In the 70's, it was all about a gas shortage. Quote:
The 1973 oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC, consisting of the Arab members of the OPEC plus Egypt and Syria) proclaimed an oil embargo. By the end of the embargo in March 1974,[1] the price of oil had risen from $3 per barrel to nearly $12. The oil crisis, or "shock", had many short-term and long-term effects on global politics and the global economy.[2] It was later called the "first oil shock", followed by the 1979 oil crisis, termed the "second oil shock." |
|
New Member
United States
1 Posts |
|
|
Moderator
United States
189969 Posts |
Interesting article find.  |
|
Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
624 Posts |
Quote:
However, all of these cents were melted and none were released in circulation. At least one of the 1974 aluminum cents made it out. Although the Mint claims it was never released and therefor still their property. When two men tried to sell this one at auction, the government stepped in and demanded the cent be returned to them. Interesting story. http://www.coinworld.com/news/us-co...nt.all.html# |
|
Valued Member
United States
493 Posts |
It seems this was a time when the mint was busy replacing all the wheat pennies that were finally more hoarded? We still find about a dozen wheat pennies in the average $25 bank box. Then they minted nearly 11 billion 1982 copper pennies, gave up and went zinc. Also, I noticed they were not really cranking up the presses all through the 60's, a couple billion a year but by 74 they were up to 10 billion per year. Now copper pennies between 59-82 are down to I'd say less than 25% of the population or less. Now the melt on a copper penny is $0.0139601 is the melt value for the 1909-1982 copper cent on December 22, 2015.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
At least one of the 1974 aluminum cents made it out. Although the Mint claims it was never released and therefor still their property. When two men tried to sell this one at auction, the government stepped in and demanded the cent be returned to them. Interesting story. At least two of them made it out. One was found in a departing congressman's desk. That was sent to the Smithsonian. The other is the Toven coin that was originally graded AU 58 by ICG and then later MS-62 by PCGS. That coin is still in the family's hands and the government has never made any attempt to recover it. The piece in you link is NOT one of the experimental coins, they were all made in Philadelphia. It is controversial because all experimental/pattern coins are made in Philadelphia, never in the branch mints. The government has absolutely no records of ever striking ANY 1974 D aluminum cents. They say they didn't make any, but that it belongs to them and they want it back. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1001 Posts |
The Smithsonian's Aluminum cent is on display. They had an error in the placard that I emailed them a couple years ago about and they said they changed it. They had indicated that the composition changed in 1986 when it was actually 1982.
Has anyone been there recently to see if they indeed changed the description to the correct one?
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
530 Posts |
Wow! That is a well written piece of history.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
186 Posts |
i can remember my mother getting some green Thomas Jefferson 1cent stamps when the store ran out of pennies
|
|
Page 2 of 2
|
Replies: 21 / Views: 10,628 |
Page 2 of 2
|
First Page
Posted 10/28/2015 12:04 pm
