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 Replies: 10 / Views: 3,559 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3328 Posts |
I know these aren't anything special unless you find the right ones, but I almost never find them, they don't even go into plastic tube rolls but this is the second iv found ind decent shape, the really high grade one I found was almost round on the edges but this one has all the edges on the sides with nice sharp corners on the rim, why did they ever scrap this design? Mayb easier to not have edged nickels in vending machines etc.?   |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
21584 Posts |
For economic reasons. It was cheaper to make a round coin than a 12 sided one.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
This is properly called a "regular dodecagon" rather than a hexagon.  Edited by Coinfrog
09/01/2021 6:10 pm
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Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
Making 12-sided coins is considerably more expensive. You need to cut the planchets to the correct shape, then have some mechanism to feed the planchets into the press "the right way round". Die stress on coins with sharp points rather than smooth curves is also a factor.
The Australian 50 cent piece is also dodecagonal. Its higher face value and larger size means it is more economical to produce than a dodecagonal 5 cent piece.
Finally, a dodecagonal coin is not as suitable a shape for vending machines as a round coin, or even the equilaterally-curved heptagons like the the British 50p coin. They do not "roll" easily, and the vending slot must have extra-wide tolerance, to allow the coin to be inserted at any angle. Wider tolerances make it easier for counterfeiters to insert a slug into a vending machine and have it be accepted.
So the real question is, why were dodec 5 cent (and later 1 cent) coins adopted in the first place?
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
9862 Posts |
Canadian dodecagonal nickels were struck on round blanks they were not specially cut.
The twelve sided collar is what gave them their shape.
"Dipping" is not considered cleaning...
-from PCGS website
Edited by DBM
09/01/2021 6:49 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
999 Posts |
Quote:
So the real question is, why were dodec 5 cent (and later 1 cent) coins adopted in the first place? It started in 1942 with the tombac. They didn't want people getting confused with the 1 cent. For some reason they carried on until 1963 when they finally changed back for economic reasons. The collars for the coining presses lasted longer. When the 1 cent was changed from round to twelve-sided in 1982, the weight decreased from 2.8g to 2.5g. Probably the weight decrease more than offset the cost of the modified design. According to the Charlton guide, the 12-sided design was not conducive to copper plating when the mint moved to copper plated zinc. Therefore the cent went back to round in 1997. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
I never really thought of these as having 12 sided edges. I just thought they looked that way because of the design near the rim. Sort of an optical illusion? I'll have to take a closer look at mine. I wonder if a round planchet wouldn't squeeze out under striking pressure into such a subtle 12 side collar if it 12 sided. Late Edit: I see DBM already mentioned this. At least I have my thinking cap on tonight. Quote:
Canadian dodecagonal nickels were struck on round blanks they were not specially cut.
The twelve sided collar is what gave them their shape. Edited by TNG
09/01/2021 7:39 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5324 Posts |
If you have seen a blank loonie it's round, as mentioned it's a collar that shapes the coin, one would guess the 5 cent is the same.
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Moderator
Australia
16806 Posts |
Quote:
Canadian dodecagonal nickels were struck on round blanks they were not specially cut.
The twelve sided collar is what gave them their shape. I did not know that. Cool.  I know the Australian coins I mentioned are struck on special-cut dodec blanks, and assumed most other dodec coins were the same. Glad to learn otherwise. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1618 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1484 Posts |
I always enjoyed looking for dodecagonal coins during trips to Canada. Don't forget the U.S. once messed around with a round planchet and an 11-sided inner border to come up with the soundly disliked Susan B Anthony dollar, 1979-1981 and 1999. |
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Replies: 10 / Views: 3,559 |
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Posted 09/01/2021 6:10 pm
