Quote from 1prometheus:
Even the token coins that we use have been debased over time:
http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/?flash=yes&action=fun_facts2
The penny is now only 2.5% copper.
Pre-1982 pennies are worth 2.41 cents if you melt them down for the copper.
But now even the zinc in post-1982 pennies are starting to rise. A post-1982 penny is worth a little more than half a cent. 100 of those pennies are worth 58 cents in melt value...soon the zinc will cost more than the penny and we will have plastic pennies!
http://coinflation.com/
