Newsweek reporter looking for interviews

[psi]

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out anyway, my feeling is that the guy is a good writer and puts a lot of thought into his work. Potentially though there may be a big influx of new members to the forum, which could change things considerably in both positive and negative ways. In a way I sort of hope that the site would be referred to indirectly (e.g. "an internet forum devoted to penny and nickel hoarding") rather than by name.

[Corsair]

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out anyway, my feeling is that the guy is a good writer and puts a lot of thought into his work. Potentially though there may be a big influx of new members to the forum, which could change things considerably in both positive and negative ways. In a way I sort of hope that the site would be referred to indirectly (e.g. "an internet forum devoted to penny and nickel hoarding") rather than by name.

Kinda funny, but the first site that comes up when you type this in to Google references Realcent.

[AGgressive Metal]

If I were writing the article I would mention that people did the exact same thing in 1965 when the silver was taken out of the dimes, quarters, etc. Its a natural response to the government debasing and inflating the money supply. It has always happened through history that when empires can no longer expand by taxes, they resort to currency debasement. Its been going on since Rome and Egypt.

[McKay Coppins]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to those of you who have reached out and allowed me to interview you. I've already learned quite a bit from Adam and Alec (of Coinflation), and I'm hoping to learn more. I can assure you I have no intention of portraying this community as "violent, racist Teabaggers," as one member put it. From what I understand, coin-hoarding seems like a pretty savvy investment if nothing else - there's virtually no risk, returns are all but guaranteed, and it seems like a great hedge against inflation. And, as several of you have pointed out, this is a salient subject considering the economic times.

I'm still looking to talk to an interview subject who is hoarding U.S. nickels. If you're willing to talk, please e-mail me at mckay.coppins@newsweek.com.

Thanks!

[Thogey]

Mr Coppins,

Please just respect us. The main theme is self-reliance. Taking advantage of the intrinsic value of coins and Gresham's law is just a what helps us achieve self-reliance.

[PennyPauper]

Where is Ponce? He was the big nickel stacker.

[Thogey]

Where is Ponce? He was the big nickel stacker.

I disagreed with Ponce on a lot of issues..But, there would be nothing funnier and, I mean nothing, funnier than reading a Newsweek article/interview with Ponce.

Mr Coppins needs to find Ponce!

[AGgressive Metal]

The Cuban King of nickels made five posts on GIM2 and disappeared.

[Thogey]

Remember that thread on old RC where Ponce bought $5000.00 in nickels and got stuck in the mud haulin them home?

"HaHaHaHaHaHa!!"

[Pachucko]

nickel sorters are lazy. they dont' have to sort anything.

real men sort pennies. (lol)

[68Camaro]

We kid about it here, but I don't much like the term "hoarding", especially in a media article. I consider saving non-fiat intrinsic-value coin a form of investing as well as value preservation, and while I don't have a huge amount, with regard to nickels, I have 15 $100 boxes stocked as a form of risk-free savings, 14 of which I simply bought in bulk at the bank. I no longer actively add to that in quantity on a regular basis, but I do continue to save all my nickels, ask for change in nickels, I tell others to save nickels (as well as copper pennies), and I will still pick up a $100 box every now and then, when I'm not picking up silver, gold, copper, or another commodity. Unfortunately for Mr. Coppins I don't know him, and I have a highly negative view of the general modern media, including the organization he represents, so I have no desire to be interviewed, quoted, or publicly known by my personal info or real name. Good luck on the article, however!

[Treetop]

greshams law. enough said....

I guess you likely all ready were told this by someone you interviewed or encountered it on the site, but perhaps the most interesting aspect of this is copper pennies, those minted 1982(not all 82s) and older which are 95 percent copper trade at OVER face value, as opper bullion. though still under "melt" (illegal to melt)
value. 100 face value of copper pennies seems to sell here at 150-175. they also sell on ebay and many members here sell them on other sites and locally. As I understand it a few members here were instrumental in building that market.

[beauanderos]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to those of you who have reached out and allowed me to interview you. I've already learned quite a bit from Adam and Alec (of Coinflation), and I'm hoping to learn more. I can assure you I have no intention of portraying this community as "violent, racist Teabaggers," as one member put it. From what I understand, coin-hoarding seems like a pretty savvy investment if nothing else - there's virtually no risk, returns are all but guaranteed, and it seems like a great hedge against inflation. And, as several of you have pointed out, this is a salient subject considering the economic times.

I'm still looking to talk to an interview subject who is hoarding U.S. nickels. If you're willing to talk, please e-mail me at mckay.coppins@newsweek.com.

Thanks!

Welcome, sir, to our forum. A bit of forum history is in order here, to assist you in your quest. Realcent.org is an offspring of the original site, Realcent.forumco.com. For many reasons our administrators felt it would best serve the needs of our forum community to create this site, first as a backup to the main site, and subsequently as an alternate that now draws more traffic than the original. One member who continues to post more on the prior site and is seemingly absent from this one would be one of the original administrators of the first site, Ardent Listener, who was a big advocate of nickel hoarding as an investment hedge, and who might be able to place you in contact with Ponce, who was quite outspoken on this topic. Consider enrolling as a member at realcent.forumco.com to contact that member. Have you attempted to contact James Rawles at survivalblog.com? Good luck with your article and to your future success with writing.

