Hi James,
Just following up on my last letter about stacking nickels in the “Standing Shotgun Shell” configuration. I’ve continued experimenting and have a few tips I’d like to add that might come in handy. Luckily, I’ve been able to order quantities of nickel boxes from my local bank [at face value] and have been making a studied process of stacking them, trying to improve with each box. BTW, a cardboard box of nickels such as delivered by Brinks weighs 22 pounds. I have figured out that by sliding the thumb in and pushing in towards the empty cardboard box, the Bricks boxes easily come apart. These, I stack on top of one another and save, just in case someday they might come in handy. I think that possibly in 20 – 30 years, perhaps those boxes might add novelty to the rolls and they are there, so why not save them…
I stack four full 22 Lb. [$100 face value, 50 rolls] cardboard boxes on a stainless steel rolling cart from Sam’s Club and stack several of the .30 caliber ammo cans on the bottom shelf. Standing, with one ammo can on the top shelf, I open the empty ammo can with the hinge to the left and the opening catch to the right. I put one roll of nickels under the outside left bottom of the can while the lid is fully extended open to the left. It’s surprising, but the one roll of nickels under the can gives enough tilt or angle to cause the rolls to lean back ever so slightly to the right inside the cans, which means that they will not fall over. This came as quite a revelation, thankfully. I hold my left hand on the two rolls just placed inside while reaching into the cardboard box to the right and complete a roll of four inside the can. I load two rolls at a time with my right hand and get into a rhythm with it so that the rolls quickly add up and soon I’m at the end where the three rolls will need to be added. Here’s a good trick: I have a steel rod that measures 3/4″ diameter by 9″ Long. Sometimes the final row just isn’t right, and with the rod, always, I can even it up so that the three rolls easily fit in. A little prying and the rows line up like magic. If not, a little persuasion tapping downwards on the recalcitrant roll with the rod causes that last unruly roll to go down correctly. After the two layers of 47 rolls each are in the can, I tap the rolls lightly, then roll the tops with the rod just like using a rolling pin and amazingly, it all lines up beautifully and professionally. The steel rod is definitely the trick. If the ammo can is not full, I stuff a paper bag in to hold the rolls in place until the next stacking session.
Beyond that, a few facts. A .30 caliber ammo can holding $188 worth of nickels weighs about 45 pounds. I found that using a small, heavy duty dolly, stacking 10 (450 lbs., $1,880) is about all that the traffic will bear. Being 61 years old, I can push the dolly along and gather speed and be able to steer about wherever I want it to go, barring unforeseen obstacles such as thresholds, etc. I stack the ammo cans often in groups of threes (side by side with one flat on top). This serves as a great cardio workout with lots of huffing and puffing. Of course, I have pallet jacks and hand trucks, etc., but what fun would that be, LOL!
I found a local guy who sells ammo cans on our gun forum and at local gun shows. Since I buy a lot, (20 or more cans at a time), he has been very accommodating, and is happy to meet me in the town where we each drive about 30 miles. Fortunately, his cans are really clean and he sells them for $6 apiece. I think about how those cans will someday become a great investment. As each can becomes full I feel a great sense of satisfaction of having done a good job packing them and moving them. Now I’m working on where they will live for the next few decades, and I have let my one son who humours me about it know where they will be should anything happen. I’m pleased to be able to “park” some money this way, and my wife and I muse at the prospect of going through all of them in our old age, or during cold nights by the fire. I hope some of these ideas from an aging craftsman/machinist will help anyone starting out stacking nickels to enjoy it more. – Mr. M.