More talk of coin composition change

[Spizzerinctum]

In the Numismatic News dated June 16th there is an article about the US Mint's recent talks with elected officials, being urged to come up with a composition change for cents and nickels. They were even talking to British and Royal Canadian Mint officials to see if they could make ours cheaper. Steel and zinc were talked about as the most likely metals used and they mentioned they had test struck steel cents by the millions. Is this reason for copper cent hoarders to be less optimistic or more?

 

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[minkybodl]

I think most people saving cents are doing it because of the spot price of copper and what that might do some day regardless of what the newer zincon or whatever cents are made of. For a while, cents were worth almost 3 cents at copper's spot price. At today spot of 3.0975 for copper and .9819 for zinc a dollar in cents is worth 2.05 according to coinflation.
The way they keep printing money and keep trying to make cheaper change the more I'm sure we will see 5 and even 10 dollars for copper someday.

 

[Chillydog]

When are they gonna stop making coins? Everything will be electronic one day.

 

[SilverFace]

It seems likely that the Mint will continue to debase U.S. coinage as the Fed continues to devalue the USD. I wonder if the debasing of nickels will finally give circulated common date pre -'60 nickels a little numis value - or at least give a little more numis value to some of the lower mintage pre - '60 dates like the '50(P), '55(P), '58(P), '59(P), the S mints and semi key dates too. And I wonder if the continued devaluing of cents will give common date wheat cents a little added numis value too. And when they do finally debase Jefferson nickels I image uncirculated modern date MWR nickels with the current 75% copper, 25% nickel composition will likely have additional collectable value too.

The past few years I've been hoarding some of the new MWR nickels I find - mainly for their intrinsic value but also for the possible increase in collectable value they might have if and when the Mint finally does change the composition. But nothing beats being able to still find silver @ face after the devaluing of silver coinage 45 - 50 years ago. Im completely confident that its just a matter of time - and probably relatively soon- that silver prices will be back to all time highs once again.

H$H!

 

[srcdco]

The important part of the article was left out of the original post. The British Royal Mint also highly suggested that if the United States does go ahead with a sweeping composition change that they also institute a program to retire the old composition coins as soon as possible:

Mills also said that when composition changes were made to coins in the United Kingdom, the vending industry there favored as rapid a shift to the new composition as possible so that two kinds of the same denomination were not circulating side by side. - See more at: Mint testifies before House on coinage composition changes | Numismatic News

Scott

 

[MIhunter]

If low grade (G-F) 1940s Jefferson nickels don't have numismatic value after 70 years, doubtful they ever will.
It would seem that if the Mint changes the composition of nickels and starta reclaiming older nickels that this would increase there value.
But that hasn't happened in Britain or other countries where there has been a change.

Also Congress is very good at talking, as if they are paid by the sentence. However, I expected any change in coins to be years off.