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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 24882865, member: 27832&quot;]Here&#039;s something that&#039;s puzzled me, though. The outer layers of clad coins have <i>exactly the same</i> composition that&#039;s been used for well over a hundred years in five-cent coins -- 75% copper, 25% nickel. I&#039;d expect clad coins to wear at the same rate as nickels, but I&#039;ve seen <i>lots</i> of slick Liberty nickels. (I&#039;ll leave out Buffalo nickels, because it&#039;s obvious that their raised dates will wear off quickly, but the design itself is struck in fairly high relief, and persists even when heavily worn).</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve assumed that I see more slick nickels because (a) <i>they&#039;re older</i> and have had longer to circulate, and (b) coins were used much more heavily in the 19th and early 20th century than in the late 20th and early 21st century.</p><p><br /></p><p>Is there perhaps some <i>additional</i> difference in the way the metals are annealed or struck? Do clad coins actually hold up better than nickels, given identical age and circulation patterns?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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