Charleston Voice: Nickel Melt Value Now Worth More than a Nickel!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Nickel Melt Value Now Worth More than a Nickel!

Here you go. A nickel's melt value now worth more than a nickel. A $2 roll of nickels now worth $2.029. Big deal, eh? When copper is $5/lb and nickel is $10.40, both 37% above current prices, a $2 roll will melt at $2.80. Spend 'em, melt 'em, or save 'em. Take a $100 bucks now and sock away 50 rolls at face.

Denomination:	$0.05
Obverse Image:	Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence.
Reverse Image:	1946-2004, 2006-2007: Monticello, Jefferson's mountaintop home in Virgina. 2005: Westward Journey Series including "American Bison" and "Ocean in view! O! The joy!".
Metal Composition:	75% copper, 25% nickel
Total Weight:	5.00 grams
Comments:	The 1938 through 1942 D versions of the nickel are also made of the same composition, but generally are sold for a premium over their melt value due to rarity.

CALCULATING TODAY'S MELT VALUE (USD)

Using the latest metal prices and the specifications above, these are the numbers required to calculate melt value:

$3.6426

copper price / pound on Sep 11, 2012.

.75

copper %

$7.5328

nickel price / pound on Sep 11, 2012.

.25

nickel %

5.00

total weight in grams

.00220462262

pound/gram conversion factor (see note directly below)

The NYMEX uses pounds to price these metals, that means we need to multiply the metal price by .00220462262 to make the conversion to grams.

1. Calculate 75% copper value :

    (3.6426 × .00220462262 × 5.00 × .75) = $0.0301141

2. Calculate 25% nickel value :

    (7.5328 × .00220462262 × 5.00 × .25) = $0.0207585

3. Add the two together :
    $0.0301141 + $0.0207585 = $0.0508726

$0.0508726 is the melt value for the 1946-2012 nickel on September 11, 2012.

← Calculate the value of your own coins.

Quite the opposite of silver on the COMEX in which the Commercials have always been net short. The source for this chart is here. Copper's symbol is "HG". Click here for larger view of below image.