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 Replies: 15 / Views: 5,328 |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I have just been looking at base metal prices and I note that zinc is $2060 per ton and copper is $7225 per ton. That makes the intrinsic worth of a copper penny at roughly 2.25 cents, and the zinc penny roughly 0.55 cents. If the US dollar devalues sharply or the zinc price rises, or both, the value of zinc in a penny is going to be more than one cent. Considering that billions of them that are struck each year, the penny could well be under threat of extinction! I am an Aussie and I report that the Australian bronze one cent and Two Cents are already gone for good! Edited by sel_69l
08/11/2010 10:04 am
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Valued Member
United States
172 Posts |
With the cost of shipping and distribution, it already takes more than face value to produce a penny and a nickel. There are proposals to change the composition of coins to a base-metal plated steel. Really though, I don't see the big deal as any negative revenue from making pennies and nickels is more than made up for with the seignorage from the other coins.
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Valued Member
United States
108 Posts |
Speaking of the zinc penny and how long it will be around. I wonder if there will be any for my kids to collect. I am seeing alot of them that are in bad shape in circulation. I find 40 and 50 year old pennys in better shape than I find some of the 2010s in.
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Valued Member
United States
74 Posts |
I still wonder what brilliant person thought, "I know, let's copper plate zinc, that will work great as a coin!"
Personally, I'd rather see they stopped making the cent and 5 cent, if only because I can't stand the new designs. Heck with inflation, a dime is worth what a penny was a few decades ago. Like I asked my wife the other night, 20 years ago, how often did you see a $100 bill? Now they are common.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
Maybe it's because I'm young, but I, too, am seeing more $100 bills than ever. Zinc penny = ugly. How about: mint nothing except copper pennies, and then the dollar will have an instrinsic value.....
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Moderator
 United States
188213 Posts |
Quote:
Personally, I'd rather see they stopped making the cent and 5 cent... Heck with inflation, a dime is worth what a penny was a few decades ago I agree.  |
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Valued Member
United States
72 Posts |
Quote:
Missouriblue said: Speaking of the zinc penny and how long it will be around. I wonder if there will be any for my kids to collect. I am seeing alot of them that are in bad shape in circulation. I find 40 and 50 year old pennys in better shape than I find some of the 2010s in.
You ain't kiddin'. I'm picking through a box of 2010-P now and about 18 rolls into it I've set aside two (2) cents and even those weren't flawless. The problem with zinc cents in circulation is the fact they don't often tone, they "ugly". Sometimes they skip ugly and go straight to "self-destruct". I'm starting to think MS 69-70 zinc cents to be a good prospect. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3283 Posts |
I say get rid of the cent. I can't stand the zincolns, and don't save them, but you guys are right they'll
probably be worth something someday cause they break down so fast. My set in a whitman folder all have an exteremely
attractive green ring around them.
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Valued Member
United States
162 Posts |
Zinc cents have somewhere between 0.5 and 0.6 cents worth of metal (prices go up and down) The mint claims that once you take into account all the costs, pennies cost about 1.6 cents to make, thus, even if the material were free they would just barely break even. I could see it changing to steel in the next couple of years.
Three things keep them from eliminating the penny:
* It would really make it clear how much inflation there has been
* Lobbyists
* If they eliminated it, they would need more nickels and they lose even more money on them.
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Valued Member
United States
74 Posts |
Lorax, I honestly believe at some point they will come out with "New" US dollars. I imagine a turn in rate of 100 to 1. At the rate that inflation is going, it might be a decade or two before it costs more to make a dime, and quarter than they are valued at. The cent and nickel are already at that point. I think the $1 bill costs more than a dollar to make and distribute also (which is why alot of countries switched to dollar coins). How long until it costs more than $5 to make and distribute a $5 bill?
If we hit a hyper-inflationary period (which I think is likely with how the Fed is dumping new dollars out at a crazy rate) then it'd make even more sense.
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Valued Member
United States
182 Posts |
Modern era zinc cents are to be good as gold. Laughing yet?
Well, consider this: Already there are shortages of even common era dates. 1986, 1982 small date zinc, 1991 zinc P, and others.
