What are coins made out of?

Answer 1

Not only have coin designs changed over the years, but coin materials have changed/varied too. The first coins were made of either gold, silver, or copper and bronze. Precious metals (gold and silver) are not used for circulating coins anymore across the globe, largely due to the departure from the Gold standard. Historically, A wide range of metals have been used. Common elements for modern coins include: Aluminum (Aluminium), Iron, Nickel, Copper, and Zinc along with their alloys. Manganese, Antimony, Chromium, Cobalt, Niobium, Palladium and Platinum have also been used to lesser extents for circulating coins.

An example of modern circulating coins could be the USA. The current circulating coins are made of various combinations of copper, nickel, zinc, and manganese. Most coins are made from alloys like Cupro-Nickel (common worldwide), or nickel-brass, bronze and then other combinations for plated or clad coins**. Few coins are now minted as pure elements for circulation (bullion gold, silver coins are the main elemental coins still produced, but are not used in circulation). The alloys of coins today are (usually) chosen to represent the precious metals used in the past. Most "smalls" are made from brown/red metal like copper or bronze to represent the lower bronze denominations of the past. The silver coins of the past are represented with mainly nickel and its alloys, and gold coins are generally represented by nickel-brass or aluminium bronze. (US coinage does not serve well as an example for this though. The Euro and British pound do, however).

One of the more modern phenomenon of coins is the appearance of bimetallic issues. This is where the outer parts of the coin are made from a different color metal to the inner part of the coin. This is used as a technique to reduce the counterfeiting of higher value coins as seen in the €1 and €2 coins and with the British £2 coin.

**Clad coins differ from plated coins in the following way. Clad coins have a sheet, on either side, of the outer metal that does not cover the edge of the coin. In this case, the inner metal can be seen on the edge. An example is the US quarter. The outer metal on plated coins completely covers the inner metal which is not visible. An example is the US cent and more recent British "coppers".

References

US Coins, Coin Facts website: http://www.coinfacts.com/

Coin materials: http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/metal.html#Metal

Answer 2

Coins are typically made of metal, such as copper, nickel, or zinc. Some coins may also contain other metals like silver or gold depending on their value and denomination. Modern coins are produced through minting processes that involve shaping, engraving, and stamping the metal blanks.