TNAG-0455-FCO40-520-Minting-of-new-coins-for-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 100

(ii)

- 6-

woighing. Othor possible discdventages are the cost of modifying vending machines to operate with the new coins as

well as the old, and the risk that the machines might be more vulnerable to counterfeits (see pera. 24 below).

As (i) but substituting brass-clad steel for nickel-bruss

for the 5 end 10 cents, and cupro-nickel-clad steel for

cupro-nickel for the 50 cents. The savings per million new

coins supplied would then become:

5 cents £

1350

10 cents

£

2100

-

50 cents

£

3700

The other advantages would be similar to those described

in (i).

The major disadvantage might be considered to be the reduction.

in the quality of the coinage and in particular the tendency

for the coins to discolour at the edges, if not corrode. Other

disadvantages would be largely the same as those above, though

vending machines which incorporated checks for magnetism would be more seriously affected.

(iii) To reduce both the weights and the diameters of the existing

coins according to the principles described in Part I. The

advantages would be increased scope for acceptable coins of

20 cents and $5, and scope even for a still higher denomination.

Depending on the precise choice of sizes and alloys, the savings

per million of new coins supplied would be at least as high as in (i) and could be considerably higher.

The main disadvantage would be the large investment involved in

replacing the existing coinage, which could be more than

equivalent to the expected savings on new issues. The general

disturbance and the need to modify all vending and sorting

machines would be other drawbacks.

If the comparatively small numbers of 5 cent coins minted in

recent years imply that this denomination is falling into disuse,

it might well be sensible to postpone any major recoinage until

it can be demonetised.

Possible Specifications for a $5 Coin

21.

If solutions on the lines of (i) and (ii) above were adopted, the choice of

specification for a $5 coin would as already indicated be restricted to a round piece