Once the base metal value surpasses 10 cents Nickels will dissapear magically

[Twisted Titan]

http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/03/two_letters_re_nickels_as_an_i_1.html
Jim,


Just another data point for you about Nickels, from North Carolina. My bank continues to order boxes [of $100 face value in nickel rolls] for me, but they were told by their supplier that 20 boxes was the new limit per week (I had asked for 55 boxes). The funny thing is the manager said they would simply order me 20 boxes/week until I had what I wanted!

They also noted a strong uptick (from essentially none) in customer requesting nickels for the same reason I am getting them - base metal value. Though none more than a couple of boxes.

I get a sense that pretty soon banks will be either unwilling or unable to give customers nickels in large enough quantities to satisfy demand. Cheers, - Pete C.


Sir:

I have been following your blog and my wife and I are looking to be more prepared and have been at if for some time. Your posting on nickels makes sense to me, with one exception: What good are nickels going to be in hyper-inflated, blown up economic world? Wouldn't hyper-inflation make them essentially worthless even if they double? Shouldn't already stretched budgets be better directed at larger silver denominations, I.E. - pre-1965 coins? So, even if the cost doubles shortly, would it be worth storing and carting around for purposes of barter? Thank you, - David S.

JWR Replies: To clarify, the face value of U.S. five cent coins will soon be just as meaningless as the value markings on seen pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage. (Dimes, Quarters, Half Dollars, and Dollars.) Only a fool, a crack head, or an uneducated child would spend silver coins at face value. Eventually the same will be true for nickels. Why? Pre-1965 U.S. silver coins are now worth more than 25 times their face value. ("25x face.") Unlike paper money, the nickel coins of the current composition will be never be "worthless". Since they are composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel ("75/25"), they will always have at least the base metal value of those metals. (Currently about 130% of their face value.) And, as insurance against unlikely deflation and falling metals prices, the nickels could always be spent back into circulation. Thus, they are as close to a "you can't lose" hedge as you could ever hope for.

Presently nickels are in odd and always short-lived situation for a circulating coin: Their base metal value exceeds their face value. But for now, they are still freely available at their face value. Gresham's Law dictates that they will soon be driven from circulation. Mark my words: Once the base metal value surpasses 10 cents for the 75/25 composition Nickels, they will almost magically disappear from circulation. Poof! They will be gone.

Something very similar happened to silver Dimes, Quarters, Half Dollars in the mid-1960s. In 1964 they were still found in everyone's pocket change, but by the end of 1965 they had nearly all been wisely gathered in Mason jars at home and put under lock and key. This is explained by the Coinage Act of 1965, that introduced debased coins (copper slugs that were just flashed with silver), that started circulating side-by-side with the genuine 1964 and earlier silver coins. Gresham's Law dictated that the new, debased "bad" money would drive the older genuine "good' money out of circulation. Just a few years later, most of the the 90% silver coins that were deem non-numismatic (derisively called "junk" silver by collectable coin dealers) had been gathered into $500 and and $1,000 face value bags, and traded as a commodity. We need to learn from history. It doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes.

The same thing will happen to nickels, when the U.S. Treasury inevitably introduces a debased nickel. Coin experts predict that the new five cent piece will either be a stainless steel slug, or a zinc slug that is flashed with nickel or silver. Either way, a "nickel" will no longer contain any appreciable amount of nickel. But being sheeple, folks will probably still call them "nickels".

Inflation is inexorable. The abandonment of silver coinage by the U.S. Treasury in the 1960s was the inevitable result of currency inflation. The debasement of the lowly nickel is merely the next logical step. There no way that a nation can afford to continue to produce a coin with a metallic content value that exceeds its circulating face value. I therefore strongly recommend that my readers take advantage of this opportunity before the window closes.

Yes, silver coins are great for barter. So is common caliber ammunition. But I predict than nickels might someday have a favored status for small day-to-day purchases. If and when the spot price of silver shoots up past $100 per ounce, it will make even a silver dime too valuable to be used as the smallest currency unit. How will you make minor purchases like a can of beans or a loaf of bread? Even today, with silver at $34.60 per ounce, one silver dime is worth around $2.55. Extrapolated to $100 per ounce silver, that means that one silver dime will be worth the equivalent of about $7.50. So how are you going to make "change" for small transactions? I posit that 75/25 nickels will be ideal for use as that small change. Perhaps people might by consensus make them the equivalent of pennies, with 100 nickels equaling the value of $1.00 face value in pre-'65 silver coinage.

