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 Replies: 14 / Views: 1,230 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4867 Posts |
With the rising cost of copper, why isn't anything being done to change the cents composition? Would steel cents be viable?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Yes...they've made them out of zinc!  The problem I see is the zinc core isn't very stable, especially since copper actually accelerates corrosion. For the sake of collecting, I hope they find a better composition. The steel/nickel/copper clad pennies of Canada might be a better solution, but I'll guess that would require reworking the design of our cent. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4867 Posts |
Using the same composition as the Canada cent would be a great alternative.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I'm at a loss as to why there is nothing being done to produce just a regular stainless steel cent. No Copper, no Nickel, no nothing except a high grade, non-magnetic, plain old simple Stainless Steel cent. Same with all our coins. Modern day Stainless Steel in the correct grade is non-magnetic, stainless, rust resistant, corrosion resistant and does not dent, scratch or anything easily. And very, very cheap to produce.
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Moderator
 United States
187446 Posts |
If the cent is not outright eliminated, I would not be surprised to see them made of some sort of composite material. But realistically, the copper coated steel used in other places would be the best bet. IIRC, JardenZinc does the Canadian planchets as well; the US Mint would not even have to change sources.
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Valued Member
United States
328 Posts |
quote:
I'm at a loss as to why there is nothing being done to produce just a regular stainless steel cent. No Copper, no Nickel, no nothing except a high grade, non-magnetic, plain old simple Stainless Steel cent. Same with all our coins. Modern day Stainless Steel in the correct grade is non-magnetic, stainless, rust resistant, corrosion resistant and does not dent, scratch or anything easily. And very, very cheap to produce.
Finding MS70 coins would be a bit too easy it coins were stainless steel. For the sake of collecting, they, will probably continue cladding. |
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Valued Member
United States
499 Posts |
Current cents are not clad, they are plated.
Richard
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Valued Member
United States
57 Posts |
Maybe they will change the composition when they change the dsign in 2009
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Valued Member
United States
64 Posts |
We are likely to see a aluminum or steel cent plated with copper after 2009.
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Valued Member
United States
328 Posts |
If they change the composition, they must change the design. Is it the same the other way around?
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Valued Member
United States
60 Posts |
We are likely to see a aluminum or steel cent plated with copper after 2009.
Is aluminum used in coins? I would think that it is no light and not sturdy enough to last.
If they change the composition, they must change the design.
Why is that?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
I'll just add my .02 quote:
Is aluminum used in coins? I would think that it is no light and not sturdy enough to last.
You're right--pure Al would be too soft/fragile for coinage. I'm sure an alloy is used with Al being the primary metal. Quite a few countries have used Al coinage over the years.
If they change the composition, they must change the design.
Why is that?
If the new metal has a different harness or malleability, they often change the die design to ensure a good strike and minimize die wear. At least that's usually the case, although I don't think US emergency coinage such as the 1943 steel cent used special dies, and I've read that shortened die life was the result. Edited by KurtS
02/24/2008 4:41 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
There are several problems with any mixture of metals to be used for coinage. If magnetic, many vending and other types of machines would not work accept them. Of course most vending or other coin usage machines do not accept cents anyway. If the coins were to be made of any mixture of metals it would have to be a mixture in order to produce at a cheaper rate than just a pure metal. Glads or platings are another step in the process and that too cost money. The amount of errors caused by the additional steps increases and again, the cost goes up. Many would complain if the cent was just like the 1943 a Silvery color, not the famous Copper color. And that is the problem with Stainless Steel. Remember the Dolorian Car. It was Stainless and if you wanted one you could only have it in a steel color. Paint, platings, etc do not stick to Stainless Steels of a grade sufficient enough to be non-magnetic. Therefore the only thing left is a $0.01 cent paper bill. |
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Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
Depending on the composition/quality of stainless steel it is not exclusively non-magnetic or non-corrodible. "Stainless" steel just stains less than regular carbon steel.
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
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Replies: 14 / Views: 1,230 |
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Posted 02/22/2008 1:26 pm
