Better get your sorting set into overdrive

[Pennysaved]

You guys probably saw this article on coinflation.

It was interesting that Mr Bosco advocates salvaging current circulating coins for their metal content

http://www.coinworld.com/articles/testimony-cites-savings-from-using-steel/

If the government started a salvage program, would that mean the melt ban would be lifted for the regular citizen?

[Morsecode]

If the government started a salvage program, would that mean the melt ban would be lifted for the regular citizen?

Good question. I've been wondering about that lately myself. The way Washington likes to regulate everything nowadays, why would they trust the unwashed masses to do it, when they could just as easily grant proprietary licences to a few select and fully accountable corporations? At least for the first some years...

But, it's not like the average citizen is qualified to melt anything other than cheese on a barbecued burger. Might be the local scrapyards would be given the green light to purchase cents as scrap, if you didn't mind the extra layer of middlemen.

[Sheba]

I don't have any answers, being kind of a 'rookie' in all this. But I still sort for copper pennies, though I am not sure, but kind of think the percentages of copper per roll aren't quite what they used to be. 30-35% was 'normal' for the midwest where I live when I first started several years ago, but now its more like 20-25% (just a guesstimate).

Any way, I wanted to thank you for the posting the web site on finances, etc. The reading is not very reassuring .... regarding the possible and predicted coming collapse of the the whole monetary system (if I read the 'opinions' of some 'experts' correctly). So, I think, I'll keep flinging those copper pennies into a jar (even though hand sorting which I do, doesn't add up very fast).

Thanks again for your post!

[Shifty51]

No, they won't lift the melt ban. What they will do is require all private citizens to turn in thier hard earned copper cents (at 1/2 face value if you're lucky) and make it illegal to own them. 1933 all over again...IMO...

[mickeyman]

In Canada, since the Mint began melting down older coins, the melt ban has remained in effect.

Now that pennies are to be eliminated, you would think the melt ban on them would be lifted. Not so! Pennies will remain legal tender (if you have them), but will not be necessary. Therefore there is no need to melt them (although the Mint will).

[John_doe]

No, they won't lift the melt ban. What they will do is require all private citizens to turn in thier hard earned copper cents (at 1/2 face value if you're lucky) and make it illegal to own them. 1933 all over again...IMO...

they did not do that with silver, and how many people *cough*suckers*cough* do you think will hand them over?