Time to retire the nickel?

[JIM F.]

With the price of nickel nearly doubling in the last year, making the input cost of the nickel and copper 4.3 cents, and with production cost significantly higher than 5 cents, perhaps the nickel should be retired.  Nickel is finding growing use in production of super alloys so I don't see the raw material cost going down (or even stabilizing) anytime soon.  But, our government doesn't do much that makes sense economically. 

 

[WoodenJefferson]

Problem is, retailers will 'round up' if they can't make exact change, so, most everything will cost a nickel more. 

[Mohawk]

Well, I seem to remember an article from a few years back that tests were being done to see if the nickel could be changed over to copper-plated zinc, like the cent.  However, it would appear that nothing came of that.  I think a better solution would be a plated steel composition, like Canada uses for their coins. 

[Just Bob]

The electromagnetic signature, weight, and shape have to remain the same in order for the coins to work in existing machines. The mint tested six compositions after Congress instructed the Treasury department to look into alternate material in 2010. Of the six tested, only 80/20 cupronickel had the same electromagnetic singature. 

[Mohawk]

3 minutes ago, Just Bob said:

The electromagnetic signature, weight, and shape have to remain the same in order for the coins to work in existing machines. The mint tested six compositions after Congress instructed the Treasury department to look into alternate material in 2010. Of the six tested, only 80/20 cupronickel had the same electromagnetic singature. 

Ah, that's interesting to know, Bob.  I guess I didn't really think about the electromagnetic properties when I posted, just cost efficiency and durability.  A magnetic coin would cause some havoc here in the States, wouldn't it?

[Just Bob]

If I remember correctly, the estimated cost to modernize existing machines to accept a new coin type was in excess of 400 billion dollars. That was in 2012. 

I also seem to remember that the mint could not solve the problem of accelerated die wear when experimenting with the plated steel coins, even after consulting with the Canadian mint.

[cladking]

The value of the nickel is nearly irrelevant so they need to be made only to make change and not to work in vending machines. 

If this were back in the days that some things done by government made sense they'd simply demonetize them and switch the composition to aluminum.  As production ramped up they'd withdraw the old nickels to pay for this transition.  The new "nickel" would still be too expensive so they'd make a new smaller aluminum nickel in a few years and pay for it by withdrawing the large version.

A penny has enough zinc to kill mammals weighing up to 18 lbs.  A nickel size zinc coin could even kill 30 pounder toddlers. 

[World Colonial]

The only long term solution to this problem is to stop debasing the currency.  That's never going to happen.

[numisport]

When is the last time you saw a vending machine that uses nickels ? Grocery store self check lanes ? If totals could be rounded fairly only shillings and quarters would be needed.

[bsshog40]

On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 9:08 AM, numisport said:

When is the last time you saw a vending machine that uses nickels ? Grocery store self check lanes ? If totals could be rounded fairly only shillings and quarters would be needed.

Good point! I don't think I've ever seen a vending machine that takes nickels, at least not lately. Most now just take currency and then distributes change. 

[Conder101]

On 7/4/2018 at 10:08 AM, numisport said:

When is the last time you saw a vending machine that uses nickels ? 

I'm staring at three of them right now.  And almost every vending machine I see takes nickels.

[numisport]

Okay I suppose there are machines that take nickels but the better question would be why would you need to put a nickel into a vending machine in the first place ? Unless you just happen to have a pocket full of nickels and wanted to get rid of them, or want to vend something that cost .80 or 1.05 maybe.

[JIM F.]

If they stopped making nickels, it doesn't mean the billions of them in circulation would magically disappear.  I suspect they would circulate at least another 100 years and never have any true collector value. 

 

[physics-fan3.14]

I think the first step is to get rid of the cent. 

That is literally a useless disc of metal. Nobody can claim that the cent is still here because of vending machines (and even the nickel claim is dubious). 

No, the real reason that the cent and nickel are still here is because the copper lobby is powerful - you try and kill the coin, and watch the senators from copper-mining states get all spun up.