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I bought $2k worth of nickels back 2006 as nickel metal prices were spiking[1], but the coin was not quite worth over five cents yet. I thought, "This is a grea

I bought $2k worth of nickels back 2006 as nickel metal prices were spiking[1], but the coin was not quite worth over five cents yet. I thought, "This is a great way to invest in the metal as the down side is limited and the upside is not". When the bank asked why I needed so many nickels, I told them that I was doing on internet nickel give-away promotion. That seemed to convince them and I loaded up my truck with a 1/2 ton of nickels the next week. A few months later the government made it illegal to melt down coins as the price of nickel spiked to $50,000 a ton. Cashed almost all of them back into the bank later but, they charged me about a $100 handling fee. I wasn't going to try and melt them down or go to Mexico to make a few bucks. There was a downside after all and the upside was capped. Never forget that the laws can and often do change when investing. [1] https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/nickel https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/nickel

cbsks 5y ago
Out of curiosity, where did you intend on selling the nickel? Is there a metal recycler that buys melted down nickel at those prices? Or maybe one of those "we buy gold" places?
- LeifCarrotson 5y ago
  There are metal recyclers all over the place that buy scrap metal. Look at any moderately-sized fabricator or tool and die shop for a couple of big dumpsters with the logo of your local recycler, they'll likely have one for ferrous scrap, one for aluminum, and probably a barrel for copper wire. If you have a big project such as replacing aluminum siding or 'scrapping' a trailer, definitely bring it to a metal recycler. Even if you're not a moderately-sized fabricator, it makes some sense to keep a box in the back of the shop for scrap metal, every year or so you can bring in a load of brake rotors, broken tools and auto parts, project cutoffs, electric motors, etc. and get a hundred dollars for your trouble while keeping those perfectly good metals out of the landfill. There's a level at which it transitions from a sensible ecological and financial policy towards an untenable sign of hoarding, undervaluing your time, and/or poverty but you can hopefully recognize when you cross that line. Be aware that they'll be suspicious and will hopefully call the police if you show up with a few hundred dollars of nearly-new copper pipe or electrical wire that you cut out of an under-construction house, or anything else that looks like it might be stolen. Desperate people try that frequently, if you have the financial ability to post on HN it's not worth it. In my city, the biggest name is https://padnos.com/ https://padnos.com/, and https://www.grcentraliron.com/ https://www.grcentraliron.com/ has a nice consumer-facing business, but there are similar industries everywhere. It's interesting to go down as a consumer and shop for cut-offs, you can get small workbench-sized sheet metal, 8020 in lengths not worth bothering with for a big fabricator but plenty for a DIY project, or bar stock to build something far sturdier than you can make with a 2x4 - all at prices per pound a fraction of what you'd pay at the big box stores.
- njarboe 5y ago
  I was figuring that if the metal value of nickels got high enough then coin dealers or metal recyclers would be set up to take them and possibly even advertise this service. Similar to what happened when silver coins became more valuable than face value. I don't think it was illegal to melt down silver coins and thought nickels would be the same.
  - JoeAltmaier 5y ago
    I don't believe coinage (in America) is protected. It's supposed to have intrinsic value. It's currency that's protected, and that means folding money.

cbsks 5y ago

Out of curiosity, where did you intend on selling the nickel? Is there a metal recycler that buys melted down nickel at those prices? Or maybe one of those "we buy gold" places?

LeifCarrotson 5y ago
There are metal recyclers all over the place that buy scrap metal. Look at any moderately-sized fabricator or tool and die shop for a couple of big dumpsters with the logo of your local recycler, they'll likely have one for ferrous scrap, one for aluminum, and probably a barrel for copper wire. If you have a big project such as replacing aluminum siding or 'scrapping' a trailer, definitely bring it to a metal recycler. Even if you're not a moderately-sized fabricator, it makes some sense to keep a box in the back of the shop for scrap metal, every year or so you can bring in a load of brake rotors, broken tools and auto parts, project cutoffs, electric motors, etc. and get a hundred dollars for your trouble while keeping those perfectly good metals out of the landfill. There's a level at which it transitions from a sensible ecological and financial policy towards an untenable sign of hoarding, undervaluing your time, and/or poverty but you can hopefully recognize when you cross that line. Be aware that they'll be suspicious and will hopefully call the police if you show up with a few hundred dollars of nearly-new copper pipe or electrical wire that you cut out of an under-construction house, or anything else that looks like it might be stolen. Desperate people try that frequently, if you have the financial ability to post on HN it's not worth it. In my city, the biggest name is https://padnos.com/ https://padnos.com/, and https://www.grcentraliron.com/ https://www.grcentraliron.com/ has a nice consumer-facing business, but there are similar industries everywhere. It's interesting to go down as a consumer and shop for cut-offs, you can get small workbench-sized sheet metal, 8020 in lengths not worth bothering with for a big fabricator but plenty for a DIY project, or bar stock to build something far sturdier than you can make with a 2x4 - all at prices per pound a fraction of what you'd pay at the big box stores.
njarboe 5y ago
I was figuring that if the metal value of nickels got high enough then coin dealers or metal recyclers would be set up to take them and possibly even advertise this service. Similar to what happened when silver coins became more valuable than face value. I don't think it was illegal to melt down silver coins and thought nickels would be the same.
- JoeAltmaier 5y ago
  I don't believe coinage (in America) is protected. It's supposed to have intrinsic value. It's currency that's protected, and that means folding money.