Nickel - the next sleeper 'bullion'?

"...keeps Canadians' pocket change fresh." Yeah.

I collect old coins -- because coins used to keep. Now we here in the US have Zincolns, which spoil if you leave them out too long. I've thought for a long time that that was just a really stupid choice made for all the wrong reasons -- but maybe the Mint wants coins to have a limited shelf life. Maybe we'll be seeing similar self-destruct mechanisms for other denominations.

Ahhh, someone got me started again.

 

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That thought has occurred to me - deliberately self-destructing coins. Wasn't this done a long time ago, back around the fall of the Roman Empire?

I seem to recall reading about coins made from iron with the intent that they would eventually rust away to prevent hoarding. I'll have to look into that again for specifics.

 

Well...Nickel hit just over $12/lbs this past Friday.

Continuing with my hoarding.


1955 - 1981 Nickel $0.05 $0.1192642 per coin

 

US Nickel...
Metal Composition: 75% Copper - 25% Nickel
Weight: 5 grams per coin.
Melt...$0.0570

 

And it would cost you a lot more than 0.7 cents per coin to melt them and separate the metals, which you'd need to do in order to realize that price. (Yes, Canadian nickels from the years listed are pure nickel, and more worthwhile. If you can get them at face value, more power to you!)

AND it's illegal to melt US nickels in the US anyhow (except war nickels).

Now, eventually the value of that metal will climb so high that the Mint will be FORCED to change their composition, assuming they keep minting the coins at all. At that point, and once sufficient supplies of the new nickels are in circulation, I'd expect the ban to be lifted. (Its purpose, as I understand it, is to make sure the coins continue to circulate.)

BUT... at that point, even if inflation means that the metal is worth five "dollars" per coin, a loaf of bread will be $500, and you'd need a hundred nickels to barter for that loaf, just as you'd need them to buy it today. A pound of nickels for $5.00 (at today's prices) worth of groceries. How much do you spend on groceries whenever you go to the store? How many tons of nickels do you want to hoard as "hard money" against hyperinflation?

 

So Canadian Nickels from 1955 -1981 are listed as pure nickel.............. learned something..... alright going to have to look now at mine. TY

 

Actually, the CAD 5 cent coins are pure nickel from 1922-1981 (except for a couple WW2 years and 1951-1954).

 

and I thought silver was heavy..LOL, was in the A/C business for 30 plus years back
in the day when copper was .85 cents a pound, would go down and scrap about
$500 a pound back in 1980 not a bad score

 

Today: 12/6/22

Canada 1955 - 1981 Nickel $0.05 $0.12 (each)

Wow

 

at that price why not..LOL

 

A bunch of nickel coins for the pile.

 

That's nice pile you got going there Flutie. When I first started (2012) I bought bunch of Canadian Silver then someone told me their only 80% and I had 90% stuck in my head so I never purchased anymore for that reason. I got to find them now and look to see what kind of Canadian coins I got.

 

That’s not my entire current pile. Just what I bought today.

 

I have a LCS source for bulk CAD nickel 5 cents for 2xface.

 

Contemplating the $0.02 worth.

 

Perhaps.

As I’ve said before, this is for fun and maybe profit.

 

But mostly just fun.

 

Another recently purchased pile of nickel French coins:

 

That’s just crazy. You’re never going to get a container big enough. I have a few Canada nickels in hand. Just waiting to I find a nickel book. My coin show doesn’t carry them. Been street hunting for these Canada books

 

I have a few saved coins. I just can’t hoard. Too much work. I just CRH’d 2 rolls of P minted of various 1950’s. (Nickels)So now what do I do. I don’t need 5 or ten of each. I would save a roll of 50D nickels