It is difficult to predict exactly how nickels will be traded in the event of a currency collapse. But we can be assured that they will be traded. One of the most dependable constants of a free market is that every tangible product with both usefulness and a limited supply does reach price equilibrium quickly.

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

Some have asked whether our silver coins will disappear. The answer is very definitely-no.

Our present silver coins won't disappear and they won't even become rarities. We estimate that there are now 12 billion--I repeat, more than 12 billion silver dimes and quarters and half dollars that are now outstanding. We will make another billion before we halt production. And they will be used side-by-side with our new coins.

Since the life of a silver coin is about 25 years, we expect our traditional silver coins to be with us in large numbers for a long, long time.

If anybody has any idea of hoarding our silver coins, let me say this. Treasury has a lot of silver on hand, and it can be, and it will be used to keep the price of silver in line with its value in our present silver coin. There will be no profit in holding them out of circulation for the value of their silver content.

- Lyndon Johnson, Remarks at the Signing of the Coinage Act July 23, 1965

[sirgonzo420]

Some have asked whether our silver coins will disappear. The answer is very definitely-no.

Our present silver coins won't disappear and they won't even become rarities. We estimate that there are now 12 billion--I repeat, more than 12 billion silver dimes and quarters and half dollars that are now outstanding. We will make another billion before we halt production. And they will be used side-by-side with our new coins.

Since the life of a silver coin is about 25 years, we expect our traditional silver coins to be with us in large numbers for a long, long time.

If anybody has any idea of hoarding our silver coins, let me say this. Treasury has a lot of silver on hand, and it can be, and it will be used to keep the price of silver in line with its value in our present silver coin. There will be no profit in holding them out of circulation for the value of their silver content.

- Lyndon Johnson, Remarks at the Signing of the Coinage Act July 23, 1965



He must've never heard of gresham's law...


:oo-->

[Twisted Titan]

I am definately keeping that LBJ quote

That is absolutely priceless

I assume BHO will say something sinilar when the nickles change.


T

[Sparky]

Great post, TT. The dramatic increase in requests at banks is telling. How can the banks (and ultimately the Treasury) continue to deny requests for unlimited coinage without it being an admission that they have unaccounted-for value?

As the write-up points out, some day the silver dime may be the new $5 or $10 FRN, while the current-day nickel becomes the new dime or perhaps even the new quarter, while the future steel (or whatever) nickel will become the new nickel.

So, collecting nickels is like getting future-day dimes or quarters for 5 cents apiece. People requesting nickels at a higher rate is evidence of this becoming a reality. 2011 or 2012 will probably be the last year of the current nickel.

[Twisted Titan]

I gotta cash a small 200 check today.......

You know what Im getting right???

Tens and nickles

I will report back how difficult it was to fill my order.


T

[sunnyandseventy]

Getting ready to sit down on the floor with a couple change jars! ;D

[Grand Master Melon]

I get the point here but do or will people even give a crap about copper/nickel coins? I just don't think they will. Besides, one nickel is only 1/25 oz of nickel.

While a Nickel might be a great buy, I think I'd rather just stick with other coins and metals.

[Twisted Titan]

I get the point here but do or will people even give a crap about copper/nickel coins? I just don't think they will. Besides, one nickel is only 1/25 oz of nickel.

I beg to differ my good sir

That 1/25 of nickle represents value as opposed to the toilet paper that is rapidly depreciating.

When the hammer falls people will be looking for value far and wide.

I remeber a time when the only person that use to pick up cans and bottles was the hobo.


Now I see regular folk doing it and retirees as a means to supplement income. That are capturing the value of alumininum.

I will also add that a few municipalites are in the process of setting means to have recycle participates pay a tax on their "profits"

So even muncipalities see this as a healthy revenue stream as well.

T

[sunnyandseventy]

While a Nickel might be a great buy, I think I'd rather just stick with other coins and metals

I don't think I'm going to make a special effort to buy nickels but since I get them in my change I may as well set them aside.
Just went through two 32oz gatorade bottles of change. Endeed up with nearly 3/4 of a 20oz plastic bottle filled with nickels!
Maybe when I go run the dimes and pennies through the change machine at my credit union I'll ask to be paid in nickels. :D

[SLV^GLD]

I bought nickels in bulk for awhile. I never spend a nickel and I often present payment in such a way that I will be returned nickels instead of the other coins. I do the same thing for dimes because those are the only silver coins I ever get out of pocket change.

