1.79 Cents for Your Thoughts

If it costs $0.092 to make a nickel (a 5 cent coin), that would make counterfeiting it a pretty low percentage deal!

This will only fuel the fire for those lobbying for a cashless economy, a red herring arguement.

Various military branches don't use metallic coins when stationed far from home. First to go is pennies, you don't get any in your change. Next, in hot zones the U.S. don't use metal coins at all. If you go to the U.S. Stores you get paper or plastic round 'pogs' with motivational pictures and numerical values on them in your change.

I remember as kids a few of us tried filing down electrical box slugs to work as nickels and quarters in the candy machines around town.

We thought we got a way with murder when a few of them actually worked and paid off! Granted it took an hour or better for each one and involved blisters, scrapes, and cuts but man O man that 1/2 a cent worth of candy we got free really tasted good!

Now years later I hope my niece doesn't figure out that her uncles lathe can pop out fake quarter slugs in a mass quantitys with little effort if she set it up right.

While it may be possible to still fool a coin op vending machine, they can detect quite a bit. They usually have a magnet in them so no magnetic metals, they also check that the size and weight are also in spec. I am sure you could get away with it in some machines, but still not worth it. Of course many vending machines don't even take coins now, so all in all even with a lathe, still not worth it.

That was about 25 or so years ago. Coin op candy/gum ball machines didn't really care just as long as the diameter and thickness where close.

For a handful of 11 and 12 year olds we where master counterfeiters, in our minds anyway, and not concerned about getting caught. That mall candy machine owner never knew what hit him! We probably made off with a good honest $1's worth, his cost, of goodies over a months time before we ran out of slugs to file down.

Australia has already moved past that point and made decisive action relating to the "small change" issue. We no longer have 1 cent and 2 cent coins. Each account (paid in cash) is rounded up/down to the nearest 5 cent.

Electronic funds are still accounted to the cent.

From what the article hints at, the US "penny" will soon be heading west. I've got a few that I brought home from visits over there as mementos of those adventures.

BTW, years ago (1966) Australia had a round 50 cent coin that had a high silver content. Within 2 years, the coin was worth more as scrap metal than the face value and was removed from circulation and replaced by a 12 sided coin.

If metal values continue the way they are, it will soon become profitable to collect pennies from the banks and sell them to scrap merchants.

As an aside, there are some wonderful sayings that seem to have roots in your coin.

From an auctioneer: "In God we trust, all others must bring cash."

Or from a manufacturign Engineer: "In God we trust, all others must bring DATA."

BTW, years ago (1966) Australia had a round 50 cent coin that had a high silver content. Within 2 years, the coin was worth more as scrap metal than the face value and was removed from circulation and replaced by a 12 sided coin. A 12 sided coin? Post pictures please. Never been to Australia!

This is where it gets "interesting". Australia has taken advantage of the currency in circulation to celebrate events and characters in our history. The coins change each year to match a theme. Makes collecting them a real adventure.

This is a 2005 coin showing some sporting and indiginous activities.

By the way, today (February 14) is the anniversary of the introduction of decimal currency into Australia in 1966.

Thanks...it is beautiful.I lke the motief too. Perhaps this makes it slightly difficult to counter-feit. How rife is this in Australia?

I haven't heard of any counterfiet coins in circulation. The quality of original coins is difficult to reproduce and there are many inbuilt protections against such. (Coin operated equipment and bank counting equipment seem to work well.) The weights and size steps for the various denominations have been well considered.

Our notes are "plastic" with significant durability compared to the "paper" money that was previously used. This provides opportunity for "hologram" security as well as extremely good resolution and no smudging. The notes do not deteriorate when washed, and they don't tear readily.

There have been three (serious and publicised) attempts to counterfeit notes, but they have been quite easy to detect. The most recent was a $50.00 note scam that missed at least four security details in the notes. A few shopkeepers got "stung" with passed notes.

So, from a public perspective it would seem that counterfeiting in not common in Aus.

Here in the UK, those who counterfiet money are on to a big thing, they are making millions of one pound coins, and the only difference is that the front and back don't always match up, I have three of them in my pocket, so many of them have been produced, so somebody must be making money out of counterfieting these one pound coins, or they wouldn't do it?

Xanasax

Buy nickels from the bank and sell on metals market. 40% ain't bad for profit points.

Except in the US not that much nickle is actually used

An American nickel is 3.75 gram Cu and 1.25 gram Ni. The metal prices I checked yesterday place melt value at about $0.076 per coin.

If you stumble across some WWII era USA nickels, they contain 2.8 gram Cu, and 1.75 gram of Ag.

In addition: Milo, I smile and nod my head in agreement "If there is a lesson in all this, it just might be that "nobody, not even a government monopoly, makes any money producing the cheap metallic parts. Even in high volumes."

Sad but so true.

Back in the 1982 pennies where made out of 95% copper that year but the price of copper spiked high enough that those pennies became worth more for scrap than face value.

It was also why the penny changed from 95% copper to copper plated zinc again which put them down around 2.5% copper now.