I just scored 5 rolls of war nickels for $2.00 each. The melt at the time was $2.45 So for each of the 1942-1945 nickels i bought i made a .45 profit. I purchased 200, and 200 x .45 = $90 I made $90 on a $400 investment, that's super cool. I was doing a quick comparison. Since the quick rise in silver prices all the coins in the display were around .40 to .60 under melt value, had i purchased Morgans, or Halves, or Mercury dimes i would have only had a $10-$20 profit. But nickels gave me $90 I think I'm going to start buying nickels. Another good thing is the fact that they are only 35% silver and worth around $1.50 to the average collector. So even if the silver price drops im pretty insulated.
Because of the low silver content, they inherently command less of a premium... they're less desirable. They're also much more difficult to refine than say, a silver dime, so that also adds on to the price of refining, and drops the value. Just FYI.
Could be a good investment if silver continues to climb. I took a quick look on ebay and rolls of war nickels are selling for around $80-83 and a 5 rolls lot sold for $415.
I have been buying silver nickels too as I am a nickel freak (I love nickels) but after researching I am going to sell most of my silver nickels and buy silver proof dimes. If silver were to drop, (but it won't for quite awhile) I will have beautiful proof dimes, and when silver goes up I will have very nice looking silver coins, also if everything falls apart in this country (which definitely could happen at anytime) I have small amounts of silver to buy/barter with. Most of my war nickels just don't look so great with the exception of the unc. ones, which are beautiful. Just a thought to share, Juan
Hey everyone big thanks for feedback. I didn't think about the refining process, but yea a lower percentage must make it more difficult. It's illegal to melt Nickels right? What about Silver nickels? I know it is for new ones. Yeah Moonshine Ebay seems to be awash with War Nickels no one is willing to buy lots of rolls for $79 with no bids at the time of this post. http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p2897.m570.l1313&_nkw=war+nickels Maybe i didn't get such a good deal. Apmex (who is always a bit pricy) is selling them for $48.65 for $1 face (20 coins) http://www.apmex.com/Category/1125/35_Silver_War_Nickels.aspx Ill keep them they are the only War Nickels i have, but may not be so over-enthused about purchasing more.
I bought a couple of rolls of war nickels just below spot a few months ago, but I quickly realized that I got such a "great deal" only because it's hard to get full spot for 35% or 40% silver coinage. I'm still ahead on them, but if I find a place to dump them for a reasonable price, I will -- they're well-circulated, and I think circulated war nickels in all their mold-green glory are front-runners for "ugliest coin". I've got a few AU or damaged-uncirculated specimens, and those are a different beast entirely. I'll definitely always have room for more of those, even at full spot.
Yeah, low silver inclusion, and the current Treasury rule bannign melting, makes these a less desirable silver play. Same reason 40% aren't worth their full weight of silver, (and its legal to melt those).
Question: How come in 1942 when they decided to change to composition of the nickel, why did they go 56/35/9? Why not just go 60/40? 65/35? 50/50? I mean really.
What I read was that they were trying to mimic the look and feel of the new alloy nickels to minimize US citizens frustration. Hard to say that if you have ever seen worn ones, but new the war nickels do look and feel very similar to a new nickel.
It's worth pointing out again that the Treasury ban on melting nickels specifically excludes war nickels. I'll see if I can dig up the post that quoted the specific clause. Ah, here we go: http://www.cointalk.com/t163875-3/ I use the standard page length, and Conder101's post is at the top of the linked (third) page. If you have different posts-per-page settings, you may need to snoop around a bit to find it.
O yeah, they are quite possibly the ugliest coins i have ever seen. They look and feel like coin u might find on the floor at an automotive shop.
They are discounted because they are junk silver in ugly form ( unless unc). No numismatic value ( like 40% halves). They take up more space ( like a safe deposit box) , 90% coins are better, ASE"s probably the best for junk silver storage. A safe deposit box ( smallest) full of ASE's would be mighty heavy. Anybody have any data on what a small SD box full of silver holds ? Then you'd have to figure if it is liftable when full.... I think it might be too heavy, way too heavy ? I'm thinking it would weigh well over 300 lbs, maybe half a ton ? I'm sure that an SD box ( small) would weigh a huge amount if stuffed with silver. I don't think I could lift a box like that to chest level if it weighed 150 lbs !
At first I thought you were saying you bought "5 rolls of War Nickels for $2.00 each" - $2 for each roll, not each coin. Rolls of War Nickels at face price would be a bargain.
Mine weighs probably 80-100 lbs minimum. I even have some numismatic coins in there, and some paper currency as well. Yeah, it gets very heavy.
