Editing Coin (section)

=== 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>