Economic Definition of coin. Defined.
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Term coin Definition: A shiny metal disc, almost always authorized by a national government entity, with a raised impression of famous dead people on one side and a building or birds on the other that is used as money. U.S. coins are issued by the U.S. Treasury Department and come in denominations of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and dollars. At one time, metal coins were comprised of valuable metal (that is, commodity money) in an amount equivalent to their face value. A dime had 10-cents worth of silver. A nickel had 5-cents worth of nickel. A penney had 1-cents worth of copper. Most modern coins, however, are fiat money, containing less valuable metal alloys. But they work just fine in vending machines.
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