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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 2765997, member: 27832&quot;]I&#039;m having a hard time following this. Why, exactly, do you think war nickels would be better for blocking radiation than an equivalent weight (at <i>much</i> lower cost) of lead? To block gamma or X-ray, you want high atomic number and mass, period. There&#039;s no way an alloy containing only lighter elements could beat lead. To block alpha and beta, you want simple plastic and foil. To block neutrons, you want water and distance.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, to tell you the truth, the vision of a post-apocalyptic leader striding across a bleak and blasted landscape in fatigues studded with war nickels doesn&#039;t make me want to hoard the things; it makes me want to giggle.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>But they wouldn&#039;t have had the same electrical characteristics, which was one of the main drivers in the selection process.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>That&#039;s... really going out on a limb, given that 5 cents is the lowest face value of such coins.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Of course there are. There are whole TV programs devoted to &quot;coin investments&quot; that will return you 20% of your original outlay <i>if</i> you&#039;re lucky. But given a choice between an expected 25-30% haircut and an expected 10% haircut, go with the lower spread. Unless you <i>really</i> hate long hair.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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