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I call bullshit. A 25 coin roll of dollar coins costs $32.95, more than face value. And that is not counting any shipping costs that might exist.

They were selling them for face value with free shipping, IN THE PAST. They were trying to encourage the adoption of the coins by making them as easy to source as possible.

The fact that a few enterprising individuals found a way to make a profit by getting "cash back" on their purchases of CURRENCY at face value, is well known internet lore at this point.

The fact that you cite what's being offered today as refuting what happened in the past as "bullshit" shows you lack comprehension and the ability to do a fucking google search, you retarded shit.

https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/mint-closes-loophole-ends-credit-card-coin-sales-frequent-flyer-flier-miles-1263.php

The real issue was the mint would ship for free, so you could buy $10K or more of coins, get them shipped for free, deposit in your account, pay your credit card so no interest charge, lather rinse repeat.

Except those $10,000 worth of coins cost you $11,038 because while shipping is free, the coins are sold at higher than face value. So in order to simply break even the credit card reward rate would need to be ~9.4% of purchase price (spend $11,038, deposit $10,000, be out $1,038 which is ~9.4% of $11,038).

Unless the coins were sold at face value back then, which I have no idea if they were or not. I only know how much they are sold for today.

I call bullshit. A 25 coin roll of dollar coins costs $32.95, more than face value. And that is not counting any shipping costs that might exist.

Now I suppose it is possible that when the coins were first introduced, they were sold at face value with free shipping, but you're going to have to provide a citation for that.

They don't ship them individually, they just fill a couple shipping containers and send them to some shithole 3rd world factory where the workers get paid a nickle a day. In the end, they make a huge profit.

Do they really? Let's look at the raw numbers. According to the United States Mint, a nickle weights exactly five grams.

According to a search on Google, Foxconn assembly-line workers will make as much as $400 a month, based on location and passing a probationary period. That's for 160 working hours a month, so the hourly pay is about $2.50.

According to the same search, Foxconn has 1,000,000 workers.

To make $400 you need 8000 nickels. Multiplied by 12 months, that's 96000 nickels per worker per year, multiply by 1,000,000 workers and you get 96000000000 nickels. Multiplied by 5 grams equals 480000000000 grams, or 480000000 kilograms, or 480000 metric tonnes.

I don't know which shipping company you're using, but I know that sending 480 thousand metric tonnes to China every year can't be cheap.

There are gold dollars made today in the US, no need to go back in time 200 years

They're beautiful, but who is going to pay anything with them? This one costs $215 to buy from the mint. Face value: $10.

If you want to pay me in those coins, I'd love it.

Something that can be readily checked.

Per the mint, a quarter is 5.670 grams, 8.33% Nickel, balance copper. So 5.2 grams of copper per coin. $3.65 per pound is about the best you can hope for.
At 454 grams per pound, you're looking at about 4 cents per quarter.

You're probably better off just laundering the money through various means. Hit up the coin exchange whenever you go to walmart, for about $100 or so. Etc...

https://www.usmint.gov/about_t...

Try again when you know what you're talking about. You don't even have to go three pages in to see you're wrong.

"Our friend "Khyber" is, well... They're just a bit special. "

You're a fucking moron when I've got actual historical data and proof to back me up you dimwitted faggot.

https://www.usmint.gov/about_t...

Oh my fucking god, look at that, the penny COSTS MORE TO PRODUCE THAN ITS FACE VALUE - https://www.usmint.gov/about_t...

SOURCE: THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT.

And only 1% of that cost is the energy required to make it.

Go the fuck back to school.

"Our friend "Khyber" is, well... They're just a bit special. "

You're a fucking moron when I've got actual historical data and proof to back me up you dimwitted faggot.

https://www.usmint.gov/about_t...

Oh my fucking god, look at that, the penny COSTS MORE TO PRODUCE THAN ITS FACE VALUE - https://www.usmint.gov/about_t...

SOURCE: THE FUCKING GOVERNMENT.

And only 1% of that cost is the energy required to make it.

Go the fuck back to school.

They actually closed that loophole a while ago. You would be in violation of Federal law..

