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The values of nickel, zinc, and copper are far from arbitrary, and oftentimes the metal value of a coin is higher than its face value. The US penny is >2¢ of z
by A_D_E_P_T 2y ago
The values of nickel, zinc, and copper are far from arbitrary, and oftentimes the metal value of a coin is higher than its face value. The US penny is >2¢ of zinc and copper.
Besides, metals like lithium corrode too easily, and other rare metals like zirconium/niobium/tantalum/REEs are intrinsically scarce so minting coins from them would be wasteful. Arguably using zinc, nickel, and copper for coins is wasteful, and all coins should be some sort of stainless steel or aluminum. (Like the aluminum Japan 1 yen piece.)