If you drop a silver quarter onto a hard tabletop, a pure metallic ringing will arise, pleasant to the ear, a brilliant tone. Where have all the silver coins gone? Long time passing. Indeed, a long time ago, U.S. coins were made of silver, gold or copper and nickel, but today’s coins are minted from zinc or brass or manganese, clad with cupro-nickel. They no longer contain precious metals – no silver, no gold.