[chad]

i have about 8 of those $100 boxes of them plus the various ones i save.

personally, i don't get it, and it seems really retarded.

then again, about 99% of what the "weird old uncle george" people on GS-US say eventually comes true, so i am going with past performance.

[Libertytree]

From the OP: "Unlike paper money, the nickel coins of the current composition will be never be "worthless". Since they are composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel ("75/25")"

At this rate it seems like it wouldn't be a bad idea to start punching out pure copper rounds of some type on a press with a die.

[agnut]

Great thread Twisted Avatar. Ponce got me into collecting nickels a while back (he sees most everything before it happens). So far I have 12 bricks of nickels and lots of wheat and pre 1981/2 copper pennies (worth about 3 cents each)

Ponce has always said that the current dimes, quarters and halves will most likely be the same fraction of a new currency. Could be a devaluation too. For instance, a 100:1 devaluation would increase the value of the coins in purchasing power 100 times ! That is, all other things being equal at the time.

So if a current quarter has only 3 cents of melt metal content, it may still become very valuable under the above circumstances.

I don’t have much in U.S coins and prefer to have ONLY coins that have melt metal value above their face value. Right now I have $200 in rolled quarters and would like to exchange them for two bricks of nickels. It’s somewhat like trading silver for gold when the g:s ratio is favorable.

This nickel collecting isn’t new, however it is probably soon to end as we know it.

I don’t know about you but I think that at any time we could be notified that banks will no longer trade bricks of nickels for fiat paper $100 bills.

The physical act of taking a paper $100 bill to a bank and trading it for a heavy brick of nickels seems absurd, insane, illogical, and retarded but nevertheless downright satisfying.

Best wishes,

Agnut

[Twisted Titan]

I just went to the bank and scooped up 20 dollars in nickles ( 10 rolls) they actually had to go in the back to fill my order.

I have made small talk with the teller before and she was curious as to why i do what i do I left herwith two pieces of info. Research Gershams Law on Wikipedia and Coinflation .com and tell me what you think.

I honestly didnt believe she would do anything but much to my surprise she actually did.

She didnt so much understand how to navigate coinflation but she did grasp Gersham law

I couldnt talk long because the bank was busy but I told her in very short order she will be given instrusction not to give nickels or severly restrict her abilty to disburse them too customers.

This order will come from"high command'

A very bright woman I hope she follows through and do something with this information.

Im just glad I was able to pulloff another succefully bank robbery with no bloodshed or trauma to my victims ;D





T

[chad]

i do find it fascinating that people would rather have 1 piece of paper than a whole big box of metal dug out of the ground.

[madfranks]

Coin experts predict that the new five cent piece will either be a stainless steel slug, or a zinc slug that is flashed with nickel or silver.

This is like the fourth or fifth time I've heard this, and I will say again that there is no way in hell they will make a zinc nickel flashed with silver. Why would they make the new nickel silver plated?

One thing that you have to remember, back when they changed the dime from silver to clad, a single silver dime had substantial purchasing power, enough to buy a few cans of food. That's why it was worth it to keep and hoard silver dimes, they each held strong purchasing power. Today, what can you get with one nickel? Nothing, so there won't be as many people hoarding or even caring about keeping nickels because their individual purchasing power is so minimal. For this reason, I'd rather have a small stack of mercury dimes than a brick of nickels. Inflation will cause both to rise in dollar terms, and a small stack of dimes is easier to trade with than a brick of nickels.

[sirgonzo420]

i do find it fascinating that people would rather have 1 piece of paper than a whole big box of metal dug out of the ground.


that's because people are fucking idiots


for proof, look anywhere

[chad]

i do find it fascinating that people would rather have 1 piece of paper than a whole big box of metal dug out of the ground.


that's because people are fucking idiots


for proof, look anywhere


;D i LOL'd at that one.

[RJB]

Nothing, so there won't be as many people hoarding or even caring about keeping nickels because their individual purchasing power is so minimal.

