Editing Coin (section)

== Value ==
[[File:5milmkbk.jpg|thumbnail|Five million mark coin ([[Weimar Republic]], 1923). Despite its high denomination, this coin's [[monetary]] value dropped to a tiny fraction of a US cent by the end of 1923, substantially less than the value of its metallic content.]]
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| [[File:ლაშა-გიორგის მონეტა 1210 წ..png|center|210px]]
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| An unusual [[copper]] coin of King <br>[[George IV of Georgia]] with <br>[[Georgian alphabet|Georgian inscriptions]], 1210
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[[File:Silver Rupee Madras Presidency.JPG|thumb|A [[silver]] coin made during the reign of the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Alamgir II]] (1754–1759)]]

=== Currency ===
{{Main|Currency}}

Most coins presently are made of a [[base metal]], and their value comes from their status as [[fiat money]]. This means that the value of the coin is established by law, and thus is determined by the [[free market]] only in as much as national currencies are used in domestic trade and also traded in the international market. Thus, these coins are monetary [[Token coin|tokens]], just as paper currency is: their value is usually not backed by metal, but rather by some form of government guarantee. Thus, there is very little economic difference between notes and coins of equivalent face value.

Coins may be in circulation with face values lower than the value of their component metals, but they are never initially issued with such value, and the shortfall only arises over time due to [[inflation]], as market values for the metal overtake the face value of the coin. Examples are the [[Coinage Act of 1965|pre-1965 US dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar]] (containing slightly less than a tenth, quarter, half, and full ounce of silver, respectively), [[Nickel (United States coin)|US nickel]], and [[Cent (United States coin)|pre-1982 US penny]]. As a result of the increase in the value of [[copper]], the United States greatly reduced the amount of copper in each penny. Since mid-1982, United States pennies are made of 97.5% zinc, with the remaining 2.5% being a coating of copper. Extreme differences between face values and metal values of coins cause coins to be hoarded or removed from circulation by illicit smelters in order to realize the value of their metal content. This is an example of [[Gresham's law]]. The [[United States Mint]], in an attempt to avoid this, implemented new interim rules on December 14, 2006, subject to public comment for 30 days, which criminalized the melting and export of pennies and nickels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=724 |title=United States Mint Moves to Limit Exportation & Melting of Coins |publisher=The United States Mint |access-date=2012-05-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527072103/http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom//index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=724 |archive-date=2016-05-27 }}</ref> Violators can be fined up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for up to five years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maes |first=Jonathan |title=Is It Illegal to Melt/Destroy US Pennies and Other Coins? |url=https://makeitfrommetal.com/is-it-illegal-to-melt-destroy-us-pennies-and-other-coins/ |access-date=2022-12-17 |website=Make it From Metal |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Collector's items ===
{{Main|Numismatics}}
A coin's value as a collector's item or as an investment generally depends on its condition, specific historical significance, rarity, quality, beauty of the design and general popularity with collectors. If a coin is greatly lacking in all of these, it is unlikely to be worth much. The value of bullion coins is also influenced to some extent by those factors, but is largely based on the value of their gold, silver, or platinum content. Sometimes non-monetized bullion coins such as the [[Canadian Maple Leaf coins|Canadian Maple Leaf]] and the [[American Gold Eagle]] are minted with nominal face values less than the value of the metal in them, but as such coins are never intended for circulation, these face values have no relevance.

Collector catalogs often include information about coins to assists collectors with identifying and grading. Additional resources can be found online for collectors These are collector clubs, collection management tools, marketplaces,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pr.com/press-release/739836|title=Colnect Marketplace Has Been Launched|website=PR.com|access-date=2019-02-20}}</ref> trading platforms, and forums,

=== Media of expression ===
{{See also|Hobo nickel|Elongated penny}}
Coins can be used as creative media of expression – from fine art sculpture to the penny machines that can be found in most amusement parks. In the [[Code of Federal Regulations]] (CFR) in the United States there are some regulations specific to nickels and pennies that are informative on this topic. 31 CFR §&nbsp;82.1 forbids unauthorized persons from exporting, melting, or treating any 5 or 1 cent coins.<ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/82.1 31 CFR §82.1], Legal Information Institute, accessed 22 July 2019.</ref>

This has been a particular problem with nickels and dimes (and with some comparable coins in other currencies) because of their relatively low face value and unstable commodity prices. For a while,{{when|date=July 2015}} the copper in US pennies was worth more than one cent, so people would hoard pennies and then melt them down for their metal value. It cost more than face value to manufacture pennies or nickels, so any widespread loss of the coins in circulation could be expensive for the [[US Treasury]]. This was more of a problem when coins were still made of precious metals like silver and gold, so strict laws against alteration make more sense historically.<ref>{{Cite web |title=18 U.S. Code § 331 - Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331 |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref>