50 bucks a roll for 86, $40 for the 82 SM DT, $20 bucks for the 91, and most others are around three. You can buy copper pre-82 rolls for two dollars, and sometimes buck and a half, because of one thing...COPPER CENTS LAST.
Zinc cents have two dissimilar metals, and I will spare you the chemistry digression, but say instead this: if there is ANY zinc exposed on the copper clad outer layer (and think how many, even in mint and proof sets you see) then there is an area where oxygen attacks the bonding mechanisms. Then it just becomes a matter of months before the blackening of corrosion sets in. And, if you put oils, like body oils, on the coin, then the corrosion sets in more quickly. This is why so high prices are being seen on the rolls of the 8o's- they are a flawed design and cannot last. All metals seek to return to their ore form, and giving them a self destruct mechanism built in... well, that is that.
I put good, unspotted clad cents- even AU, in their own containers. Later, folks will pine for cents to replace the coins that are in their collections- because they detonated while being stored in even ideal conditions. The oils were introduced before they put the penny up, and that was that. They couldn't tell the damaging elements were there. Check your rolls. See if you don't find those zinc separations around the letters in United States of America. That's the trouble area. If you have those in your rolls, cull them, they will destroy the coin next to it.
I wish I had put away ten rolls of all those early clads, instead of two. Man, I would have a store of cash now. Finally, the crap of 2010. Man, it is so difficult to find no spots. So, go set ten boxes aside. Sort out high grade no spots. There will be a market later. Especially, there may be a copper among those left over AU/BU clads, but only folks who have them will even have the chance to look. And the very best source for BU CLADS later- Unopened mint sets. Hidden wealth in those sets, just in the cents alone.
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Bedrock of the Community
 Australia
21786 Posts |
I note that the Brits have been using copper plated steel for 1P and 2P coins for some time.
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Valued Member
United States
258 Posts |
The quality of the zinc pennies has sure improved over the years. You can really see the difference between the stuff from the 1980's and the stuff from the late 90's and early in this century.
These coins do not hold up well in circulation. Additionally they are a health risk (the zinc). Like others on this forum I wish pennies were still copper. Welcome to the world of inflation and currency debasement. Sincerely, John Leckrone
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New Member
United States
3 Posts |
Hi,
I just recently sent the below message to the US Mint and again later to a US Senate committee member who chairs for coinage issues. There is a relatively new law,PUBLIC LAW 111â€"302â€"DEC. 14, 2010
COIN MODERNIZATION, OVERSIGHT, AND CONTINUITY ACT OF 2010, that takes into account coinage composition, ETC.
Dear Sirs,
I would bet that the durability of a copper coated zinc penny was never really given much thought. I have just recently gotten really into metal detecting. What I can tell you is that any zinc based penny that has spent any time underground is going to be in such horrible shape, you had better spend it fast
before somebody is going to have to fight the urge to throw the ugly blob of rotted metal into the trash. I cannot imagine that the copper coated zinc really is the best option for replacing the expensive all copper pennies. There has to be a more durable alloy of metal that can stand the test of time and being
buried. In Europe, metal detectorist are still digging up roman coins that with a competent and thorough cleaning, you can still see the facial features of the Roman Emperors that were in power 2,000 years ago. I would think that we could perhaps even scale down the size of the penny, kind of like some of
the smaller Roman coins and even make them in copper again. It is not like they can operate any vending machines! If not, I am sure we could get over the loss of the copper color of our pennies and use some of the silver colored light alloys that so many foreign countries use. This would look like some of the
steel pennies of WWII, they really looked just fine! I just do not think it is right that we mint coins that within a very short amount of time will completely disappear and be lost just by having contact with the Earth.
Respectfully, Steve Fortune of Boise, Idaho.
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Valued Member
United States
179 Posts |
That penny isn't going anywhere. No one is brave enough to pull Lincoln off a coin and that includes President Obama.
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Moderator
United States
188213 Posts |
No need to resurrect a four year old thread when there is a more current one right here.  |
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Replies: 15 / Views: 5,328 |
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Posted 08/11/2010 10:00 am
