Pennies & Nickels: Their Metals Are Worth More Than Their Face Value
Did you know?... The price for of the metal in pennies and nickels currently beats the face-value of the coins themselves.
Based on current metals prices, the value of the metal in a nickel is now 6.99 cents, while the penny's metal is worth 1.12 cents, according to the U.S. Mint.
-- USA Today
Since the metal is now worth more than the coin, it is feared that people will begin melting down the coins in order to sell the metals.
Could this be the beginning of the end for the dear old penny?
In light of the fact that people might start melting their pennies and nickels with hopes to sell the coinsand make a small profit, the U.S. Mint has put some interesting "new rules" into effect recently:
It is illegal to melt pennies and nickels. People who melt pennies or nickels to profit from the jump in metals prices could up to five years in prison and pay as much as $10,000 in fines.
It is also illegal to export the coins for melting. Travelers may legally carry up to $5 in 1- and 5-cent coins out of the USA or ship $100 of the coins abroad "for legitimate coinage and numismatic purposes.
It has always been illegal to alter coins with an intent to commit fraud, but before these new regulations, it was not illegal to melt coins.
Prices for metals have skyrocketed: Prices for zinc (which accounts for nearly all of the metal in the penny) have risen 134% this year. The price of copper is up 50% since the start of 2006. (Nickels are 75% copper and 25% nickel.)
-- Mike Krumboltz, YahooBuzz
Silver & Metal Content Calculators
Check out this Silver Coin Melt Value Calculator.
You can also find out the Base Metal Coin Metal Value of your coins.
And for a little more detail, try these Free Online Precious Metal Calculators. (Tip: Click the links on the far left, then look for "click here" to start each calculator.)
Jeffrey -
Agreed.
Plus, none of the banks I've tried to take rolled pennies to have been very willing to receive them anyway. (Here's another example of that.)
That's why I use CoinStar now. (plus, it's FUN)
ugh, i wish they'd at least do away with pennies. I don't even keep mine. I leave them on the counter for the next person who doesn't want to break a larger coin or bill.
Opportunity cost of saving them and rolling them is greater than their actual value. Why spend countless hours rolling 1,000 pennies for a mere $10??? Madness.