COIN SPECIFICATIONS (why is the nickel bigger than the dime?)
COIN SPECIFICATIONS
One of our club’s young numismatists asked the following question: why are U.S. coins the sizes and weights they are? The answer is that the sizes and weights of U.S. coins weren’t chosen randomly. They come from a mix of history, practicality, metal values, and standardization. Here’s the breakdown:
1. Early Coinage & Metal Value
- The Coinage Act of 1792 created the U.S. Mint and set coin values based on specie content (the actual silver or gold inside the coin).
- Example:
- A silver dollar contained about 371 grains of pure silver.
- A quarter dollar was ¼ that amount, so the coin was smaller and lighter.
- In other words, early coin size = proportional to metal content and value.
2. Practicality & Handling
- Coins had to be large enough to show their designs and denomination clearly, but small enough to be carried in bulk.
- For example:
- The half cent and large cent (late 1700s–1850s) were huge copper coins — unpopular because they were heavy.
- They were later replaced with smaller “flying eagle” and Indian cents (1856 onward), much closer to modern size.
3. Standardization & Machinery
- As minting technology improved, the Mint settled on consistent diameters and thicknesses that matched machinery, coin presses, and vending machines (later on).
- The use of reeded edges on some coins (like dimes, quarters, halves) helped prevent shaving or counterfeiting — size helped accommodate those features.
4. Modern Coinage (after 1965)
- When silver was removed from circulating coins (due to rising metal prices), the Mint kept coin sizes the same so people could still use them in vending machines and existing coin slots.
- Instead of silver, they used copper-nickel “clad” compositions, chosen to mimic the same electrical and weight properties of silver coins (important for machines to recognize them).
5. Why Not Proportional Today?
- A dime is smaller than a nickel, even though it’s worth more. That’s a leftover from silver days:
- Dimes, quarters, and halves were silver coins, so their value was based on silver content → hence the smaller size.
- The nickel was always copper-nickel, sized differently for practicality.
- The mismatch stayed because changing sizes would’ve disrupted circulation and machines.
So when did this all happen, and why?
1790s – Birth of U.S. Coinage
- 1792 Coinage Act: Established U.S. Mint, set coins based on precious metal content.
- Silver & Gold coins (dime, quarter, half dollar, dollar, eagles) sized to match their actual bullion value.
- Copper coins: Half cent (~23 mm) and large cent (~28 mm) were big and heavy, matching their copper content.
Mid-1800s – Too Big to Carry
- 1851 – Silver prices rising → U.S. reduces size of the silver 3-cent piece (first “small silver”).
- 1856–1857 – Large cent & half cent abolished; replaced by the small cent (Flying Eagle, later Indian Head), ~19 mm, close to today’s cent.
- Reason: big copper coins were bulky and unpopular.
Late 1800s – Standardization
- 1870s–1890s – Coinage stabilizes into familiar denominations (cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half, dollar).
- The nickel (1866) was intentionally larger and thicker than the dime so people could easily distinguish copper-nickel coins from silver coins.
1900s – Familiar Designs, Same Sizes
- Early 1900s designs change (Lincoln cent 1909, Buffalo nickel 1913, Mercury dime 1916, Standing Liberty quarter 1916, Walking Liberty half 1916) but sizes/weights stay tied to silver content.
1965 – Silver Removed
- Coinage Act of 1965: due to silver shortage, dimes, quarters, halves switched from 90% silver → copper-nickel clad.
- Sizes and weights unchanged so machines still worked and people still recognized them.
1971 – Dollar Coin Redesigns
- Eisenhower dollar introduced, very large (38 mm, ~22g). Unpopular because it was heavy.
- Later replaced by smaller dollars:
- Susan B. Anthony dollar (1979–1981, 1999): smaller (26.5 mm), same color as quarter → confused people.
- Sacagawea dollar (2000–): golden color, ~26.5 mm, designed to be distinctive, but still not widely circulated.
Modern Adjustments
- 1982 – Cent changes from copper to copper-plated zinc (lighter, same size).
- Recent years – No major size changes; all adjustments are to metal composition (to keep costs down while maintaining weight/electrical properties for vending machines).
Today’s Coin Sizes
- Cent: 19 mm (zinc, copper-plated)
- Nickel: 21.2 mm (copper-nickel)
- Dime: 17.9 mm (copper-nickel clad)
- Quarter: 24.3 mm (copper-nickel clad)
- Half dollar: 30.6 mm (copper-nickel clad, rarely used)
- Dollar: 26.5 mm (manganese-brass “golden dollar,” rarely used)
Summary of the Evolution
- 1790s: Size = intrinsic metal value.
- 1850s–60s: Coins shrank for practicality.
- 1965: Silver removed, but sizes kept for continuity.
- Modern: Sizes unchanged; only metal compositions adjusted.
