SemiAutoSam
12-14-2006, 02:16 PM
http://maxine-log.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_maxine-log_archive.html
http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-05-09-penny-usat_x.htm
This article did not come from the link above but I wanted to locate a source for it to back up my words. I have been saving about 200 lbs of pennies and had planned to do just this.
WASHINGTON - Given rising metal prices, the pennies and nickels in your pocket
are worth more melted down than their face value — and that has the
government worried.
U.S. Mint officials said Wednesday they were putting into place rules
prohibiting the melting down of 1-cent and 5-cent coins. The rules also limit
the number of coins that can be shipped out of the country.
"We are taking this action because the nation needs its coinage for commerce.
We don't want to see our pennies and nickels melted down so a few individuals
can take advantage of the American taxpayer," Mint Director Edmund Moy said in
a statement.
Officials said they had received a number of inquiries from the public in
recent months concerning the value of the metal in the coins and whether it was
legal to melt them.
The new regulations prohibit the melting of 1-cent and 5-cent coins, with a
penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for people
convicted of violating the rule.
The rules also require that shipments of the coins out of the country be for
legitimate coinage and numismatic purposes and cap the size of any one shipment
to $100 worth of the coins.
Because of the prevailing prices of copper, zinc and nickel, the cost of
producing pennies and nickels exceeds the face value of the coins.
A nickel is 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper. The metal in one coin
costs 6.99 cents for each 5-cent coin. When the Mint's cost of producing the
coins is added, the total cost for each nickel is 8.34 cents.
Modern pennies have 2.5 percent copper content with zinc making up the rest of
the coin. The current copper and zinc in a penny are worth 1.12 cents. The cost
of production drives the cost of each penny up to 1.73 cents.
Pennies made before 1982, which are still in circulation, would be even more
lucrative to melt down because they contain 95 percent copper and only 5
percent zinc. The metal value in those coins is 2.13 cents per coin, Mint
officials said.
The new regulations are being published in the Federal Register and will go
into effect as interim rules which will not become final until the government
has a chance to consider possible modifications based on public comments.
On the Net:
U.S. Mint: http://www.usmint.gov
http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-05-09-penny-usat_x.htm
This article did not come from the link above but I wanted to locate a source for it to back up my words. I have been saving about 200 lbs of pennies and had planned to do just this.
WASHINGTON - Given rising metal prices, the pennies and nickels in your pocket
are worth more melted down than their face value — and that has the
government worried.
U.S. Mint officials said Wednesday they were putting into place rules
prohibiting the melting down of 1-cent and 5-cent coins. The rules also limit
the number of coins that can be shipped out of the country.
"We are taking this action because the nation needs its coinage for commerce.
We don't want to see our pennies and nickels melted down so a few individuals
can take advantage of the American taxpayer," Mint Director Edmund Moy said in
a statement.
Officials said they had received a number of inquiries from the public in
recent months concerning the value of the metal in the coins and whether it was
legal to melt them.
The new regulations prohibit the melting of 1-cent and 5-cent coins, with a
penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for people
convicted of violating the rule.
The rules also require that shipments of the coins out of the country be for
legitimate coinage and numismatic purposes and cap the size of any one shipment
to $100 worth of the coins.
Because of the prevailing prices of copper, zinc and nickel, the cost of
producing pennies and nickels exceeds the face value of the coins.
A nickel is 25 percent nickel and 75 percent copper. The metal in one coin
costs 6.99 cents for each 5-cent coin. When the Mint's cost of producing the
coins is added, the total cost for each nickel is 8.34 cents.
Modern pennies have 2.5 percent copper content with zinc making up the rest of
the coin. The current copper and zinc in a penny are worth 1.12 cents. The cost
of production drives the cost of each penny up to 1.73 cents.
Pennies made before 1982, which are still in circulation, would be even more
lucrative to melt down because they contain 95 percent copper and only 5
percent zinc. The metal value in those coins is 2.13 cents per coin, Mint
officials said.
The new regulations are being published in the Federal Register and will go
into effect as interim rules which will not become final until the government
has a chance to consider possible modifications based on public comments.
On the Net:
U.S. Mint: http://www.usmint.gov