Frank H. asks: What is the percentage amount of worn out or mutilated coins destroyed by the Federal reserve each year? How long is the average use for say, a quarter?
I don’t know the statistics of the amount of redeemed mutilated coinage, but I know that the Fed does redeem them for cash at a discount. The lifetime of a coin is great, maybe between 20 to 50 years or more.
In the 1950’s Barber coinage and “V” nickels were still circulating as well as Morgan Dollars from the 19th century. Only the coin upheaval brought on by the elimination of silver in 1965 caused almost the entire coinage system to be pulled out of circulation. The proponents of a dollar coin point out the fact that coins last for years but a one dollar note only lasts about 18 months.
