by PennyPincher » Fri Feb 03, 2017 2:20 am
I'm not discouraged. I enjoy hand sorting pennies and nickels while listening to something on TV or YouTube.
Copper pennies are easy to find and certainly an excellent store of wealth at 177% of face value. I've also purchased several boxes of brand new, shiny zinc pennies. At 72% of face value, they represent a reasonable store of wealth.
I've been hoarding nickels as well. I've collected over $1,300 worth of nickels. Their metal value is 69% of their face value, so I consider that to be a monetary upgrade. After all, the paper money I bought my nickels with had no intrinsic value. Metal money is superior to paper money.
On trips to Canada, I bought many Canadian nickels. I found over 1,000 pre-1982 99.9% Ni coins, plus the Cupro-Nickel alloy coins (1982-2001 + 2006) are reasonable monetary upgrades as well at ~84% of their face value. I returned the newer steel nickels.
Given the history of copper and nickel prices in conjunction with inflation, it's reasonable to assume that the nickels will regain lost ground at some point. Regardless, I like having my US currency backed up by *something*!
Aside from the metal values, I've also been finding plenty of wheaties, Canadians (including some King George VI), an occasional Indian Head, as well as an occasional exotic foreign coin (a 1990 Bahamian cent, most recently). My last great find was a 1917 'S' in "fine" condition.
With nickels, I seem to find a "good" condition Buffalo nickel once in a while, plus I consistently find silver war nickels. I recently found my first 1953 'S' Jefferson as well, helping me fill in my collection book.
Anyhow, though it's nice to obtain an immediate profit, I also find value in coins as a defensive play. By upgrading your paper money to metal money, you obtain a greater level of financial safety. It will protect you from deflation, hyperinflation, and if the underlying metal prices happen to go up, that's a win too. The only losing scenario is mild inflation without rising metal prices. As an investment, that's pretty low risk with a high level of safety.