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Asked by abichohan to Davie, Gemma, James P, James V, Nuala on 28 Jun 2012.
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Gemma Purser answered on 28 Jun 2012:
Hi abichohan
Modern coins are made of alloys. Alloys are a mixture of different types of metals such as copper and nickel. Old coins used to be made of things like silver and gold but these metals are very precious and more rare.
Paper notes are made of cotton paper. Cotton is a plant and its the fibres that grow around the seed that are mashed together into what is know as a pulp. This is then spread, squashed and rolled out into sheets. They are printed with inks and some have bands of metal in them too.
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Nuala Carson answered on 28 Jun 2012:
Hey abichohan,
Gemma has given you a really good answer there. I guess it would have been pretty difficult from people to decide what to make money out of. I mean it has to be robust enough to stand up to everyday life (like possibly going through the washing machine). Interesting question!
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James Verdon answered on 28 Jun 2012:
It used to be that coins were made out of precious metals, gold and silver and things, and the coin was literally worth as much as the value of the metal in the coin. Certain unscrupulous individuals used to shave a little bit of gold off the edge of the coin, to build up an extra supply of gold for themselves.
These days, there isn’t enough gold to make all the coins we need, so instead the bank assigns a nominal value to the coin or note that defines how valuable they each are. So the metal in coins now isn’t worth nearly as much as the coin’s value.
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James Pope answered on 28 Jun 2012:
Hi abichohan,
In Northern Ireland their £5 note is laminated with a plastic covering to extend it’s lifetime (as £5 notes get damaged and have to be destroyed and replaced a lot!). It makes it very weird if you get one, but it is very rare!
I wonder with things like texting cash and paying with swiping a mobile phone, how long cash has left before it stops being used? I reckon about 20 years!
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