Good, more for me. ;)

An old man once told me of the Great Depression, "If you had a nickel back then, you had a lot of money..."

[madfranks]

Nothing, so there won't be as many people hoarding or even caring about keeping nickels because their individual purchasing power is so minimal.

Good, more for me. ;)

An old man once told me of the Great Depression, "If you had a nickel back then, you had a lot of money..."





Five cents could buy you more back then than it can today. I'm not saying I'm not protecting myself from the falling dollar by owning metals, I'm saying I'd rather do it with silver than nickel.

[Twisted Titan]

I agree RB

I am of the personal opinion the lowly nickle will be seen with a new set of eyes and what can be bartered in exchange for it.

And even if it dosent........ it didnt cost me a "dime" to get it.

I will err to the side of caution on this one.


T

[RJB]

Here's my 2 copper cents. Basically I like to cover my bases.

Gold/silver are money. These have been manipulated in the past and will be in the future. They are far under valued now.

Copper/nickel are industrial metal. They'll always have value and don't have a history of being manipulated. With the industrialization of India and China, these could be great investments (as well as inflation protectors).

In the past 2,000 pennies or 400 nickels could get you an ounce of gold. Now 140,000 pennies buy an ounce of gold. There is an off chance (very off)we could go back to 2,000 pennies = 1 ounce of gold.

Also, I don't have the money to buy silver by the monster box. More like an ounce every few weeks or so. Copper is a metal that will increase or at least hold its value and I can buy it below spot with no premiums.

Take it or leave it. If you think I'm wrong, as I said, I don't care. It saves more copper for me :)

[RJB]

BTW, buying it under spot with no premiums from the bank is safer than trying to acquire it this way:

http://gold-silver.us/forum/general-discussion/massive-copperpowerline-thefts/msg192959/#msg192959

[Sparky]

...
One thing that you have to remember, back when they changed the dime from silver to clad, a single silver dime had substantial purchasing power, enough to buy a few cans of food. That's why it was worth it to keep and hoard silver dimes, they each held strong purchasing power.

Actually, a can of Campell's soup in 1963 cost 15 cents, so you couldn't really buy a few cans of food with a dime.


Today, what can you get with one nickel? Nothing, so there won't be as many people hoarding or even caring about keeping nickels because their individual purchasing power is so minimal. For this reason, I'd rather have a small stack of mercury dimes than a brick of nickels. Inflation will cause both to rise in dollar terms, and a small stack of dimes is easier to trade with than a brick of nickels.


Well, to accumulate the dimes now, you have to pay spot. To accumulate the nickels, you pay 25% below spot. Today, a can of soup costs $1.67, or 33 nickels face, or 23 nickels melt which is $1.15.

So in five years, other people could be paying $5/can, and you can be buying it with the nickels that cost you $1.67. You'll be getting a 67% discount with your hoarded nickels.

But to simplify once again: own it all.

[solid]

Today, a pre-82 copper penny is worth 3 cents, 3 times it's face value. Also, today, a nickel is worth 7 cents.

It has been close to 30 years since they changed to zinc pennies, and still you find copper pennies all the time in circulation. Even at 3 times it's value in metal. Even if a nickel in the future becomes 3 times it's value in metal, people are clueless and just don't care anymore. It would be the same as the copper penny, after 30 years..

I just don't see them disappearing, unless maybe in a hyper inflationary scenario. I've tried to explain to people about copper pennies and just got the deer in the headlights look, so I've given up.

I think if they started making nickels in zinc, for example, it would be a back page story that nobody would care to read.

People are different today, they care about their ipods, cell phones, and brainless media shows...that's their gold and silver.

Sad, but true.

[cthulu]

Well since most people subscribe to the notion that private businesses can do what ever they want including breaking the constituion I will bet banks will attempt to get rid of all coins. Banks have to pay face value for coins while only cost for paper. Ordering coins at the bank, clad or nickel, is comparitively expensive so they would rather give paper.

[Silver Rocket Bitches!]

What remains to be seen is if they lift the law banning the melting of nickels and pennies. If that law is lifted, watch out..

FYI: A $100 box of nickels is 16.5 lbs of copper and 5.5 lbs of nickel.



