Americans Are Now Hoarding Coins

A nickel might not seem to be worth much. But to coin collectors and hoarders, it can be worth more than 5 cents.

According to The Atlantic:

During all of this, of course — of course — some Americans found a roundabout way to make some money: hoarding nickels. Yes, the coin is worth just five cents, but the metal it contains — 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickel — has long been worth more than that. According to Coinflation.com, a website that tracks the value of the metals in coins, the “melt value” of a single nickel currently stands at eight cents.

Collecting coins is not a new thing.

Scooping up coins for their metal is, in fact, an age-old tradition. Five-cent nickels were first minted in the 1860s because Americans were squirreling away gold and silver coins during the Civil War. Over the past decade or so, a small but spirited subculture of prepper types has been hoarding nickels as a contingency plan against inflation Armageddon.

Here’s a Youtube video explaining the new hobby:

Here are the most valuable nickels, according to The Spruce Crafts.

1. 1913 Liberty Nickel — The Olsen Specimen: $3,737,500
2. 1918/7-D Buffalo Nickel — Doubled Die Obverse: $350,750
3. 1926-S Buffalo Nickel: $322,000
4. 1916 Buffalo Nickel — Doubled Die Obverse: $281,750
5. 1913-D Buffalo Nickel — Type 2: $143,750
6. 1917-S Buffalo Nickel: $138,000
7. 1920-D Buffalo Nickel: $138,000
8. 1867 Shield Nickel — Proof with Rays: $132,250
9. 1918-S Buffalo Nickel: $125,350
10. 1927-S Buffalo Nickel: $125,350

I have been collecting coins for over 5 years.

If you are interested in collecting coins in general, here is some good info on collecting pennies: