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Economics terms for Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?

Base Metal

a non-precious metal like copper or nickle


production and trade; also, an organization which produces and/or trades


the use or trading of money

Clad Coin

a sandwich coin; a coin made of layers of different metals

Clipping Coins

shaving the edges of a coin in order to get some of the precious metal from the coin


fake, phony




reducing the value of a coin by reducing the amount of precious metal in it


a Roman coin originally made of 94 percent silver

Double-Digit Inflation

price increases rising at 10-99 percent per year due to inflation

Fine, Fineness

purity of a precious metal; if a coin is 900 fine gold, then its 90% gold

Gresham's Law

a law of economics; says bad money drives good money out of circulation; people hoard good money and trade with legally overvalued money

Law of Economics

a fact of life which deals with production and distribution of wealth; you cannot change it, and it applies all over the world


a factory which makes coins or other money

Precious Metal

a valuable metal like silver, gold, or platinum


what a person wants in trade for what he has


the notches on the edge of a coin


a government program for giving tax money away, usually to rich people or large companies; welfare


"There's Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"; a popular expression during the Great Depression meaning that almost nothing is free; a law of economics


the way governments get money; to tax means to take money away from someone, by force if necessary, even if he thinks what he is getting in return has little or no value


a disk of base metal which can be used as a substitute for a coin


the goods and services people produce or convert to their use


a government program for giving away money or goods, usually to poor people; a subsidy

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