Cents and Sensibility Act

Cents and Sensibility Act

This bill requires that the one-cent, five-cent, ten-cent, and quarter-dollar coins be: (1) produced primarily of steel, and (2) treated to impart a color so that their appearance is similar to coins produced previously.

In minting these coins, Treasury shall use steel produced only in the United States unless: (1) doing so would be inconsistent with the public interest, or (2) an adequate supply of the appropriate grade of steel is not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities.

In setting specifications for these coins, Treasury may not: (1) require more than one change to coin-accepting and coin-handling equipment to accommodate new coins produced; (2) facilitate or allow the use of a coin with a lesser value produced by another country, or the use of any token or other easily or regularly produced metal device of minimal value, in the place of a circulating coin produced by Treasury; or (3) require non-trivial changes to coin-accepting or coin-handling equipment to easily accommodate continued co-circulation of both old and new coins.