Also good luck separating the copper from the zinc out of those. Guys who actually deal in copper dont mess with pennies unless they believe that idea. The problem is you have to basically heat the penny and then do a chemical reaction to get the zinc out. So you spend MORE than 1 cent to get 1 cent of copper out.

https://www.usmint.gov/about_t...

If it hits 4-5 cents per penny you might see the copper guys pay attention to it. The zinc and tin was added to strengthen the penny so it did not wear out as quickly.

Also the vast majority of pennies out there are from after 1982. They basically got to the end of their life and were removed from circulation. You still find older ones out there. It is not too hard. But the central banks tend to scoop them up.

The 'it costs more than 1 cent to make' is true. But the materials is not where it is coming from. It is labor, shipping, overhead, and materials.

US coins do not contain tin.

This comes up from time to time. The smaller coins are produced at a loss but overall the US Mint makes a profit and IIRC the money is put into the US' General Fund. https://www.usmint.gov/downloa...

No, "issued for circulation" means the Mint sends them to the Fed for distribution -- so they can be spent, given out as change, and so forth. The last few years of dollar coins haven't been issued for circulation. Yes, they're still legal tender, but since you have to pay more than face value to get them, it's kind of dumb to spend them.

Kennedy halves haven't been issued for circulation in years, either, but you'll still find recent-date ones in rolls occasionally. People inherit or steal them, don't care about collectable value, and just spend the coins or turn them in at the bank.

State quarters (and now America The Beautiful national park quarters) are issued for circulation -- at least, the ones minted in Philadelphia and Denver.

So issuing US dollars in California is fine?

Yeah, there's a place in California that does that completely legally.

The stupid dollar coins they make and stockpile are a very similar size (0.955 in. vs 1.043 in.)... the ridged edge is the easiest way to tell them apart. The dollar has edge lettering that is more or less smooth to the touch, not counting the Susan B. which had a reeded edge, so it even felt like a quarter. For way ore than you wanted to know about our coin specs, go here http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_specifications.

It costs 18.03 cents to mint those dollar coins, but only 5.4 cents to print a one dollar bill. So why exactly would they want to get rid of the paper bill?

Because coins can last for decades, whereas paper money has to be continually replaced. I'm sure I read somewhere that the Bank of England heats the building by burning old money, which is replaced by new notes.

The government would *love* to be able to discontinue those bills, and replace them with coins.

It costs 18.03 cents to mint those dollar coins, but only 5.4 cents to print a one dollar bill. So why exactly would they want to get rid of the paper bill?

Does anyone know if there is gold in Fort Knox still? Or is this one of those questions that isn't supposed to be asked or answered? If so, I apologize for asking it, but I'd be enlightened to know anything about this situation.

147.3 million troy ounces

And, if you don't believe the government, the Mint is audited by KPMG

Does anyone know if there is gold in Fort Knox still? Or is this one of those questions that isn't supposed to be asked or answered? If so, I apologize for asking it, but I'd be enlightened to know anything about this situation.

147.3 million troy ounces

And, if you don't believe the government, the Mint is audited by KPMG

But somehow, feminists have seemingly been in charge of dollar coins putting Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea on them which very few people know of or respect, instead of a president that everyone respects.

They've been using Presidents since 2007. I've got quite a few.

But somehow, feminists have seemingly been in charge of dollar coins putting Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea on them which very few people know of or respect, instead of a president that everyone respects.

They've been using Presidents since 2007. I've got quite a few.

Thought you'd like to know the half dollar has been in existence for hundreds of years, Half dollar coin. What doesn't make sense is that they're the largest coin of the bunch, and I mean HUGE. Also, the new dollar coins I have look pretty good, and they're a different size than the quarter, Presidential dollar coins.

I would be worried what would happen if we made a move like this. There would be a lot of churn during a transition like this from old bills to new bills.

Thought you'd like to know the half dollar has been in existence for hundreds of years, Half dollar coin. What doesn't make sense is that they're the largest coin of the bunch, and I mean HUGE. Also, the new dollar coins I have look pretty good, and they're a different size than the quarter, Presidential dollar coins.

I would be worried what would happen if we made a move like this. There would be a lot of churn during a transition like this from old bills to new bills.

