The Royal Canadian Mint has applied to change the composition from the Canadian one-dollar and two-dollar coins from nickel to steel. http://silverdoctors.blogspot.com/2012/01/rcm-seeks-to-remove-nickel-from-1-2.html hmmm silver -> nickel -> steel The watering down continues, and so the beat goes on, laddeedadeededee, laddeedadaaa..... TBH I thought they'd go straight to 100% plastic next... (I hope not though!)
The logical action would be to cease 'nickle' production altogether... their time is rapidly coming to an end.
it would have to be an alloy or clad like NZ's new coins. straight steel (iron) would start to rust in a matter of seconds. and, Nickel prices have been heading down, not up for the last 3 years. well at least sense the 600km long belt of nickel was found in WA a few years ago.
The smaller denomination Canadian coins have been plated steel since 1999. It's a steel core plated with nickel, then copper, and then another layer of nickel. I'm pretty sure the RCM actually produces the 10c-20c-50c New Zealand coins as well.
