Anybody want to melt some pennies?

[lildog]

What about all those penny stamping machines?  Are they all illegal now?
Are they going to arrest kids who put pennies on train tracks?

Those machines are actually a hoax.  I often wondered how they can openly defile money like that so I found out how those machines work.  The penny along with the quarters falls into a small box, the pressed "penny" is actually already formed ready for you to select it.

If you look from the side of the machine while someone else turns the crank you can actually see the box full of pennies.  Or you could paint an X on your penny.  The depressing shouldn't remove it only stretch it out... you'll find that the penny you receive back will be clean of any marks.

[toowm]

What about all those penny stamping machines?  Are they all illegal now?
Are they going to arrest kids who put pennies on train tracks?

Those machines are actually a hoax.  I often wondered how they can openly defile money like that so I found out how those machines work.  The penny along with the quarters falls into a small box, the pressed "penny" is actually already formed ready for you to select it.

If you look from the side of the machine while someone else turns the crank you can actually see the box full of pennies.  Or you could paint an X on your penny.  The depressing shouldn't remove it only stretch it out... you'll find that the penny you receive back will be clean of any marks.

The ones we have used actually do press the penny -- my son orients the penny so Abe's head is stretched out. Some of the machines have on them a mumbo jumbo legal citation on how it is legal and not considered defacing currency.

[SAK]

So if you put a shiny penny in, you could come out with a tarnished squished one?  Or vise versa?

It's not like it takes that much to squish em.  If you have the rollers fastened well enough, you should be fine.  The crank and gears give you the mechanical advantage you need to send it through.

[mvpel]

The United States Codes under Title 18, Chapter 17, and Section 331, "prohibits the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage." However, this statute does not prohibit the mutiliation of coins if done without fraudulent intent or use. In other words, YES, it's LEGAL to make elongated coins!

Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States, or any foreign coins which are by law made current or are in actual use or circulation as money within the United States; or whoever fraudulently possesses, passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or brings into the United States, any such coin, knowing the same to be altered, defaced, mutilated, impaired, diminished, falsified, scaled or lightened - shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

No fraud, no foul.

[Tom Sawyer]

Cool...   welcome aboard.

[AlanM]

  Thanks for your input, planetaryjim  It clears up a few points for me. Now I understand why the stock market is climbing so much when the fundamentals of our economy are so bad.

[AlanM]

 Personally, I don't see the need for a 'denominated' coin. Size and type of metal should be sufficient.

AlanM

[Brock]

Hoard pennies now!!! 

http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/fedletter/cflfebruary2007_235a.pdf

Edit note: can English ever really be someone's primary language?  Thank you, Jim.

[Ron Helwig]

I'm reminded, fairly often it seems, of that strange paean to masturbation by Rick Springfield.  The song lyric is, "Learned my lesson well. / You can't please everyone, so ya gotta please yourself."   

Just to clarify, it isn't Springfield, but Nelson.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Party_(Rick_Nelson)

[Dave Ridley]

Arright:  If they did as the article suggests and re-based pennies to be worth five cents would that mean that nickels are worth less?    also would it tend to drive up inflation and if so how drastically?

[KBCraig]

As a deeply committed fallibilist

How can you be certain you're a fallibilist? 

[planetaryjim]

How can you be certain you're a fallibilist? 

Oh, I've made that mistake, thinking I was wrong.  But it turned out I was mistaken.  Which proves the point, don't ya think? 

[Dave Ridley]

i googled some related phrases and it looks like major media are reporting the penny as five cents idea.

this means pennies are  a good speculation, now protected against deflation by their face value, from inflation, somewhat, by their metal content, and with reasonable runaway potential.    nickels still seem better protected against inflation however since their metal content is worth thirty percent above their face value.

bear in mind it may never be possible to sell a penny or nickel at its full metal content value.   i asked a coin dealer how much he could sell copper pennies for, the pre 1982 kind.  he said he sold some once for 1.5 cents each but doesn't do it often.  the metal content of those old ones is worth 2.0 cents i believe.  the new ones are worth about 1.1 cents in metal content. 

[Dave Ridley]

question:  I'm considering buying more nickels and pennies from banks in rolls or boxes.  The melting thing is a total loser but these things do seem to be valuable trade items.  I'd like to get a feel for how you guys value them first.

If I offered to pay you for something in rolls or boxes of nickels tomorrow, would you agree to it (at face value)?   Would you pay me face value cash for a box of nickels ($100)?  Pennies ($25)?    I'm trying to get a feel for how liquid these are at face value if I end up overpurchasing and decide I need the fast cash more than the collector value.   If the banks won't easily take them back I want to find out what my other options are.   I haven't checked into the banks yet when it comes to returns...from what I know it seems that bank policy varies.

Apparently some want them rolled, some will count them for you, some will charge you, some want you to go away.

At any rate, nickels and pennies are now, in effect, copper/nickel/zink bullion rounds backed by their metal content and with the occasional numismatic coin showing up.  Its' worth thinking about. 

[error]

The bank should give you face value for a box of pennies or nickels.