Is there a “smart phone” commemorative coin in our future?

RogerB · March 31, 2018 7:22AM

Edited from BBC:
“A typical iPhone is estimated to house around 0.034g of gold, 0.34g of silver, 0.015g of palladium and less than one-thousandth of a gram of platinum. It also contains the less valuable but still significant aluminum (25g) and copper (around 15g). Smartphones also contain a range of rare earth elements – elements that are actually plentiful in the Earth’s crust but extremely difficult to mine and extract economically – including yttrium, lanthanum, terbium, neodymium, gadolinium and praseodymium.”

“Recycling one million mobile phones could deliver nearly 16 tons of copper, 350kg of silver (11,253 T oz worth $184,437), 34kg of gold (that’s 1,093 T oz worth $1,420,900) hand 15kg of palladium.”

Will we one day have a completely recycled commemorative honoring ‘smart phones’ and computer components?

ms70 · March 31, 2018 7:44AM

There are more smart phones than there are "smart" phone users.

ricko · March 31, 2018 7:49AM

My initial response would be 'No'....however, with the direction the Mint seems to be taking, and after giving it some thought... probably.....I am no longer surprised by Mint offerings...Though I do blame our congress more so than the Mint...after all, that is where it all comes from.... Cheers, RickO

ms70 · March 31, 2018 8:41AM

Well I'll be darned. If the U.S. mint does make one we won't be first....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1994-Ellan-Vannin-MOBILE-PHONE-TECHNOLOGY-rare-Isle-of-Man-1-one-pound-coin-AA-/132562515001?hash=item1edd577439

ms70 · March 31, 2018 8:42AM

I remember when we used to put the coin in the phone and then.... for a brief 3 minutes like an auctioneer.....

Now we're putting the phone in the coin and we can unlimited.

ctf_error_coins · March 31, 2018 8:54AM

I see a D Carr coin. He buys metal from a recycler of only cell phone metals, makes blanks, makes an uber cool design, with a very limited mintage

BuffaloIronTail · March 31, 2018 9:01AM

I don't really care. Unlike others, I don't need or want to have a phone strapped to me at all times. I don't even like answering my "landline".

For those of you who don't know what a "landline" is, I ain't gonna tell you.

Look in the history books.

Pete

ms70 · March 31, 2018 9:12AM

@BuffaloIronTail said:
I don't really care. Unlike others, I don't need or want to have a phone strapped to me at all times. I don't even like answering my "landline".

Pete

If I didn't have kids I'd throw mine in the river.

Zoins · March 31, 2018 9:16AM

I thought about commissioning an iPhone 10th anniversary coin by Dan Carr but then I also wanted to distribute it at an event like the Apple conference to call it a So-Called Dollar. Never got around to it but still thinking of modern So-Called Dollar ideas.

BillyKingsley · March 31, 2018 9:22AM

I love my smartphone. It's got a better camera than my actual camera, although it has almost no zoom capability. When my tv died in 2016 I watched TV on it for over a year...now that I have a new TV I can watch two games at once....or at least keep aware of what's going on.

What I don't use it for is talking...I don't like talking on the telephone to begin with, and I don't give the number out to anyone. I actually keep my "stupid phone" for talking.

I only got it in early 2016 and it's one of the best gifts I've ever received.

RogerB · March 31, 2018 12:30PM

I guess the Apple one would be a "So-Called iphone Dollar" -- ?

BuffaloIronTail · March 31, 2018 12:58PM

@RogerB said:
I guess the Apple one would be a "So-Called iphone Dollar" -- ?

NO. A "So-Called iPhone Dollar Dialer" it is.

Pete

RogerB · March 31, 2018 1:00PM

Good one! I'd better call someone on my flip phone to tell them --- right away --- as I'm hiking down this steep trail above the cany..........

CommemKing · March 31, 2018 1:07PM

I quit if the do.

djm · March 31, 2018 2:10PM

Could be one of the coins in the Innovation Dollar Series. In what state was the mobile phone developed?

logger7 · March 31, 2018 3:18PM

Get out the crystal ball....I see the US mint teaming up with the US currency mint to produce something to commemorate the decline of coinage and paper money, and celebrating the explosion of virtual technologies, smartphones, people jabbering away constantly in their cars, etc., and tapping away frenetically with all types of devices.... The inmates are taking over the asylum!