Anyone know the current rule on melting nickels?

sinin1

I saw this interim rule from Dec 2006 when it cost the mint 9 cents to produce a nickel, and am not sure if it still applies

interim rule on melting and exportation



the reason I ask is old war nickels now have close to a dollar melt value and not much demand it seems

AUandAG

I heard, and that's just a rumor, that it has not changed. Still against the law to melt
coinage.

bob

golfer72

"the reason I ask is old war nickels now have close to a dollar melt value and not much demand it seems " I doubt it could be a dollar. 90% silver coins are about 12X face which would be 60 cents and War nickels are only about 40% ( i forget the exact amount)

carl

The problem is if you did want to melt them down you would probably spend thousands of dollars purchasing something to melt them with. And then just who would buy that?

gecko109

<< <i>The problem is if you did want to melt them down you would probably spend thousands of dollars purchasing something to melt them with. And then just who would buy that? >>




Any end user of copper.

cladking

<< <i>I saw this interim rule from Dec 2006 when it cost the mint 9 cents to produce a nickel, and am not sure if it still applies

interim rule on melting and exportation



the reason I ask is old war nickels now have close to a dollar melt value and not much demand it seems >>




I don't believe the rule applies to war nickels; only current circulating coinage.

You'll have to loom it up in the federal register to be certain. War nickels have
sold at a steep discount for many years. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me
that they do since this alloy is very close to some of the alloys used to make
industrial electrical contacts. There may be factors of which I'm unaware.

rld14

I have heard, on this forum, that war nickels don't bring melt due to the substantial amount of work involved in melting them down.

cladking

<< <i>I have heard, on this forum, that war nickels don't bring melt due to the substantial amount of work involved in melting them down. >>




They shouldn't require any more effort to melt than any other silver.

There might not be an alloy which allows the little manganese in it so
it has to be refined out but I've never heard this stated.

notwilight

The rule is that the energy required to melt them makes it not cost effective unless you can use waste heat from some other process. --Jerry

Overdate

>>"the reason I ask is old war nickels now have close to a dollar melt value and not much demand it seems " I doubt it could be a dollar. 90% silver coins are about 12X face which would be 60 cents and War nickels are only about 40% ( i forget the exact amount)<<

War nickels have about 55% more silver per dollar in face value than 90% silver coins. This is due to their larger size combined with their lower face value.

>>The rule is that the energy required to melt them makes it not cost effective unless you can use waste heat from some other process.<<

They're worth melting if purchased at a steep discount from the silver price. War nickels started being melted in 1964, when the price of silver reached $1.29 per ounce. Since they are unpopular with investors and hoarders due to their bulk, I would guess that the majority of war nickels hit the melting pot some time ago.

sinin1

here is a page from coinflation calculating values at todays close

coinflation (eBay ad/direct?)

cladking

<< <i>here is a page from coinflation calculating values at todays close

coinflation (eBay ad/direct?) >>




I've asked the same question of why there's such a steep discount on war nickels
many times and have never heard a satisfactory answer.

Even with $1 worth of metal in them now I doubt you can get more than 75c each
unless you have very large quantities. Many refiners don't even want them but
they may sing a different tune when they aren't backed up with 90%.

SilverEagles92

<< <i>

<< <i>here is a page from coinflation calculating values at todays close

coinflation (eBay ad/direct?) >>




I've asked the same question of why there's such a steep discount on war nickels
many times and have never heard a satisfactory answer.

Even with $1 worth of metal in them now I doubt you can get more than 75c each
unless you have very large quantities. Many refiners don't even want them but
they may sing a different tune when they aren't backed up with 90%. >>



I think you may have answered your own question.

Simple supply and demand - there's ample supply, but when you can buy 90% or .999 fine silver, why buy 35%? That is, unless it's at a discount (75c each vs. $1 worth of metal)

cladking

<< <i>

I think you may have answered your own question.

Simple supply and demand - there's ample supply, but when you can buy 90% or .999 fine silver, why buy 35%? That is, unless it's at a discount (75c each vs. $1 worth of metal) >>




This would imply a sort of conspriracy of all the refiners to underbid
on one specific item. All it would take is one of them to start accepting
war nickels for 33% higher gross income and a huge profit.

It seems unlikely. There must be something that doesn't meet the eye.

Overdate

Check eBay, war nickel rolls are currently realizing $33 to $35 including shipping. So the "retail" price is also well below silver value, and the spread between buy and sell price is not all that big.

droopyd

<< <i>The problem is if you did want to melt them down you would probably spend thousands of dollars purchasing something to melt them with. And then just who would buy that? >>



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