Avoiding a Meltdown: Managing the Value of Small Change
12 Pages Posted: 25 Feb 2008
Abstract
To prevent a shortage of small change, the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently prohibited the melting and exportation of pennies and other coins. The problem arises because pennies and nickels are made of inappropriately expensive material, and there is or soon will be a profit to be made from transferring their content to alternative uses. The author provides a historical context for the problem of small change and discusses possible remedies.
Keywords: small change; denomination; minting and melting points; coinage; token; Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System; Money Supply; Credit; Money Multipliers
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