Dear Editor:
I have a question about the saving of [U.S. five cent piece] nickels, is it for the value of the metal in nickels or [is it for] the value when the government changes the metal composition? I have read on some sites that it is for the metal meltdown in case of government collapse. If it is for that, then all coins after 1965 have the same metal content. Why keep one coin in particular? If it is for the value after the metal change by the government, will it not take a decade or two to bring them to a value that makes them worth keeping. I have been on two different web sites that supposedly know the metal content of coins and they both differ. For example coinflation.com says the after 1965 dimes, quarters and half dollars have 91.67% copper with 8.33% nickel. The other web site usacoinbook.com says the same coins have 75% copper with 25% nickel. Which is right? If this web site is right then why not save all coins that have 75% copper with 25% nickel? Thanks, – John T.
JWR Replies: Please re-read my static page about Nickels [1]. I consider them a multipurpose hedge, for:
• A currency swap
• Slow currency inflation
• Rapid currency inflation
• A total currency collapse
I believe that you misread the web pages that described the composition of currently circulating coins. To clarify:
Post-1945 U.S. five cent pieces (“nickels”) are 75% copper and 25% nickel. They presently have a base metal value that exceeds their face value.
Post-1964 U.S. dimes, quarters and halves are 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel. They presently have a base metal value much less than their face value. (For example, a 25 cent piece has a melt value of only 4.8 cents.)
That is why I recommend stocking up on nickels, as long as you can continue to acquire get them at face value. A composition change (to steel nickels) is coming soon [2], so get your nickels by the roll, before you have to start sorting the wheat from the chaff. I believe that the pending bill H.R. 3694 (the Saving Taxpayer Expenditures by Employing Less Imported Nickel ACT — aka the “STEEL Nickel Act) will be signed into law in 2012 .The window of opportunity is closing. I’ve warned my blog readers about this inevitable change for more than three years. This is your last chance to stock up on real nickel Nickels!