First the penny, and now lawmakers are looking at the nickel.
Congress recently passed the Common Cents Act, legislation designed to address the rising cost of producing America’s smallest coins.
One major focus is the nickel.
Despite being worth only five cents, the U.S. Mint reported that it cost approximately 13.3 cents to manufacture each nickel during fiscal year 2025.
That means the government spends more than twice the coin’s face value just to make one.
The current nickel is made from an alloy that is 75% copper and 25% nickel.
Under the Common Cents Act passed by Congress, the Treasury Department would be allowed to test and potentially use a less expensive composition for the five-cent coin.
One option being considered would use a zinc inner layer with a nickel outer layer.
But don’t start saving your current nickels because you think they are disappearing.
The legislation is focused on making the nickel cheaper to produce, not immediately eliminating it from circulation.
The penny is a different story. The Treasury previously ended production of pennies for general circulation, and the Common Cents Act establishes a framework for handling cash transactions without newly minted pennies.
With Americans increasingly paying by cards, phones and other digital methods, the debate over how much money the government should spend producing physical coins continues.
So, do we really need a nickel that costs 13 cents to make?