Why You Need to Own Nickels, Right Now

Economic Policy Journal ^ | 2-6-2011 | Robert Wenzel

[Nailbiter]

ping

[dbehsman]

I don't mean to resurrect a somewhat dead thread, but I just want to thank you for posting that kid's videos. I stumbled upon him on YouTube when I was checking out some precious metal videos.

Whenever I see one of FortNikitaBullion's videos, I just think to myself that maybe the future generation is not so bad after all.

At least there's one kid out there with a brain.

[STD]

pennies?

[texas booster]

BTTT.

[FrogMom]

I remembered reading this when talking with a friend.

How much are nickels worth now, with silver over 40 an oz?

[blam]

Look here.

[FrogMom]

TY!

[kimmie7]

.

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

Worthy Bump!

[Smokin' Joe]

If you look thru goodly numbers of pennies, you’ll become able to identify the pre-1982’s on sight. Not all of them, but most of them.

Sight can be tricky--I have seen a number of pre-82 pennies with good mint luster intact (piggy bank dumpings), and a lot of the newer cents which are downright ugly.

I have found, however, that when a copper cent bounces off the hardwood table it rings, and the zinc ones sound flat. Compare, and I think you'll find it works very well.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I can spot ‘em pretty quick...at least for the first 20 or so rolls..LOL. Then my eyes go glurky.

Yes, I agree, there are large numbers of 1980 pennies and some from the 70’s in unbelievable condition, for some reason. Mainly that one year, 1980. And yes, there are recent ones that look like corroded turds, just rotten.

I also notice that the 82’s and earlier have a significantly better strike. I usually pick out the clearly brown (good) ones that you can pick out almost immediately, then go back and just work off the depth of the strike on the date, without actually reading the date.

I just gather all the 1982s and weigh them later.

Nobody gonna get rich off this exercise, that’s a certainty.

The only blessing (for me) is that I have a super good coin counting machine, a Cummins Jetsort which I bought for no good reason except it was cheap, and it counts out the good and bad rolls pretty quickly.

[Smokin' Joe]

It’s nice to live in an area where I can still take in a sack of pennies and they’ll count them for me. I weighed them first and the count was about right.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I believe I have heard that Allianz Bank or some other Euro-sounding bank has self-serve coin counters in their lobbies. CommerceBank?

I did a hell of a lot better, for a while, getting $1K worth of half dollars at the bank and searching them for silver. I would still recommened doing that at least a time or two if you are in a small town, if I am hearing you correctly. You may have to have the bank order them for you, which they will typically do at n/c & call you when they come in.

They can be searched VERY fast. First batch: 2 x 90%, 10 x 40%. Second batch: nada. Third batch: Nada!

Still. Even if you get only one stupid 40% half in 2000 coins:

In a $25 box of pennies you have 50 rolls * 50 coins = 2500 coins. If 10% are goodies, and that is right around my yield, you have (in crude terms) doubled the value of 250 pennies, meaning you made $5.

In 2000 halves, $1K worth, if you find one 40% half (really cruddy yield but sometimes you will get NONE) worth about $4.75 = $4.25 over face. Adjust that for 2500 coins and you’d have $5.31!

So IMHO, halves are a better bet. And if you get a pre-1964 one (abt $11.60 value) or even 2 measly 40% ones, the advantage devastates what you can expect from pennies. I don’t consider the “amount invested” to harvest your metals premium in the equation since it is theoretically never at risk (unless you get into a car crash on the way home or herniate yourself lifting stupid coins, LOL)

Make sure you are wearing your weight-belt when you go to lift $1K worth of halves. Or only do $500 at a time. Heavy!

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I said,

“In a $25 box of pennies you have 50 rolls * 50 coins = 2500 coins. If 10% are goodies, and that is right around my yield, you have (in crude terms) doubled the value of 250 pennies, meaning you made $5.”

No, you made $2.50. Halves = much better.

[Smokin' Joe]

My bank doesn't stock halves, and the pennies are roughly 30% copper here, along with 4-5 wheat pennies in 40 rolls. You do what you can with what you have.

The grandkids get a kick out of helping sort the "coppers" from the "zinkers", and their Lincoln Cent collections are coming along pretty well.

[stuartcr]

How would they know?

[Aevery_Freeman]

Only pre-1982 and some 1982's. That's when we started plating zinc slugs with copper.

It is one of my students favorite chemistry experiments.

[roadcat]

The oldest one I’ve found in my change was dated 1910.

Old coins will still turn up in circulation, just by chance. My dad was a coin collector in his younger days, and had a huge collection of Indian-head pennies (1800s vintage) when he was a young adult. Some kid got into his house, took the coins and spent them at a candy store. Those coins would be worth a fortune now.