[McKay Coppins]

Thanks for the suggestion of the old Realcent forum. Unfortunately, it looks like they've barred new registrations so I'm unable to comment there. If anybody here who is also registered on the other site would be so kind as to post my original request there - specifically indicating that I'm hoping to talk to Ardent Listener and Ponce - I would be extremely grateful.

The more I learn about copper pennies and nickels, the more interesting it becomes. I appreciate the cooperation and guidance I've gotten from this community so far.

I had another question: I'd like to get the perspective of some people who work at banks servicing nickel-hoarders (or is "savers" the correct term?) I won't specify exactly where the banks are in the article, just need some quotes from a teller or banker there. If any of you could point me in the right direction, please send me an e-mail or personal message. Thanks!

[blackrabbit]

Wow, nickels are going mainstream. I was at the post office yesterday and a fellow brought up hoarding nickels and that they were worth 7 cents each. I refrained from telling him about my habit. I thought I was the only one around here bank mining! A few more mainstream news articles and lookout! I need to get a few more boxes!

[Roadrunner]

You want quotes from tellers who supply me?

Sure thing!

"Do you want help carrying that out to the car?"
"That looks heavy..."
"You know, I do have to keep some rolls for my other customers."

McKay, could you maybe PM a few of us the article before you publish it so we can make sure everything's correct and suggest anything to add?

If not, I understand and I'm looking forward to reading the finished article!

[slvrbck]

Sounds like Mr. Coppins is getting genuinely interested. . .

Mr. Coppins - The best way to get some good teller quotes would be to go and get a few boxes for yourself, you wont be dissapointed.

[slvrbck]

Wow, nickels are going mainstream. I was at the post office yesterday and a fellow brought up hoarding nickels and that they were worth 7 cents each. I refrained from telling him about my habit. I thought I was the only one around here bank mining! A few more mainstream news articles and lookout! I need to get a few more boxes!

I was in a local bank the other day searching for some halves and nickels and some guy came in blurting out to everybody about how old pennies were worth "like 3 cents each". He was kinda obnoxious and I basically wanted to tell him to shutup.

[AGCoinHunter]

contact James Rawles at survivalblog.com?

Was going to suggest the same thing. Rawles has long been touting the reasons to invest in nickels.

[inflationhawk]

Title: "When Two Nickels Aren't Worth a Dime"

[Lemon Thrower]

suggestion for this reporter.

go to your bank and try to buy $1000 worth of nickels. Plan to take them home, hold them a week, and then redeposit them. Don't tell the bank you get them from that you are going to redeposit them.

Since you are only tying your funds up for a week, you ought to be able to pull this off. If you actually do this, you'll understand first hand the challenges of actually implementing this advice. All of us can tell you the challenges that you'll face, but you'll have a much more interesting story if you actually do this yourself. Someone above noted that there have been several stories written about nickels. I have not seen one by a reporter who actually bought the nickels. Another angle for your story is pennies. Pre-82 pennies are 95% copper and worth about 3 cents each. Problem is you have to sort them. Most of us here have Ryedale sorters. its still a lot of work, and you can't realize the full metal value until the government melt ban is lifted. Instead, you might sell them here or on ebay for 1.7 cents. You can fit $100 worth in a USPS flat rate box for a little over $10 postage, but since it'll weigh over 68lbs, you might want to invest in a small push cart to take some strain off of your back. The real arbitrage opportunity is in pennies if you are willing to sort. Or, if you are so inclined, look up one of our members, HighRoller, who founded the Portland Mint so you can let others sort (and store) for you.

[shinnosuke]

Title Suggestion:

Uncle Sam Wants His Nickelback: So You Ain't Gonna Be a Rockstar

[psi]

Thanks for the suggestion of the old Realcent forum. Unfortunately, it looks like they've barred new registrations so I'm unable to comment there. If anybody here who is also registered on the other site would be so kind as to post my original request there - specifically indicating that I'm hoping to talk to Ardent Listener and Ponce - I would be extremely grateful.

The more I learn about copper pennies and nickels, the more interesting it becomes. I appreciate the cooperation and guidance I've gotten from this community so far.

I had another question: I'd like to get the perspective of some people who work at banks servicing nickel-hoarders (or is "savers" the correct term?) I won't specify exactly where the banks are in the article, just need some quotes from a teller or banker there. If any of you could point me in the right direction, please send me an e-mail or personal message. Thanks!

I had not realized that posting on the old site was still possible after it was renamed to "Classic Realcent Archives". I was able to post your request although most sections of the forum are closed at the moment. http://realcent.forumco.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18655 Ardent Listener is still active there and in a recent post he mentions that posting will be closed down until April, as he is now the only moderator there and will be on vacation (at least one section is still open though apparently). Ponce appears not to have posted there in about a year. Members can send each other email through the site which would be a way to get in touch with inactive members, but I will leave that to someone else who's personally acquainted with those members.

[shinnosuke]

Bump.

Has anybody heard from the good reporter lately? Just searched the Newsweek website and found no article on the trusty 5 cent coin we all know and love. Coppins' latest article is dated 20Mar2011.

[AdamsSamoa]

When is the story in NewsWeek due out?