Coins do not actually have a metallic smell, and the distinct metallic odor you notice on your hands after handling change is actually the smell of your own skin breaking down.

A closer look

Coins do not actually have a metallic smell, and the distinct metallic odor you notice on your hands after handling change is actually the smell of your own skin breaking down. When oils from your skin touch the iron or copper in coins, a rapid chemical reaction occurs that produces organic compounds called aldehydes, which your brain interprets as a metallic scent. You are literally smelling the rapid decomposition of your own body chemistry triggered by the metal, rather than smelling the money itself. This means that greedy billionaires diving into piles of gold coins are not basking in the sweet aroma of wealth, they are just hotboxing a vault with their own rotting skin fumes. It is oddly poetic that the physical currency we spend our entire lives violently stressing over is chemically designed to constantly remind us of our own biological decay