When it comes to making coins, the Mint isn't getting its two cents worth. In some cases, it doesn't even get half of that. A penny costs more than two cents and a nickel costs more than 11 cents to make and distribute.
A billion dollars in unwanted American dollar coins sits in specially-made vaults the size of soccer fields in Texas and Baltimore and other undisclosed locations. But why are they just sitting there?
With little fanfare, the U.S. Mint is releasing the 15th presidential dollar for circulation on Thursday, in what is becoming a $700 million-a-year boondoggle. It doesn't help that the coin commemorates the little-loved James Buchanan.
The U.S. Mint is facing a big problem with small change: Some coins cost more to make than they're actually worth. It costs 1.6 cents to make a penny, as much as nine cents to make a nickel, and with billions of coins pressed every year, that really adds up.
If you're like tens of millions of other Americans, you've got a collection of loose change somewhere in your house -- or lots of coins scattered in various locations. And chances are, at some point, you're going to want to turn that change into more portable and usable dollar bills. And it's likely that when you add it all up, it's going to amount to more than a few bucks.