United States Mint Moves to Limit Exportation & Melting of Coins
Interim Rule Goes Into Effect Immediately

WASHINGTON — The United States Mint has implemented regulations to limit the exportation, melting, or treatment of one-cent (penny) and 5-cent (nickel) United States coins, to safeguard against a potential shortage of these coins in circulation. The United States Mint is soliciting public comment on the interim rule, which is being published in the Federal Register.

Prevailing prices of copper, nickel and zinc have caused the production costs of pennies and nickels to significantly exceed their respective face values. The United States Mint also has received a steady flow of inquiries from the public over the past several months concerning the metal value of these coins and whether it is legal to melt them.

"We are taking this action because the Nation needs its coinage for commerce," said Director Ed Moy. "We don't want to see our pennies and nickels melted down so a few individuals can take advantage of the American taxpayer. Replacing these coins would be an enormous cost to taxpayers."

Specifically, the new regulations prohibit, with certain exceptions, the melting or treatment of all one-cent and 5-cent coins. The regulations also prohibit the unlicensed exportation of these coins, except that travelers may take up to $5 in these coins out of the country, and individuals may ship up to $100 in these coins out of the country in any one shipment for legitimate coinage and numismatic purposes. In all essential respects, these regulations are patterned after the Department of the Treasury's regulations prohibiting the exportation, melting, or treatment of silver coins between 1967 and 1969, and the regulations prohibiting the exportation, melting, or treatment of one-cent coins between 1974 and 1978.

The new regulations authorize a fine of not more than $10,000, or imprisonment of not more than five years, or both, against a person who knowingly violates the regulations. In addition, by law, any coins exported, melted, or treated in violation of the regulation shall be forfeited to the United States Government.

The regulations are being issued in the form of an interim rule, to be effective for a period of 120 days from the time of publication. The interim rule states that during a 30-day period from the date of publication, the public can submit written comments to the United States Mint on the regulations. Upon consideration of such comments, the Director of the United States Mint would then issue the final rule.

Those interested in providing comments to the United States Mint regarding this interim rule must submit them in writing to the Office of Chief Counsel, United States Mint, 801 9th Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20220, by January 14, 2007. The interim rule appears on the United States Mint website at www.usmint.gov. The United States Mint will make public all comments it receives regarding this interim rule, and may not consider confidential any information contained in comments.

http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=724

[woodman]

People are different today, they care about their ipods, cell phones, and brainless media shows...that's their gold and silver.






QFT
This one is worthy of a sig line.

Fiat certainly has fucked things up. It is theivery, slavery and a destroyer all wrapped up into one.

I have a $25 box of pennies on the mantel. Not worth much, but it looks cool up there, Brinks box and all. I wouldn't mind having a few boxes of nickels too. I don't think pennies or nickles will make any of us rich but it won't make us poor. They will hold value as commodity. It sure would have been exciting to have been part of the economy in the mid sixties when silver was being demonitized. What a windfall. 15 years later, a silver dollar was worth what? 30 or 40 dollars? Not bad.

My dad and I were discussing the run up on silver during the Hunt Bros. buying spree. I mentioned how the cartel changed the rules and called their margin. He said they had it coming..... I'm not so sure.

[Bullion_Bob]

The only problem I see with this is trying to stack $10,000 worth of nickles so as turn it into something "tangible" so to speak.

[Spectrism]

The problem with "costing" nickels is that the melt value is not the same as the manufacture cost. Sure, it costs 7.3 cents for the metals in a nickel. But cupronickel is not easily melted to separated copper & nickel. Any use will likely be as an alloy.


Currently, cupronickel remains the basic material for silver-plated cutlery. It is commonly used for mechanical and electrical equipment, medical equipment, zippers, jewelry items, and as material for strings for string instruments.

For high-quality cylinder lock and locking systems, the cylinder core is made from wear-resistant cupronickel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupronickel


When you pick up silver plated junk on the cheap, there is often a white metal under the plate. It might be cupronickel. But I have seen alot of brass. Even the metal value of plated junk could be useful down the road.
EPNS- Electro Plated Nickel Silver is highly polished brass plated with Nickel and then with Silver.


While nickels are likely to be more valuable than they currently are, I do like silver much more. That hasn't stopped me from losing a few bricks of nickels in boating accidents. I don't even remember how many there were.

[Sparky]

Realistically, I figure you'll be able to get roughly half of the melt value of nickels some day, because of what you point out. But no matter. It's the only real money still being produced.

Saving nickels: It's not about the principal, it's about the principle.

