• reddig33@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Surprising that any nation’s currency would be magnetic. Coins are usually made of brass, zinc, copper, silver, etc.

    • SomeoneSomewhere@lemmy.nz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      Steel is cheap. Copper, zinc, nickel, brass and especially silver are rather expensive.

      Many world coins up to about 10-50c are steel plated copper or similar.

      Most of the world considers it unacceptable to have a coin that costs more to manufacture than it is worth, let alone have just the raw materials cost that much. Smaller coins have often been simply removed.

      In the US, on the other hand, apparently the zinc industry is able to force the continued expensive existence of the penny.

    • raef@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I’ve noticed that euro coins rust in pools and ponds. Not green copper oxidize, but red iron rust

        • raef@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          Could be. I meant euro as in the currency. Wishing well pools and ponds—wherever people throw coins—end up a rusty mass. It’s hard to tell where it’s coming from