Big Boys Hobbies

The Cost Of Minting Coins

diggin4clad

diggin4clad

Elite Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2016
Messages
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Location
Eastern Connecticut
The mint just released info regarding the cost of minting US coins.
The cost for a zinc penny...... 1.81 cents
nickels.....7.44 cents
clad dimes......3.86 cents
clad quarters.......8.43 cents
The mint is looking for a lower cost alternative for both the penny and nickel and steel has been considered for the nickel but as of yet they haven't come up with anything that would put the cost of a penny at below face value. Considering how low the value of a penny is, I would think it's nearly impossible to reduce the cost to a point below face value.
 
I wonder what the cost of labor is , for mint personnel ? And how much demand there is for those jobs ? If the pay is good (which govt. jobs typically have), then .... I wonder what would happen if they opened it up for competition ? Ie.: Let labor follow the "supply & demand rule" as well.


For example : If Uncle Sam wants to build a section of road or parking lot, their cost per square foot of asphalt being laid is quite high. But if the private sector wants to build the exact same square footage of asphalt for private ventures (private HOA, or private parking lot for a store, etc...) the cost per square foot is 1/3 to 1/2 less.

Why ? Because of prevailing wage laws. I have to pay my guys $44.66 p/h + $25-ish p/h bennies (over $70 p/h package), for when we work on govt. projects. For something that essentially only requires a driver's license and 30 minutes training. And I have a line of people "waiting outside my business" that are more than willing to do the same job for $40 or $50 p/h (heck, $25 pl/h).

Sorry to rant, but , as you can tell, I'm no fan of the unions. Even though I too am on the "gravy train" (what a hypocrite, eh ? :roll: )
 
We need to do away with the paper dollars and put 1&2 dollar coins in play. Time to make some hay with those detectors!!!!!

I just found a twooney here the other day!
 
1) Fiat Currency
2) Inefficient government
3) Corrupt government
4) Low intelligence politicians spending money that is not theirs.
 
diggin4clad said:
The mint just released info regarding the cost of minting US coins.
The cost for a zinc penny...... 1.81 cents
nickels.....7.44 cents
clad dimes......3.86 cents
clad quarters.......8.43 cents
The mint is looking for a lower cost alternative for both the penny and nickel and steel has been considered for the nickel but as of yet they haven't come up with anything that would put the cost of a penny at below face value. Considering how low the value of a penny is, I would think it's nearly impossible to reduce the cost to a point below face value.
Click to expand...

Hey, steel is obviously not valuable like silver, but at least with a strong magnet we could pick up surface finds coins in the grass :laughing:
 
Hmmm.....didn't they make tiddly-winks out of plastic ?
 
Beachhunt1 said:
We need to do away with the paper dollars and put 1&2 dollar coins in play. Time to make some hay with those detectors!!!!!

I just found a twooney here the other day!
Click to expand...

I agree. Right now in the US, people don't like the coins, but I think Canada had the same issue. The difference was that Canada said "Too bad. It's happening."

A lot of people are going cashless now, so it may become a moot point somewhere down the road. The people I can see getting hurt the most in a cashless society are the very poor, who don't have anything to put in a bank. YMMV.

-- Tom
 
GKL said:
Hey, steel is obviously not valuable like silver, but at least with a strong magnet we could pick up surface finds coins in the grass :laughing:
Click to expand...

Or by magnet fishing like some places in Europe and maybe Canada too?

Personally I think the penny is long overdue for retirement.
 
Youve probably heard the old joke about the government paying $150 for a toilet seat which you can buy at the hardware store for $25, :laughing: probably true.
Why not just get rid of pennies & nickles altogether they dont buy much anyway, at least until we go totally cashless, that will be in the near future I think.
 
Tom_in_CA said:
I wonder what the cost of labor is , for mint personnel ? And how much demand there is for those jobs ? If the pay is good (which govt. jobs typically have), then .... I wonder what would happen if they opened it up for competition ? Ie.: Let labor follow the "supply & demand rule" as well.


For example : If Uncle Sam wants to build a section of road or parking lot, their cost per square foot of asphalt being laid is quite high. But if the private sector wants to build the exact same square footage of asphalt for private ventures (private HOA, or private parking lot for a store, etc...) the cost per square foot is 1/3 to 1/2 less.

Why ? Because of prevailing wage laws. I have to pay my guys $44.66 p/h + $25-ish p/h bennies (over $70 p/h package), for when we work on govt. projects. For something that essentially only requires a driver's license and 30 minutes training. And I have a line of people "waiting outside my business" that are more than willing to do the same job for $40 or $50 p/h (heck, $25 pl/h).

Sorry to rant, but , as you can tell, I'm no fan of the unions. Even though I too am on the "gravy train" (what a hypocrite, eh ? :roll: )
Click to expand...

Hey, at least you're honest.
 
kingman mikey said:
Youve probably heard the old joke about the government paying $150 for a toilet seat which you can buy at the hardware store for $25, :laughing: probably true.
Why not just get rid of pennies & nickles altogether they dont buy much anyway, at least until we go totally cashless, that will be in the near future I think.
Click to expand...

Part of that joke isn't that the government is being inefficient, but that they're spending money on programs they don't want people to know about, ie top secret military projects.
 
kingman mikey said:
Why not just get rid of pennies & nickles altogether
Click to expand...

MuddyMo said:
I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS. With years of inflation a dime is worth a penny. There is zero reason to use them or waste money making them.
Click to expand...

I'd vote to eliminate the dime as well. All are essentially useless, and won't get any more useful as time goes on. Perhaps add two and five dollar coins. Just have a plan, inform the retail and vending industries, and execute it. Seems better to "pull off the bandaid" and do it all relatively quickly, rather than drag it out coin by coin...
 
diggin4clad said:
Only if it's the cheap Walmart brand of bread ! :lol:
Click to expand...

Actually, we have Publix. They have pretty good bread. I buy a loaf of butter bread for us and two of the plain to feed the fish at the dock. It was two for $3 until recently when this inflation hit us. But still under $1.70...the melt price of a silver dime.
 
I have always heard there are more pennies in dresser drawers than in circulation. I think they should offer to buy pennies for 1.3 cents
 
Tom_in_CA said:
I wonder what the cost of labor is , for mint personnel ? And how much demand there is for those jobs ? If the pay is good (which govt. jobs typically have), then .... I wonder what would happen if they opened it up for competition ? Ie.: Let labor follow the "supply & demand rule" as well.


For example : If Uncle Sam wants to build a section of road or parking lot, their cost per square foot of asphalt being laid is quite high. But if the private sector wants to build the exact same square footage of asphalt for private ventures (private HOA, or private parking lot for a store, etc...) the cost per square foot is 1/3 to 1/2 less.

Why ? Because of prevailing wage laws. I have to pay my guys $44.66 p/h + $25-ish p/h bennies (over $70 p/h package), for when we work on govt. projects. For something that essentially only requires a driver's license and 30 minutes training. And I have a line of people "waiting outside my business" that are more than willing to do the same job for $40 or $50 p/h (heck, $25 pl/h).

Sorry to rant, but , as you can tell, I'm no fan of the unions. Even though I too am on the "gravy train" (what a hypocrite, eh ? :roll: )
Click to expand...

Some how I became VP of my union....I also hate unions....they really do nothing but hold workers back in my opinion. But that is a whole other can of worms.
 
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