Here is an interesting article on Mint.com. I knew about the cent, but not that the nickel cost more to make. http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/penny-cost-to-make-06212010/
Well, don't worry. The mint isn't losing money like they claim. They're making over 300% profit on every quarter and dollar minted, not to mention the 800-1200% profit on rolls of newer coinage bought directly from them, as well as metals and other items. If only every business had such a dramatic profit margin on products..! Guy~
Boo Hoo. They've saddled the country with a worthless coin for decades now and they want to moan and wail about it like I'll feel sorry for them. Hundreds of billions of this worthless and toxic junk has been dumped on the country souring transactions and poisoning landfills. Each time one is used or made we're all poorer and now they're concerned they lose a little to make them!?!? When it was just the American people suffering where were they? The mint should have to wear these like an albatross forever except that the cost to the country is so enormous. My solution would be to remove the legal tender status from the cent and gather them up for proper disposal. Then force the mint to make them for demand to anyone who wants them for free forever. Maybe they'll avoid the same idiocy in the future.
It doesn't cost us anything. The mint isn't tax dollar funded. Their operating expense is derived directly from the profits off of the products they produce. Guy~
Please they make so much profit on everything else, the cent and nickel are just loss leaders for the mint. They're pretty much the only govt agency in the black these days. They just want to be further into the black, after all it is not like they are Amtrak or the Postal Service, or congress.
Cladking you know better than that. The mint would probably LOVE to stop making those things, but as long as they are an authorized coin and the Federal Reserve keeps ordering them they have to keep making them. Sure the mint makes enough on the other coins to make up for the losses on the cent and nickel. But they could turnover even more profit to the General Fund if they weren't making the cents and nickels. It's one thing to CHOOSE to have a loss leader to try and bring in business to a company, it is quite another to be FORCED to provide a loss leader which is NOT going to bring in more business.
