Penny Pinching Canada introduces Steel coins

[Bluestream]

Sign of the times I guess. Due to the high cost of nickel, and the fact that people are now hording coins due to the nickel content, government is introducing steel coins..

Steel Coins

First silver coins are replaced in the 60's due to the high value of silver, now their nickle replacements are suffering the same fate. (I see a trend here)

In one of the more lame attempts at "Spin" the government has positioned the change as being "Green"

Canada Gazette states that a truck load of the new loonies will weigh 980 kilos less than the old version, and 286 kilos less for a truck full of toonies, thus “improving fuel efficiency of transportation and reducing the carbon footprint of delivering coins to the Canadian public.”

 

[daves87rs]

LOL! Nice!

 

[Papa Bear]

Probably have to get them rustproofed ....

 

[mopar_monkey]

when do we get plastic coins?

 

[Clevy]

So we get steel coins and plastic money(the new 100s). What's next,igloos

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: mopar_monkey
when do we get plastic coins?


You joke, but I'd be willing to bet it's not too far off.

 

[91344George]

I'm a US citizen...however this brings up the question.....just where does all the coinage go that ordinary citizens don't horde (which is probably a small amount) Same with the silver coins back in the 60's in the USA.

My guess is the power elite STEAL it for themselves.

 

[Shannow]

Good on them, in a way.

There's two ways for the money that's in your pocket to get there (not the 1s and 0s on some institution's computer), but the medium of exchange for buying the paper or a slice of pizza.

Coins, are produced through Government owned and controlled mints, which have the authority to produce and issue. They hopefully mint the coins at a lower "cost" than face value, then get to pocket the difference, a sort of tax if you will.

The other is notes, which are produced by companies that are subsidiaries of the Reserve Banks, and sold into the economy with interest.

So coins makes money, notes cost interest.

Inflation and metal prices mean that coins have to be reviewed from time to time...Oz had coins where another coin was punched out of the centre to make two coins. The donut of original value, and the centre of new value.

Sometimes they have to change the metals (e.g. from silver to copper, and nickel etc.), and in this case steel, but as long as the mint makes a profit, it's way better than notes.

Oz got rid of 1 and 2c pieces as they "weren't economic" (their words, I bought snake lollies 2 for 1c as a kid, and they are 5c now)...it was just a mask for inflation.

They are now wanting to get rid of the 5c "due to the cost of metals", but I weighed 5, 10, and 20, and they are simple multiples of each other's weights, so the argument doesn't stack up.

Personally, if they introduced $5 and $10 coins, I'd take them over RBA notes and interest.

As metals go up, they have to change before scrap values are too high.

It's entirely legal to mint a high denomination coin, at significant profit, and pay off debt, and I would have laughed so hard if they did.

 

[eljefino]

US had steel pennies in WWII. They were mistaken for dimes.

They say East German coins were pretty terrible and lightweight, like aluminum.

 

[PF52]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

They say East German coins were pretty terrible and lightweight, like aluminum.


I've got a bunch of aluminum coins from several European countries, mostly from the 60s if I remember right. Yeah, they're kind of "cheap" feeling!

 

[greenaccord02]

My dad always had a large number of european coins from the 60s and 70s that he had collected. I was often surprised at their comparative lightness.

 

[D189379]

In the end, why does it matter what coins are made of? How is a 5c coin made of diamonds different than a 5c coin made of clay?

What's heavier? A ton of lead or a ton of feathers? Lol.

 

[PandaBear]

In the US I do not see why we are still using pennies when no vending machine takes it and no one pays with it. My conspiracy says that it is only useful to encourage people to pay more in tips and use more credit cards for convenience.

Seriously, retire the smaller value coins and introduce bigger ones like dollar coin so we don't need to keep feeding torn paper into vending machines and replacing worn paper.

 

[JHZR2]

I wouldnt mind Al coins, even if light, but steel isnt the best choice, IMO.

The actual material really doesnt matter at this point, as the valuation of the currency isnt based upon anything but the Rothschilds.

 

[Shannow]

Yeah, but they don't get a cut when it's minted as a coin, they get interest on the notes.

 

[Torino]

So What? I can remember when Illinois made license plates out of pressed soy beans. They were OK--but dogs would eat them. John--Las Vegas

 

[Kestas]

I'm with PandaBear. The only argument for keeping pennies is a sentimental one. Get rid of the pennies and nickels. Make $1 and $5 coin.

 

[91344George]

Originally Posted By: D189379
In the end, why does it matter what coins are made of? How is a 5c coin made of diamonds different than a 5c coin made of clay?

What's heavier? A ton of lead or a ton of feathers? Lol.


Because these PHONY coins aren't actually worth anything..they are just another form of fiat currency.

Ask yourself, who has all the gold and silver that USED to be in US coins ?????

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: 91344George
Because these PHONY coins aren't actually worth anything..they are just another form of fiat currency.

Ask yourself, who has all the gold and silver that USED to be in US coins
?????

Are you serious. It's not phony. What an incredibly narrow minded comment.
Money USED to be based on the gold standard and those days are long gone. Now it's just a representation of an amount. It could be made of napkin paper but if it's certified currency it spends the same.
Phony money is counterfeit. Not what the actual form of the currency is,it's what it represents.
Today's money is based on the strength of your countries economy,resources,manufacturing capability. The gold standard is gone. And fort Knox is empty.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: 91344George
Because these PHONY coins aren't actually worth anything..they are just another form of fiat currency.

Ask yourself, who has all the gold and silver that USED to be in US coins ?????

It is still mostly in the US Treasury, the thing is, so many new wealth is created that if you use a finite amount of currency (gold or gold backed dollar) to represent it, it will be a problem as valuation will be too extreme (just hoard gold as everything else is dropping in value over time). In order for gold to be worth something it has to represent a share of the valuation of the wealth, and we did create a lot of wealth since ancient time.

Of course, we can also experience the opposite end as we do now, too much currency for a sudden shrinkage of wealth after financial collapse.