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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;calcol, post: 2484147, member: 77639&quot;]The cent is mostly zinc with a very small percent being the more expensive metal, copper.&nbsp; Cents weigh 2.5 g, so there are 454/2.5 = 182 of them in a pound.&nbsp; Zinc is currently a bit more than 100 cents per pound.&nbsp; So, a penny has about 100/182 = .55 cents worth of zinc in it.&nbsp; Actually the total metal value is a bit more because of the slight copper content.&nbsp; So most of the 1.7 cent cost of making a cent is due to factors other than metal cost.</p><p><br /></p><p>There is some margin before melting cents will be profitable.&nbsp; Zinc price did hit 200 cents per pound very briefly in late 2006 but plummeted quickly and stabilized in 2010 at about its present level.&nbsp; Looking long term, the price was about 50 cents per pound for the decade before the spike started in 2005.&nbsp; Since the spike, it&#039;s been twice that. Lately the zinc price trend is steadily upward.</p><p><br /></p><p>Even if zinc ore reserves stay constant or increase, the costs of mining, refining and transport will rise with inflation.&nbsp; The major uses of zinc in alloys and corrosion protection are not likely to decrease. Eventually, the price will be stable at more than 182 cents per pound. At that point, it will not be viable to manufacture zinc cents at the current weight as they would be melted upon release. Inflation has averaged 2% in the U.S. over the last 10 years.&nbsp; At that rate, it will be 30 years before a zinc cent contains $0.01 worth of zinc.&nbsp; However, worldwide inflation, which might be more appropriate for zinc, has been about 3% the last ten years.&nbsp; At that rate, it will take 20 years before melting zinc cents becomes profitable.</p><p><br /></p><p>Either the cent will have to shrink in size or a different material will be used or the cent will cease to exist as a coin.&nbsp; Aluminum, some steels, and lead are cheaper metals than zinc.&nbsp; Aluminum is not that much cheaper, and cheap steels have problems like die wear, rusting, and magnetism.&nbsp; Lead is obviously unsuitable for coinage.&nbsp; Plastic would be cheap but might not last long in circulation.&nbsp; It would be possible to make coins from tough ceramics.&nbsp; The raw materials would be cheap, but the manufacturing costs would be high.</p><p><br /></p><p>Unless there is a monetary revaluation (unlikely), zinc cents as we know them will disappear in 20-30 years.&nbsp; Use of plated or coated steel for pennies is questionable, but can&#039;t be ruled out at this point.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cal</p><p><br /></p><p>Refs: cent composition and weight: 2015 Redbook; penny manufacturing cost: wsj.com; metal prices: infomine.com and quandl.com;&nbsp; U.S. inflation: usinflationcalculator.com; world inflation: worldbank.org.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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