31 CFR §&nbsp;82.2(b) goes on to state that: "The prohibition contained in §&nbsp;82.1 against the treatment of 5-cent coins and one-cent coins shall not apply to the treatment of these coins for educational, amusement, novelty, jewelry, and similar purposes as long as the volumes treated and the nature of the treatment makes it clear that such treatment is not intended as a means by which to profit solely from the value of the metal content of the coins."<ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/82.2 31 CFR 82.2(b)], Legal Information Institute, accessed 22 July 2019.</ref>

=== Debasement and clipping ===
{{Main|Debasement}}
[[File:10cts1879.jpg|thumb|280px|A [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Coins of the Swiss franc|ten-cent coin]] from 1879, similar to the oldest coins still in official use today]]
[[File:Alexander the great temnos tetradrachm.jpg|alt=Alexander the Great Tetradrachm from the Temnos Mint|thumb|280x280px|Alexander the Great Tetradrachm from the Temnos Mint, c. 188–170 BC]]
Throughout history, monarchs and governments have often created more coinage than their supply of precious metals would allow if the coins were pure metal. By replacing some fraction of a coin's precious metal content with a [[base metal]] (often [[copper]] or [[nickel]]), the intrinsic value of each individual coin was reduced (thereby "debasing" the money), allowing the coining authority to produce more coins than would otherwise be possible. Debasement occasionally occurs in order to make the coin physically harder and therefore less likely to be worn down as quickly, but the more usual reason is to profit from the difference between face value and metal value. Debasement of money almost always leads to price [[inflation]]. Sometimes [[price control]]s are at the same time also instituted by the governing authority, but historically these have generally proved unworkable.

The United States is unusual in that it has only slightly modified its coinage system (except for the images and symbols on the coins, which have changed a number of times) to accommodate two centuries of inflation. The one-cent coin has changed little since 1856 (though its composition was changed in 1982 to remove virtually all copper from the coin) and still remains in circulation, despite a greatly reduced purchasing power. On the other end of the spectrum, the largest coin in common circulation is valued at [[Quarter (United States coin)|25 cents]], a very low value for the largest denomination coin compared to many other countries. Increases in the prices of copper, nickel, and zinc meant that both the US one- and five-cent coins became worth more for their raw metal content than their face (fiat) value. In particular, copper one-cent pieces (those dated prior to 1982 and some 1982-dated coins) contained about two cents' worth of copper.

Some denominations of circulating coins that were formerly minted in the United States are no longer made. These include coins with a face value of a half cent, two cents, three cents, and twenty cents. (The half dollar and dollar coins are still produced, but mostly for vending machines and collectors.) In the past, the US also coined the following denominations for circulation in gold: One dollar, $2.50, three dollars, five dollars, ten dollars, and twenty dollars. In addition, cents were originally slightly larger than the modern quarter and weighed nearly half an ounce, while five-cent coins (known then as "half dimes") were smaller than a dime and made of a silver alloy. Dollar coins were also much larger, and weighed approximately an ounce. One-dollar gold coins are no longer produced and rarely used. The US also issues bullion and commemorative coins with the following denominations: 50¢, $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100.

Circulating coins commonly suffered from "shaving" or "clipping": the public would cut off small amounts of precious metal from their edges to sell it and then pass on the mutilated coins at full value.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Origin of Financial Crises |last=Cooper |first=George |year= 2008|publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-47345-5 |page=46 }}</ref> Unmilled British [[sterling silver]] coins were sometimes reduced to almost half their minted weight. This form of debasement in [[Tudor dynasty|Tudor]] England was commented on by Sir [[Thomas Gresham]], whose name was later attached to [[Gresham's law]]. The monarch would have to periodically recall circulating coins, paying only the bullion value of the silver, and reminting them. This, also known as recoinage, is a long and difficult process that was done only occasionally.<ref>Denis R. Cooper ''The Art and Craft of Coinmaking. A History of Minting Technology''. London: Spink, 1988. {{ISBN|0-907605-27-3}} p.47</ref> Many coins have milled or [[Reeding#Numismatics|reeded edges]], originally designed to make it easier to detect clipping.

=== Cutting ===

Some coins made of precious metals were manufactured with a cross on one side to make it easier to split the coin into halves or quarters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Long Cross Pennies |url=https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/Long-Cross-Pennies/Long%20Cross%20Pennies%20P1.htm#Small%20change |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=www.ukdfd.co.uk}}</ref>

=== Other uses ===
{{see also|Exonumia}}
Some convicted criminals from the British Isles who were sentenced to transportation to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries used coins to leave messages of remembrance to loved ones left behind in Britain. The coins were defaced, smoothed and inscribed, either by stippling or engraving, with sometimes touching words of loss. These coins were called "convict love tokens" or "leaden hearts".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/convict_tokens |title=Convict tokens, National Museum of Australia |publisher=Nma.gov.au |date=2012-01-25 |access-date=2016-10-05 |archive-date=2011-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920235935/http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/convict_tokens/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some of these tokens are in the collection of the [[National Museum of Australia]].