"A nickel is worth more than a dime."
 

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A nickel is worth more than a dime

written by: Jeffrey Wolf , Web Producer
reported by: Mark Koebrich , 9NEWS Consumer Reporter created: 4/23/2007 9:54:33 PM
Last updated: 4/24/2007 6:25:47 AM




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DENVER – The U.S. Mint says it has a problem. The nickel coins it is making are now costing them more than a dime each to turn out.


That is because the cost of the nickel used to make the coins has skyrocketed in the last year.

That is mostly due to the building boom in China.

Rocky Mountain Coin, Inc. says some stores are cashing in on the change.

Not Just Yogurt in Aurora is willing to give customers 25 percent off a purchase if they are made entirely in nickels. The owner would then turn around and sell the nickels to coin collectors.

A similar practice happened in the 1960s when people hoarded silver dimes, quarters and half dollars, which were worth more than their face value.

Rocky Mountain Coin, Inc. says they believe the mint will be forced to eliminate the coins or change their metallic composition to make them more cost effective to produce.

Whatever happens, it will require authorization by Congress.




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Re: "A nickel is worth more than a dime."
 

I thought I read that the gov't just made it illegal to smelt nickels and pennies as a stopgap measure to prevent this.

I'm sure they'll also have to change the composition of the coins pretty soon as well.

Or, they should probably just go ahead and get rid of the penny...