Cents

The cent is the smallest amount of currency in United States. Its value is <math>1/100<math> of one US Dollar. Coins used to denote different amounts of value in cents include:

• The penny, a copper-colored coin of which the value is one cent;
• The nickel, a silver-colored coin of which the value is five cents;
• The dime, the smallest coin, silver, of which the value is ten cents;
• The quarter (quarter-dollar), a silver coin of which the value is twenty-five cents;
• The very rarely-used and oft-unseen half-dollar, a large silver coin with a value of fifty cents;
• Three different dollar-coins:

  The Susan B. Anthony dollar-coin, which is silver,

  The very rarely used or seen silver-colored Dwight D. Eisenhower dollar, the largest American coin,

  And the Sacagawea dollar, the newest dollar-coin.

<p>The Sacagawea dollar is gold-colored. <p><p>Half-dollar coins are no longer minted, and are not accepted by most vending machines in the US.

<p>Unfortunately, dollar-coins are not often used in the United States. The Dwight D. Eisenhower dollar was a heavy coin that was very inconvenient to carry. (The half-dollar coin is seldom used for the same reason.) It is no longer being minted.

<p>Susan B. Anthony coins were too often mistaken for quarters. They were nearly the same size and weight. Originally minted in the 1960's, they, too, are no longer minted.

<p>Sacagawea dollars are used infrequently, however, they are more convenient than their forerunners. Since they are gold-colored, they can be distinguished by their color. The coin is also heavier and thicker than the quarter-dollar. Some vending machines in the United States accept the new dollar-coin, but they are as-yet uncommon.

<p>Dollar-coins must be requested from banks; they are not usually given to the customer due to the preference of paper money in the US. The United States Postal Service, however, maintains postage machines that typically give Sacagawea dollar coins in change.