[SLV^GLD]

The problem with "costing" nickels is that the melt value is not the same as the manufacture cost. Sure, it costs 7.3 cents for the metals in a nickel. But cupronickel is not easily melted to separated copper & nickel. Any use will likely be as an alloy.
You are correct that the alloy requires too much energy to separate to make it worthwhile. Thus, you are also correct that it will be used as an alloy. Cupronickel is used far more commonly than raw nickel in marine industrial applications. The alloy contained in the US coin is not an ideal alloy. However, if one has sufficient supply of raw nickel on hand then the alloy can be easily amended with the raw material to form a more ideal alloy for marine or industrial use. In this regard the cupronickel coin is entirely worth its weight in its constituent metals.

[ShortJohnSilver]

Realistically, I figure you'll be able to get roughly half of the melt value of nickels some day, because of what you point out. But no matter. It's the only real money still being produced.

Saving nickels: It's not about the principal, it's about the principle.


Thing is, if copper and or nickel become valuable enough, there is no reason to melt it; just like 90% coins - reason is that it is easily divisible and known-weight bullion at that point.

Why spend the energy to melt it unless you are really going to use it for industrial process - in which case, being pre-mixed at a certain ratio, it is very easy to add the metal needed to get the ratio you want, then melt it all down at once. At that point, given the choice of buying copper and nickel separately, or together, will not matter much, so you should be able to get near to melt value.

[Ponce]

Hahahahahaahahahahahah, you guys are sooooooooo funny, you keep on talking (and thinking) of coins in terms of "melt value"........in what is to come the only thing that it will have is the "trade value" of the coins themselves and not the monetary value........if you know what I mean by that then good for you because you are awake as I am.......and if not?.......squeeze your teddy bear a little bit tighter.

Monetary value and trade value is not and will never be the same......but that's how many people think of them......the paper fiat will die but not the coins, the only difference between the nickels and the pennies is that they will have a littleeeeeeee more value than the rest of coins but ALL coins will have value...maybe even more value than the current one.

I know, I know, that crazy Cuban is trying to write in English once again.....but I found out not to long ago that I write as I feel and what I feel, and not by using the "correct" English........even this statement is wrong "as I feel and what I feel" but is what I feel......... say what? ???

Anyway, nite nite and don't let the bed bugs bite you.

[Spectrism]

Trade value goes up and down but the melt value provides the BASELINE for the trade value to stand upon.


When numismatic interests wane, there is still melt value to hold up the coin. Melt value IS important.


BTW- here is something that has $1 trade value and $0 melt value. More accurately, its $1 value is not the purchasing value or the asset value BECAUSE it has no melt value.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_clW92NzmFvI/TNIPbUlHA6I/AAAAAAAAEWM/6HURTO7RrSQ/s1600/Final1999$1SnK03040506H.jpg

Its purchasing value changes (mostly in a negative direction) and has no ties to asset value.

[RJB]

Monetary value and trade value is not and will never be the same......but that's how many people think of them......Good point. If given a choice between a SAE and a Morgan Dollar with half its silver rubbed off, I've found that some prefer the SAE for silver content others prefer the Morgan for the antiquity.

[sunnyandseventy]

Just cashed a small check at my C.U. and asked for a roll of nickels with it. The woman at the drive up looked at me kind of odd; "you said nickels?"

[MNeagle]

Just cashed a small check at my C.U. and asked for a roll of nickels with it. The woman at the drive up looked at me kind of odd; "you said nickels?"


Next time just tell her they're for poker!

[Sparky]

Today, a pre-82 copper penny is worth 3 cents, 3 times it's face value. Also, today, a nickel is worth 7 cents.

It has been close to 30 years since they changed to zinc pennies, and still you find copper pennies all the time in circulation. Even at 3 times it's value in metal. Even if a nickel in the future becomes 3 times it's value in metal, people are clueless and just don't care anymore. It would be the same as the copper penny, after 30 years..

...


This is an interesting observation; I tried to think about why nickels might be different.

Here's what I came up with: We had an extraordinary inflationary period from about 1972-1981. About a year after the inflation subsided, copper pennies were replaced with zinc in mid-1982. At the time, the metal in the copper was still less than one cent. There was no "headline reason" to think about pulling pennies. With low inflation in the '80's, it took years for the copper penny to exceed par value. There was no coinflation.com to track the potential reward. As a result, the removal of copper pennies from the supply has been a slow and insidious process.

