When the first US Coins were struck at the end of the 18th century, each one contained its face value in metal, minus a small amount for what's called "seigniorage". Only three metals were used: copper, silver, and gold. A cent had 1 cent's worth of copper, a dime 10 cents' worth of silver, a $5 coin had $5 worth of gold, and so on. Because the same weight of each metal was worth a different amount, the coins' sizes had to be different in order to match weights and values. For example, silver was (and still is) worth a lot more per ounce than copper, so a dime could have a lot less metal in it but be worth far more than a copper cent.
However nickel metal wasn't used for coins at that time because it's very hard and would have broken the presses then in use. Instead, the Mint made coins called half-dimes that contained 5 cents' worth of silver. Half-dimes were unpopular because they were so tiny that people could easily lose them. When minting technology improved enough to allow the use of nickel in coins, the Mint decided to replace the half-dime with a new 5-cent coin made from an alloy of 25% nickel and 75% copper.
The new coin's size followed the same pattern as other denominations: because copper and nickel are worth much less per ounce than silver, cupronickel 5-cent pieces are much larger than the half-dimes they replaced. In fact, they're also larger than dimes and almost the size of quarters.
The coins were initially just called "5 cent pieces" but soon became known as "nickels" in common slang usage.
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Even though the monetary value of coins no longer represents the value of their metal content, the traditional sizes are maintained.
A nickel is bigger than a dime because dimes prior to 1965 had silver. Since 1866, nickels have been 75% copper and 25% nickel. Until 1964, it made sense for the dime to be smaller than the dime because the intrinsic value (the value of the metal) of the nickel had to be worth less than the intrinsic value of the dime. To help understand this even better, you need to know that silver is worth a lot more than cupronickel, so you had to have a tiny amount so that the intrinsic value does not exceed the face value.
Consult the "Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States Coins"
By Marc Hudgeons, Thomas E. Hudgeons, Jr., Tom Hudgeons, Sr.
If you read pages 315, 325-26, and 334-35 of "The Official Blackbook...", you will understand why it once made sense to have nickels bigger than dimes (or more precisely dimes smaller than nickels).
Now that our present-day coinage is made from base metals, a nickel should technically be smaller than a dime, but changing its size would require retrofitting every device (e.g. vending machines, coin sorters, etc.) that recognizes coins by their size in addition to their electrical properties.
Dimes and quarters, yes. Nickels, no. 1964 was the last year for silver dimes and quarters, and nickels only contained silver during WWII.
The years when US quarters, nickels, and dimes were made of silver are as follows: Quarters: Prior to 1965, quarters were made of 90% silver. Nickels: US nickels have never been made of silver. They have always been composed of a blend of copper and nickel. Dimes: Prior to 1965, dimes were made of 90% silver.
The denominations for 1959 were: Half dollars, Quarters, Dimes, Nickels and Cents.
Half dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies were struck in 1949.
The U.S. stopped minting silver half-dimes in 1873, a few years after the introduction of the nickel. The only nickels that actually contain silver are "war" nickels minted 1942-1945.
they were made that way
If there are 150 nickles and dimes and 70 more are nickles than dimes how many of each are there?
29 dimes and one nickel or 28 dimes and 3 nickels or 27 dimes and 5 nickels or 26 dimes and 7 nickels or 25 dimes and 9 nickels or 24 dimes and 11 nickels or 23 dimes and 13 nickels or 22 dimes and 15 nickels or 21 dimes and 17 nickels or 20 dimes and 19 nickels or 19 dimes and 21 nickels or 18 dimes and 23 nickels or 17 dimes and 25 nickels or 16 dimes and 27 nickels or 15 dimes and 29 nickels or 14 dimes and 31 nickels or 13 dimes and 33 nickels or 12 dimes and 35 nickels or 11 dimes and 37 nickels or 10 dimes and 39 nickels or 9 dimes and 41 nickels or 8 dimes and 43 nickels or 7 dimes and 45 nickels or 6 dimes and 47 nickels or 5 dimes and 49 nickels or 4 dimes and 51 nickels or 3 dimes and 53 nickels or 2 dimes and 55 nickels or one dime and 57 nickels
13 nickels and 78 dime
15 nickels 16 dimes
110 nickels and 40 dimes my little brother had the same problem
Helen has twice as many dimes as nickels and five more quarters than nickels the value of her coins is 4.75 how many dimes does she have?
8 dimes, 1 nickel 7 dimes, 3 nickels 6 dimes, 5 nickels 5 dimes, 7 nickels 4 dimes, 9 nickels 3 dimes, 11 nickels 2 dimes, 13 nickels 1 dime, 15 nickels 17 nickels
80
There are fifteen (15) nickels.
Let N be the number of nickels. The value of nickels is 0.05N and the value of dimes is 0.10(2N-12). We can form the equation 0.05N + 0.10(2N-12) = 2.55 and solve for N. After solving, we find that there are 9 nickels.
6 dimes, 5 dimes 2 nickels, 4 dimes 4 nickels, 3 dimes 6 nickels, 2 dimes 8 nickels, 1 dime, 10 nickels, and 12 nickels.