What's New?
National Park Quarters Program
New $100 Bill Unveiled To Thwart High-Tech Counterfeits
1794 Silver Dollar Sold for World Record Price $7,850,000
Collecting Problems: U.S. Mint Faces a Coin Cost Dilemma
To keep up with What's New,
Collecting Problems: U.S. Mint Faces a Coin Cost Dilemma
[DailyFinance]
A recent move by the Obama administration may lighten wallets across the country -- but not in a bad way. According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House is considering proposals that would alter the metallic composition of America's pocket change to make it cheaper to produce the coins. Although some groups -- notably, coin collectors -- are wary of any change in the nation's metal currency, it looks like this could be a profitable move for the country.
The big problem is that some U.S. coins cost more to make than they are actually worth. The prices of coin metals, which fell to five-year lows at the beginning of 2009, have risen back to 2007 levels, driving the production price of some coins up above their face value. According to the United States Mint's 2009 Annual Report, pennies currently cost 1.6 cents apiece to produce and nickels cost 6 cents apiece; more recent estimates claim that the cost of manufacturing a nickel is closer to 9 cents.