Why You Need To Own America's Last Honest Currency, Now

The Economic Policy Journal ^ | 2-18-2011 | Robert Wenzel

[blam]

I posted this article last week, it already has 140 FReeper comments:

Why You Need to Own Nickels, Right Now

[Travis McGee]

How long until we get steel and zing “nickels?”

No longer than another year.

The only amusing part will be hearing their bogus rationales.

[paul51]

so when the SHTF is someone supposed to haul a truck load of nickels to the store to see if they will take it for a loaf of bread. Sorry, I don’t get this.

[maine-iac7]

ditto pre=1982 pennies

[Girlene]

Their composition hasn’t changed yet?

[Uncle Ike]

Isn’t it illegal to melt down US coinage for the metal content??

[smoothsailing]

Good post, but I’m surprised that the nickel is the last honest currency, I figured it would be nickels AND pennies.

[Travis McGee]

Nope. Still 75% copper and 25% nickel.

[blam]

GOLD RED ALERT: U.S. Government Plans Confiscation of Gold and Silver This Year

[Husker24]

Okay, I understand that the precious metal content of a Nickel is worth 7 cents, but if it is illegal for a person to melt them down, how would you profit from hoarding these Nickles? Why would anyone buy them in the future if they couldn't melt them down?

[Girlene]

Thanks.

[Travis McGee]

so when the SHTF is someone supposed to haul a truck load of nickels to the store to see if they will take it for a loaf of bread. Sorry, I don’t get this.

Allow an anecdotal example from Weimar Germany's hyperinflation. An old preacher had supposedly tossed his collection-plate copper Pfennigs (sp?) into an unused bathtub. Over the decades he had collected thousands and thousands of the German copper pennies.

During a period when a wheelbarrow load of paper Marks could not purchase a loaf of bread, he could still buy bread with handful of real copper coins. They still had real, intrinsic value.

[Travis McGee]

It’s a matter of their known, quantifiable intrinsic value. That sets the true market price. No need to melt them down.

[Oatka]

so when the SHTF is someone supposed to haul a truck load of nickels to the store to see if they will take it for a loaf of bread.

No, the way I see it, if nasty deflation comes that nickel might buy that loaf of bread; if a nasty inflation comes you can sell that nickel for near intrinsic value (like silver coins today) and buy that loaf of bread with the proceeds.

While a tad bulky, $1,000 in nickels at 10x face returns $5,000. Not a bad return in exchange for tying up some bucks for a year or so.

[blam]

"so when the SHTF is someone supposed to haul a truck load of nickels to the store to see if they will take it for a loaf of bread. Sorry, I don’t get this."

Read the article again and think about it.

You may not need but a couple nickels to buy the $25.00 loaf of bread.

A $2.00 roll of nickels coulds be worth ,(I don't know), a hundred dollars then.

[Oatka]

While a tad bulky, $1,000 in nickels at 10x face returns $5,000.

$10,000 (brain flatulence).

[Caipirabob]

Forget it, I’m investing in America’s future currency: lead! Eat that, socialists!

[blam]

"Good post, but I’m surprised that the nickel is the last honest currency, I figured it would be nickels AND pennies."

Yes, pre-1982 pennies too. They are almost 100% copper...I think they're worth about 3.2 cents each.

[Girlene]

How would they enforce that?