As both a collector and someone with a family member who has impaired vision I understand your questions. Unfortunately modern economics mean it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see circulating silver and copper (well, bronze) coins again.

Even lowly copper has become too expensive for low-denomination coinage. Those countries that still mint copper-colored coins have switched to cheaper substrates with copper plating. In the case of our cents zinc itself is too expensive as well but the zinc lobby, Congress, and inertia are preventing either a switch to steel or elimination of the cent altogether.

Circulating silver coins are even more problematic. It would be impossible to put the genie of price deregulation back in the bottle worldwide. Any time that the price rose far enough above a coin’s face value they’d be vacuumed out circulation in a repeat of the Great Coin Melt of the 1960’s. The only reason imelting doesn’t happen with zinc cents is that the profit margin is too low, but as a precious metal silver is much more volatile and fungible.

And finally, silver is much softer than cupronickel, so coins would again wear out in 25-30 years instead of the 50+ that’s typical for current issues.

Besides, I just like coins and numbers so this stuff is fun to think about.

I have a problem with vision as a disabled American Veteran, but I sure can tell right away the difference between the two when I pick them up. It’s the same with the other coins how I can tellthe difference between the older 90% silver
coins and the stuff we make today. That’s really easy. The old ones have got to be a heck of a lot better I would think to last longer, does anyone know? The only ones that I can ‘t tell the difference with only a few years is the 1942 -1945 Nickel.

Not too long ago, maybe 6 – 7 weeks in my change I could “feel” that there was something wrong I thought in a Quarter I got in change at the store. At first I thought that there was some kind of crud stuck on it. My wife collects coins like that and I’m always surprised at some of the errors in some of them. A lot more than I would have ever thought are done like that.

I agree that the initial drop in 2008 was a harbinger and the huge production drop in 2009 demonstrated a problem fully manifested, but I’m not so sure the higher production of the following years necessarily means things have gotten better otherwise one could claim, based on coin mintages that the Great Depression ended in 1934.

But 2015 may be a good sign after all since production appears to be set up to be much higher than last year’s…though I wonder how inflation factors into all this. Coins have virtually no purchasing power anymore and ridiculously high attrition rates so is any denomination a fair bellwether for the economy anymore? If it be quarters then this year would certainly suggest banner year…

It would be interesting to see how those numbers might change if the US ever decides to join the rest of the industrialized world by eliminating the penny and using $1 and $2 coins…..