Coin Specifications

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_specifications (Current as of 2011-02-10)

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Coin: Penny Nickle Dime Quarter Dollar Half Dollar Presidential $1 Native American $1
Manganese-Brass Manganese-Brass
Copper Plated Zinc Cupro-Nickel Cupro-Nickel Cupro-Nickel Cupro-Nickel
88.5% Cu 88.5% Cu
Composition
02.5% Cu 25% Ni 08.33% Ni 08.33% Ni 08.33% Ni 06.0% Zn 06.0% Zn
97.5% Zn 75% Cu 91.67% Cu 91.67% Cu 91.67% Cu 03.5% Mn 03.5% Mn
02.0% Ni 02.0% Ni
0.0625 g Cu 1.2500 g Ni 0.1890 g Ni 0.4725 g Ni 00.945 g Ni 7.1685 g Cu 7.1685 g Cu
2.4375 g Zn 3.7500 g Cu 2.0790 g Cu 5.1975 g Cu 10.395 g Cu 0.4860 g Zn 0.4860 g Zn
Weight 0.2835 g Mn 0.2835 g Mn
0.1620 g Ni 0.1620 g Ni
2.500 g Total 5.000 g Total 2.268 g Total 5.670 g Total 11.340 g Total 8.1 g Total 8.1 g Total
0.750 in. 0.835 in. 0.705 in. 0.955 in. 1.205 in. 1.043 in. 1.043 in.
Diameter
19.05 mm 21.21 mm 17.91 mm 24.26 mm 30.61 mm 26.49 mm 26.49 mm
Thickness 1.55 mm 1.95 mm 1.35 mm 1.75 mm 2.15 mm 2.00mm 2.00 mm
Edge Plain Plain Reeded Reeded Reeded Edge-Lettering Edge-Lettering
No. of Reeds N/A N/A 118 119 150 N/A N/A

1 avoirdupois pound = 453.5923699997481 grams

The number of coins required to obtain one pound of the specified metal:
Metal Cent Nickel Dime Quarter Dollar Half Dollar Presidential $1 Coin Native American $1 Coin
Cu 7,258 ($72.58) 121 ($6.05) 220 ($22.00) 88 ($22.00) 44 ($22.00) 64 ($64.00) 64 ($64.00)
Mn ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 1,600 ($1600.00) 1,600 ($1600.00)
Ni ----- 363 ($18.15) 2,400 ($240.00) 960 ($240.00) 480 ($240.00) 2,800 ($2800.00) 2,800 ($2800.00)
Zn 187 ($1.87) ----- ----- ----- ----- 934 ($934.00) 934 ($934.00)
For meltdown purposes, the best coin for copper is the nickle, the only coin for manganese is the $1, the best coin for nickel is, again, the
nickle, and finally, the best coin for zinc is the penny. The prices of these metals, except manganese, is on the verge of forcing the mint to
change the mix, or despite illegality, risk massive meltdowns, as the metal content becomes more valuable than the current coins.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————