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As most of you know, I have been harvesting .999 canadian nickels for the best part of three years now. I have been keeping track of my finds including percentages. My 20 boxes moving average has now dropped to 8% and has been steadily going lower and lower. I am at box 214 (only 36 to go for the half million nickel sorted) so I expect that by the time (sometimes this summer-fall) I reach my goal, that the average box will yield below 7.5%.

Past this point, it is no longer logical to keep stacking on a regular basis.

7.5% means 3 per roll. Just thinking out loud there.
But how do you judge the tipping point for whether it's worth your time?

I judge it with regard to a box.

Each box would contain 1.5lbs. Each box takes about 2hrs to sort and each box demands on average a 3km trip. (1.20$)

So each box yields (8.5 cents a pound) : 12,75$ of nickel but costs 8,70$ (7,50$+1,20$) so a notional ''profit'' of $4,05 for 2hrs.

mtalbot_ca wrote:...each box demands on average a 3km trip. (1.20$)...

So, these are trips which aren't for anything else, so the expense has to be put against this. I see.

mtalbot_ca wrote:...a notional ''profit'' of $4,05 for 2hrs...

And if it's not something you love to do, that rate's not worth it. Again, ahh, I see. Thanks for the clarification. Interesting yet disheartening to hear the rates are going down that quickly.

Correct on all counts.

I'll start to look for varieties on the 400+ lbs I've accumulated.

Cheers,

I will join you on Jan 15, 2015. Seems like a logical date for me to stop hoarding nickels and give the younguns and oldtimers a chance.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/big-bank ... -1.1840120

"The no-cost accounts are expected to potentially benefit about seven million Canadians, Oliver said."

If even 0.1% of those people take the opportunity to use their OTC withdrawls to start hoarding nickels, thats pretty much going to go over my personal limit of "two or three hoarders per branch before you start getting someone elses dumps".

mtalbot_ca wrote:"Each box takes about 2hrs to sort"

Are most of the nickels the steel ones now in CA? Reason I ask is that you could use a strong magnet to do the first round of separations. But if most of the nickels are steel, then it would be little use to use a magnet.

Nickel and steel both stick to magnets so that is out.

doug wrote:Nickel and steel both stick to magnets so that is out.

Yup. With a Ryedale, you could go slightly faster, but I do not have access yet to a coin counter, so the time is spent (about 40%) to re-rolling the coins.

A coin counter with a nickel tube and a big box of shotgun shell rolls really speeds up the rerolling time.

mtalbot_ca wrote:

doug wrote:Nickel and steel both stick to magnets so that is out.

Yup. With a Ryedale, you could go slightly faster, but I do not have access yet to a coin counter, so the time is spent (about 40%) to re-rolling the coins.

Do you go to just regular bank in Canada to get the boxes? I thought the government was removing them before they got rolled and boxed?

It is also perspective. I just restarted sorting, and my first boxes, yes U.S. copper cents, but I am averaging 10% and feeling great.

When I stopped it was when my average fell below 20%. Times and perspective and budget change.

Even if you stop, don't quit.

There is only one bank remaining in my vicinity that still gives box free of charge. (the others = 7%) It gets the nickels from the businesses nearby, so they would have a net outflow (ie having to return nickels to the armor car company), so basically I am saving them the trouble of returning nickels.

I have kind of a ''grandfather clause'' with them, so if I stop, I might not be able to restart again.