Since its invention by EMS, clad metal coinage has found favor in countries around the world. The original need was to replace silver with a lower cost material that had a more stable supply. The replacement also had to retain the appearance of silver and its compatibility with pay phones, vending machines and other coin acceptance systems. The solution was a clad metal composed of cupronickel/copper/cupronickel which provides both the look of silver and the same density and electrical characteristics required for automatic coin discrimination. Today, many different metal combinations are available to meet the world's needs.
