I can agree with getting rid of the penny, but that doesn’t go far enough. It currently costs 2 cents to make each penny, and 14 cents to make each nickel. Stop making the 1 cent denomination of coin, but use the same copper coated zinc coin (current penny) to make the “new” Copper Nickel. That way the new copper nickel would only cost 2 cents each to make, thereby saving the Government 12 cents for each new nickel.
Heck, make the new copper nickel slightly larger than the current penny, so that there would be less confusion between the old copper penny and the new copper nickel. And changing the size of the current penny slightly, making it a little larger, maybe 3 cents extra for a little more copper. Even if you raised the production cost by 2 cents, you would be saving 10 cents on each new copper nickel.
Now that I think about it, why coat the new coin with copper? You could just use Zinc for the new “Zinc Nickel.”
And AI puts in his “2 cents”: “Yes, a completely zinc coin is technically possible, but it’s not common practice due to concerns about wear and tear as pure zinc is relatively soft; however, the US penny is essentially a “zinc coin” as it’s made of almost entirely zinc with a thin copper plating, meaning the majority of the coin’s material is zinc.“
The current U.S. Nickel is 75% copper, coated with 25% nickel, so… why not use a nickel plated zinc coin?
And because AI can’t keep her mouth shut: “A “nickel plated zinc coin” refers to a coin where the primary metal is zinc, but it has a thin outer layer of nickel plating, giving it the appearance and feel of a traditional nickel coin, while being lighter and potentially cheaper to produce; this is sometimes considered as a potential alternative material for coins in some countries, offering similar aesthetics with different metal composition.“
Do we have any vending machines, telephones or other coinage operated machines that use nickels? If not, then changing the size and weight of a nickel to that of the current copper coated zinc penny is easily possible.
I did not realize how easy it would be to change our current coinage and cut production costs drastically. Our current nickel is 75% copper. What’s up with that? If you can coat zinc with copper to make a penny, you could make a copper nickel the same way. Or, can you coat zinc with nickel, and it be cheaper to produce a nickel?
Okay, the President does not control the U.S. Treasury which controls the United States Mint, so he can suggest, but not mandate. Still this would probably be a good idea for Congress to get the ball rolling and make a change within two years.
Bill Gibson, II 