U.S. cents have been made of copper, steel, and copper plated zinc. What's next?

U.S. cents have been made of copper, steel, and copper plated zinc. What’s next?

If you have not provided your opinion to the U.S. Mint about their study of alternative metals for circulating coins, the time to provide comments have been extended. According to the Federal Register (79 F.R. 32363 [PDF]), the National Armored Carriers Association (NACA) requested an extension stating that additional time is necessary to provide an appropriate and comprehensive response. The U.S. Mint agreed with the NACA and has extended the comment period until the close of business on Tuesday, June 24, 2014.

You can read my previous posting about this here.

Even though the U.S. Mind does not define who its stakeholders are, I believe that collects are part of the stakeholder community and should be heard. If you do comment, the U.S. Mint is looking for input on the following factors:

  • Costs to convert to circulating coins composed of alternative metals given the following possible changes to coins:
    • Weight
    • Electromagnetic signature
    • Visual changes, such as color and relief
  • Transition time needed to introduce a circulating coin composed of an alternative metal.
  • Comments on how best to inform and educate both affected industries and the public on changes to circulating coins.
  • Environmental impact from the use of circulating coins composed of alternative metals.
  • Other issues of importance not identified above.

When commenting, note that the U.S. Mint said it is not considering aluminum alloy metals.

Comments may be sent by email to Coin.StakeholdersResponse@usmint.treas.gov. If you prefer to send your comments the traditional way, mail them to Coin Stakeholders Response, Office of Coin Studies, United States Mint, 801 9th Street NW., Washington, DC 20220.

If you do comment and would like to share what you said with the rest of the community, either send it to me via email or post it as a comment below.

Pin It on Pinterest

%d bloggers like this: