US Coin value, face value vs melted scrap metal

[Fred]

First of all, it is illegal to melt coins. But if you do, copper pennies are worth $.03 and nickels are worth $.08.

So if you go to the bank and buy $20 worth of nickels, it is worth about $35.

So if you buy $2,000 worth of nickels, they are worth $3,500.00 as scrap metal. If you do this every hour, you are profiting $1500 per hour. So if you work just 200 hours, you can pay cash for an average home.

While melting is illegal, you can legally trade them for their melt value.

[Niemand]

They're worth more than the banknotes/bills. At least you can use them for something. What can you do with paper money? Insulate your loft?

[JK4Woods]

Drill a hole in ‘em... nickles cost less than washers at the hardware store...

Washers the size of nickles cost $.13 at Lowe’s Hardware.

[iWriteStuff]

Pennies from 1984 onward are 95% zinc. I think maybe that applies more to pre-1984 Pennie’s (95% copper). Same for nickels, most of which aren’t made of nickel any more

[nvr]

Nickels are still made with an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel.
https://www.coinflation.com/
Is you’re willing to dedicate some warehouse space, you could potentially make some profit for the day when the law prohibiting melting nickels and pennies lapses.

[Fred]

Pennies from 1984 onward are 95% zinc. I think maybe that applies more to pre-1984 Pennie’s (95% copper). Same for nickels, most of which aren’t made of nickel any more

You should have watchd the video. I specifically specified COPPER pennies in the OP. As for nickels, it is not the nickel that is valuable. They are 75% copper.

[iWriteStuff]

Pennies from 1984 onward are 95% zinc. I think maybe that applies more to pre-1984 Pennie’s (95% copper). Same for nickels, most of which aren’t made of nickel any more

You should have watchd the video. I specifically specified COPPER pennies in the OP. As for nickels, it is not the nickel that is valuable. They are 75% copper.

Mea culpa, boss! Consider me aptly corrected.

[logonbump]

It's pre 1983. 1982 and older pennies are the same composition

[largerthanlife2]

You would be better off buying canned goods and other foods items before the price of food doubles.

[Fred]

Food is definitely a good investment. There are lots of things that will be worth ten times what it sells for today. Even common everyday crap like duct tape. But nickels are easy to buy, take up very little space and are easy to sell

[Momma J]

Good Info... I guess I will sort through my buckets of coins that I was getting ready to exchange at the bank. I have dropped my spare change in a bucket for the past 20 or so years. (I may personally be the reason that there is a coin shortage)

[Thinker]

Good topic, Fred!

Anyone wonder why the change shortage didn’t involve $1 bills? Just coins!


From my notes:

Up to 2014, pennies & nickels have value in & of themselves (copper, zinc, nickel - & older ‘42-45 nickels have silver

http://www.coinflation.com

Most look for -1965 silver coins
-1982 pennies
(Some silver -1970, but starting 1970 no silver in silver colored coins)

[Fred]

Good Info... I guess I will sort through my buckets of coins that I was getting ready to exchange at the bank. I have dropped my spare change in a bucket for the past 20 or so years. (I may personally be the reason that there is a coin shortage)

Wow!

20 years of change? I would look at every single one. There may be coins in your stash that are worth thousands of dollars. Even some very new coins are worth thousands. Cracks in the die are sometimes not found right away. A cracked die will leave a crack line on the coin. Easy to spot and worth a lot. Pretty rare, though. For sure, check for silver quarters and dimes. Coin collector books are worth more when filled than just the individual coins by themselves. Keep ALL nickels and all pennies before 1983. There are a lot of Youtube videos that show which relatively recent coins are worth a lot.

Silver quarters and halves are not as hard to find as you might think. Banks use automatic coin counters and so when a kid robs his dad's coin collection to buy beer or smokes, he may not even realize that the quarters are silver. The bank does not spot them and they end up in a roll. People buy boxes of rolled coins to find the silver ones. There are YT videos about going through boxes of rolled coins, also.

A box of quarters or halves only cost $500. Go through them and then sell the unwanted ones back to the bank. My friend owns a laundromat and he can spot a silver quarter just by the way it sounds when dropped on a table.

[Momma J]

I started going through it but didn't get too far. I did pull out the Susan B Anthony and Sacagawea dollars, and Kennedy half dollars... basically anything that was obviously different. The steel pennies were easy to spot and the silver coins are not too tough. But it will take some time to go through it all. It is only worth a couple bucks, but I have been holding onto a replica Of The 1855 Blake & Co. $20 Gold Piece for 50 years. (it looks cool)

[Fred]

I started going through it but didn't get too far. I did pull out the Susan B Anthony and Sacagawea dollars, and Kennedy half dollars... basically anything that was obviously different. The steel pennies were easy to spot and the silver coins are not too tough. But it will take some time to go through it all. It is only worth a couple bucks, but I have been holding onto a replica Of The 1855 Blake & Co. $20 Gold Piece for 50 years. (it looks cool)

If you have buckets full, you likely have several thousand dollars at face value. Now, just imagine the copper pennies are worth 3 times face value and nickels are worth nearly double. Some will b rare dates, some steel, some silver, etc. Lets say that overall your stash is only worth double face value. You don't get excited when a penny is worth 3 times as much. But when you have a thousand dollrs that is worth double, it is worth taking your time.

There are lots of coins twenty years old that are worth several dollars. Some are hundreds of dollars and some are thousands of dollars.

Don't throw it away!