Cost to mint a cent in 1808?

[pendragon1998]

With all of this talk about how cents are obsolete because it costs more than a cent to mint a cent in 2008, I got to wondering: how much did it cost to mint a cent in 1808? Someone here has to know, I'm sure.

[michael]

just under half a cent to produce one cent in 1808

 

my inquisitive numismatical friend

[pendragon1998]

10.89 g for an 1809 large cent

3.11 g for a modern copper (not zinc) small cent

 

So if they had been making small-sized cents back then, their cost would have been roughly 3.11/10.89*0.005= 0.14 cents ($0.0014) per coin. (note, I'm using the weight of a pre-zinc cent)

 

Fascinating.

[astrostu]

Dunno. I can't find historical copper prices back more than 5 years.