No currency on Earth is backed by gold right now.

Damn. I just spent my life savings on these. Next thing you're going to tell me they're not chocolate inside.

Coinage is possible if you have gold.

Other than some small percentage in bullion most countries use nickel, copper, iron and chrome.

Problem with coinage is the relatively high cost of minting per monetary unit, but as they tend to be virtually indestructible by wear and tear, that's mostly OK - unless you're trying to "chase down" inflation by minting new coins.
Plus, should you need to mint new ones with additional zeroes due to inflation - collecting and destroying all the old ones (which tend to remain legal tender) is expensive and complicated.

Here's the link: http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=724

The US law also forbids exporting the coins to melt down

USC Title 31 Section 5111 subsection D (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5111) gives the Secretary of the Treasury the option, http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=press_release&ID=724 [usmint.gov] is about that option being used.

I stand corrected. The link does not carry rule of law . . . . . but a bit more searching provided the actual regulation.

http://www.usmint.gov/downloads/consumer/FederalRegisterNotice.pdf

Interesting that it doesn't state that it replaces the prior law, I guess we get to choose which law we follow?

Oops, linking did not work. : http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=press_release&ID=724

There's a US law that forbids melting down pennies and nickels, or exporting them in large quantities.
(The penny was changed to copper-plated zinc in mid-1982; 95% copper pennies from before then are also worth above their face value in metal.)

USC Title 31 Section 5111 subsection D (http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5111) gives the Secretary of the Treasury the option, http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=press_release&ID=724 is about that option being used.

PS
Many silver coins are just worth their metal value, and those are often melted down.

If you read the whole comment, it says:

"The regulations are being issued in the form of an interim rule, to be effective for a period of 120 days from the time of publication. The interim rule states that during a 30-day period from the date of publication, the public can submit written comments to the United States Mint on the regulations. Upon consideration of such comments, the Director of the United States Mint would then issue the final rule. "

The interim part is with regard to soliciting comments, not the final duration of the law. Note that it says the Director of the Mint will issue a final ruling - he did, and it was published in the Federal Register and it's in effect until repealed.

Sadly, it's now illegal to melt them down.

The link says that is an "interim rule, to be effective for a period of 120 days from the time of publication", which was December 14, 2006. So it seems that this rule is no longer in effect.

Sadly, it's now illegal to melt them down.

That's true, but even in coin form pre-1964 silver half-dollars, quarters, and dimes trade at just about the going price of the metal they contain. As the value of the dollar continues to fall, there's no reason people would treat copper coins differently.

Sadly, it's now illegal to melt them down.

Interesting fact: you can tell the difference between a mostly-Cu penny and a mostly-Zn penny by sound. Dropping a Cu penny on a hard surface results in a high-pitched 'ting' - the Zn penny makes more of a 'thunk' sound.

You realize that it is a felony offense to do this? http://www.usmint.gov/consumer/18USC331.cfm

you can buy rolls of $1 coins from the mint for cost, free shipping...

Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Program

Hmm... looks like they're going to add a $12.50 feet. wtf? I think it's stupid - it's not like they were losing money before. 250 dollar coins * 0.12/coin = $30 cost. Even if shipping cost $15, they'd still make $205 a box.

I assume that here you are referring to the various bullion coins that the US mint issues like the gold and silver commemoratives, the American Eagles (silver, gold, or platinum), or the American Buffalo. Now most of these have a face value substantially less than their melt value, but the price they sell at individually is typically near market rates for purchasing a single unit of the metal. Currently with the substantial pull back in in recent months in precious metals they are a bit on the expensive side but then the mint sets its prices before minting begins. Now if you were referring to the standard uncirculated and proof sets that are issued these have a collector value to them that is not justified by their metal contend but is determined by the the premium placed on them by the mint and what the market will pay. As a side note US mint issued American Eagle coins carry the highest premium on the secondary market even though other coins like the Canadian Maple Leaf or American Buffalo with higher purity of 99.99% (the Silver American Eagle is only 99.9% and the Gold American Eagles are 91.67%). This is mostly due to the reputation of the American bullion coins (in original packaging with documentation they are not assayed when selling them) and also the inertia specifically behind the American Eagle coins as these were the first ones issued after the ban on individuals owning bullion was lifted in 1986. Interesting fact is that other countries would get around this ban by issuing bullion coins that were considered official currency in their home country as the ban didn't apply to US individuals owning foreign currency that was legal tender.