What's different now? My guess is that the "new nickel" will be introduced in 2012 or 2013, in the early stages of another decade-long struggle with inflation, and when it does, the old nickel may be nearly double its face value. As such, there will be a lot more awareness with the transition, right from the start. We already see evidence of the difference: Were people going to banks and exchanging FRNs for rolls of pennies in 1980? I'm not aware of any such activity.

So I think the removal of cupro-nickel nickels from circulation will occur at an accelerated pace. It took 30 years for copper pennies to shrink below 25% of the circulating supply. For nickels, it may take only take 5 or 10 years.

[BTW, we could use an update report from those of you who sort pennies from bank rolls. What are you getting these days for a yield on copper? I'm guessing we're in the the 20-25% range from what I pull out of my pocket change.]

[solid]

Thanks Sparky! That was an extremely well thought out post and I learned something. Regarding the percentages in copper pennies, I'd agree from change I pull 25%, however lately it seems to be a higher percentage. The only reason I can think of, is that maybe more folks are emptying their change cups because of higher food and gas prices, and our high unemployment rate.

[SLV^GLD]

[BTW, we could use an update report from those of you who sort pennies from bank rolls. What are you getting these days for a yield on copper? I'm guessing we're in the the 20-25% range from what I pull out of my pocket change.
I quit sorting about a year ago and the yield was right in the 20-25% range at that time.

[madfranks]

Every time I buy a box of nickels I can't help myself, the collector in me forces me to open up and sort the coins. I pull out the valuable ones (buffaloes, silver war nickels, key dates) and keep the rest in a canvas bag or bring them back to the bank for more. It's kind of like coin roll hunting for me.

[chad]

Every time I buy a box of nickels I can't help myself, the collector in me forces me to open up and sort the coins. I pull out the valuable ones (buffaloes, silver war nickels, key dates) and keep the rest in a canvas bag or bring them back to the bank for more. It's kind of like coin roll hunting for me.


you find buffaloes and war nickels? where do you live, 1952?

[madfranks]

Every time I buy a box of nickels I can't help myself, the collector in me forces me to open up and sort the coins. I pull out the valuable ones (buffaloes, silver war nickels, key dates) and keep the rest in a canvas bag or bring them back to the bank for more. It's kind of like coin roll hunting for me.


you find buffaloes and war nickels? where do you live, 1952?


When you are searching whole boxes of nickels, they do turn up every now and again. I average two war nickels out of every three boxes I search, and I've only ever found three buffaloes. Key dates like the 1950-D I find also keep.

[ShortJohnSilver]

Philippine Peso's, 1995-2003, are 6g of cupro-nickel and at current exchange rates cost 2.5 cents each.

The Japanese are buying up the cupro-nickel piso's and shipping them out of the country, then refining them. The new ones are stainless steel and thus much less valuable.

I am considering buying a bunch of these and coin roll hunting them, 2.5 cents with value at about 8 cents is like legally robbing a bank, as TT says...

[sunnyandseventy]

While a Nickel might be a great buy, I think I'd rather just stick with other coins and metals

I don't think I'm going to make a special effort to buy nickels but since I get them in my change I may as well set them aside.
Just went through two 32oz gatorade bottles of change. Endeed up with nearly 3/4 of a 20oz plastic bottle filled with nickels!
Maybe when I go run the dimes and pennies through the change machine at my credit union I'll ask to be paid in nickels. :D


Well I just found out why my box o' nickels cost $200! Minimum 2 box order :D
And they looked at me funny this time......

[Ponce]

Who the hell wants to check out $12,000 of nickels?, no me.............and once they reach .10 cents each I'll have to worry about them as much as of my tp.........this is hell on earth I am telling you.

[DMac]

Every time I buy a box of nickels I can't help myself, the collector in me forces me to open up and sort the coins. I pull out the valuable ones (buffaloes, silver war nickels, key dates) and keep the rest in a canvas bag or bring them back to the bank for more. It's kind of like coin roll hunting for me.


I hope you wear gloves. Handling nickels is bad for your health.

[Twisted Titan]

For those you that do the casino DONT FORGET THE THE NICKLE SLOTS.

Just cash in your ducats and walkout.


T