Hoarding Nickels?

[LDAHL]

I hear it’s becoming popular as we are cut off from Russian nickel suppliers.

[bae]

I wonder what the point is?

[LDAHL]

Profit. Like past moves intended to take advantage of significant price increases for silver and copper. Although I would think you’d need an awful lot of them, seeing as they’re only about 25% nickel.

Futures contracts would probably be a much more efficient play.

[Tradd]

First I’ve heard of it. I hate dealing with change. I’ve got a pickle jar full of coins. I need to take them to the coin counting machine at the grocery store to get an Amazon gift card. I’m no going to deal with the trouble of rolling them to take to my bank. I’m with Chase and they’ve done away with the coin counters locally.

[ToomuchStuff]

I could see hoarding buffalo nickels, as I used to have a belt buckle of them, that was stolen when our house was broken into.
I used to either take my change to one of those machines, which converted it into an Amazon gift card at no fee, or (I had bought a cheap counter), roll it and take it to the credit union to pay a CC bill (that way if I found something extra I wanted, under the total of the change, I felt it alright to charge the card for).
The credit union was the one that wanted it rolled.
After I bought the roller, they wanted it loose. Which I yelled about telling them they were the reason I bought the roller.
Now, I just sell it back to my store, and there are several others that still advertise they buy change.

[jp1]

I haven’t researched the value of nickel and copper in a nickel compared to the price of one ($.05 obviously) but it would have to be sufficiently more to make the cost of melting them down and separating the metals worth it, which seems dubious. Not to mention the fact that I believe it’s against the law to do that.

[LDAHL]

It’s not illegal, but I have to wonder if it’s cost effective until the price climbs significantly. Some people seem to think it will be. There was an article in the Atlantic recently that told of people warehousing large quantities.

I can remember the penny shortages of years past. I wonder if we may see something like that.

[Rogar]

A brief explanation of things.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/03/nickel-shortage-supply-shock-russia/627107/

[jp1]

Actually, it does seem to be illegal. Unless Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 31, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Part 82, Section 82.1 was one of those evil regulations that trump got rid of.

https://makeitfrommetal.com/is-it-illegal-to-melt-destroy-us-pennies-and-other-coins/

[LDAHL]

Actually, it does seem to be illegal. Unless Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 31, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Part 82, Section 82.1 was one of those evil regulations that trump got rid of.

https://makeitfrommetal.com/is-it-illegal-to-melt-destroy-us-pennies-and-other-coins/

You’re right! Apparently it’s legal to melt silver and gold coins right now, but not copper or nickel. It is also illegal to export coins over a certain face value. The rules seem to have changed over time whenever the feds got worried about the cost of replacing coins taken out of circulation I can’t think of why you’d want to hoard nickels except to simply hold them pending a law change, such as mandating electric cars requiring nickel in the batteries or some such related reason.

[jp1]

Personally I don't understand why we even still have pennies and nickels. I suppose there's a lobbying group out there somewhere that wants to keep them in circulation for some reason.

[ToomuchStuff]

Personally I don't understand why we even still have pennies and nickels. I suppose there's a lobbying group out there somewhere that wants to keep them in circulation for some reason.


People who pay with cash, and don't want the government to take more of their money then they have to.

I know when I first moved out and used my first cc to buy stuff to remodel the house, any loose change I got, went into paying off the cc, to pay as little interest as I could. I couldn't pay it off every month and bought the remodeling stuff, as I found deals, then paid it off and started the project with a clear card, just in case I ran into any emergencies.

I also remember someone appears on Johnny Carson, years ago, who put an ad in three major newspapers, asking if people could send him their spare change to help pay for his schooling. (pre go fund me, go fund me) He got a good deal of a response (which is why he was on).

[jp1]

Actually if we did away with nickels and pennies for cash transactions statistically an equal number of transactions would round down as up so over time it should be a wash. And theoretically one could game the system by using a card any time it would round up and using cash any time it would round down. But no one is going to get rich doing that.

[Alan]

Actually if we did away with nickels and pennies for cash transactions statistically an equal number of transactions would round down as up so over time it should be a wash.
But we'd have to change an old saying to something like "If I had a debit for every time........."

[Tradd]

The Canadians have done away with pennies. I'm all for that!

[jp1]

But we'd have to change an old saying to something like "If I had a debit for every time........."

Haha. And it would make more accurate the value of everyone’s two cents opinion.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Mexico caused a stir some years ago among some of it's citizens by melting much if it's coinage. At one point there were over 3,000 pesos to a dollar. The one thousand peso was a coin worth around 33 cents. Then the government reprinted Mexican currency leaving three zeros off - ex 3,000 pesos became 3 pesos.

Anyway, the government melted some of the old coinage and it was a big offense to Mecican pride it seems. Rob

[ToomuchStuff]

But we'd have to change an old saying to something like "If I had a debit for every time........."


Actually, read something last night, saying the post office is going to start cashing checks, for a fee, because of those that are the unbanked, or the underbanked.
I do wonder how many people cannot get a debit card?

[happystuff]

Oh, no. I like pennies! My favorite - pretty much only - souvenirs any more are the smushed pennies - (run penny and two quarters through the machine and the penny is flattened and imprinted with whatever). I would definitely miss pennies! :)