I assume that here you are referring to the various bullion coins that the US mint issues like the gold and silver commemoratives, the American Eagles (silver, gold, or platinum), or the American Buffalo. Now most of these have a face value substantially less than their melt value, but the price they sell at individually is typically near market rates for purchasing a single unit of the metal. Currently with the substantial pull back in in recent months in precious metals they are a bit on the expensive side but then the mint sets its prices before minting begins. Now if you were referring to the standard uncirculated and proof sets that are issued these have a collector value to them that is not justified by their metal contend but is determined by the the premium placed on them by the mint and what the market will pay. As a side note US mint issued American Eagle coins carry the highest premium on the secondary market even though other coins like the Canadian Maple Leaf or American Buffalo with higher purity of 99.99% (the Silver American Eagle is only 99.9% and the Gold American Eagles are 91.67%). This is mostly due to the reputation of the American bullion coins (in original packaging with documentation they are not assayed when selling them) and also the inertia specifically behind the American Eagle coins as these were the first ones issued after the ban on individuals owning bullion was lifted in 1986. Interesting fact is that other countries would get around this ban by issuing bullion coins that were considered official currency in their home country as the ban didn't apply to US individuals owning foreign currency that was legal tender.

I assume that here you are referring to the various bullion coins that the US mint issues like the gold and silver commemoratives, the American Eagles (silver, gold, or platinum), or the American Buffalo. Now most of these have a face value substantially less than their melt value, but the price they sell at individually is typically near market rates for purchasing a single unit of the metal. Currently with the substantial pull back in in recent months in precious metals they are a bit on the expensive side but then the mint sets its prices before minting begins. Now if you were referring to the standard uncirculated and proof sets that are issued these have a collector value to them that is not justified by their metal contend but is determined by the the premium placed on them by the mint and what the market will pay. As a side note US mint issued American Eagle coins carry the highest premium on the secondary market even though other coins like the Canadian Maple Leaf or American Buffalo with higher purity of 99.99% (the Silver American Eagle is only 99.9% and the Gold American Eagles are 91.67%). This is mostly due to the reputation of the American bullion coins (in original packaging with documentation they are not assayed when selling them) and also the inertia specifically behind the American Eagle coins as these were the first ones issued after the ban on individuals owning bullion was lifted in 1986. Interesting fact is that other countries would get around this ban by issuing bullion coins that were considered official currency in their home country as the ban didn't apply to US individuals owning foreign currency that was legal tender.

No, in general, US mint American eagle gold and silver bullion coins are also legal tender, like the proof coins are.

Produced from gold mined in the United States, American Eagles are imprinted with their gold content and legal tender "face" value. ... When purchased in the form of legal tender bullion coins, gold can be affordable, as well as easy to buy and store.

American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins are affordable investments, beautiful collectibles, thoughtful gifts and memorable incentives or rewards. Above all, as legal tender, they're the only silver bullion coins whose weight and purity are guaranteed by the United States Government. They're also the only silver coins allowed in an IRA.

Now, regarding your other point:

if they were true legal tender, you'd be able to buy a car with a dozen of them and only owe a sales tax on the face-value of the coins

I don't know whether or not that would work, but when the seller of the car tried to convert the coins to their real value (rather than their face value) you can be sure they'd be expected to pay taxes on the increase.

No, in general, US mint American eagle gold and silver bullion coins are also legal tender, like the proof coins are.

Produced from gold mined in the United States, American Eagles are imprinted with their gold content and legal tender "face" value. ... When purchased in the form of legal tender bullion coins, gold can be affordable, as well as easy to buy and store.

American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins are affordable investments, beautiful collectibles, thoughtful gifts and memorable incentives or rewards. Above all, as legal tender, they're the only silver bullion coins whose weight and purity are guaranteed by the United States Government. They're also the only silver coins allowed in an IRA.

Now, regarding your other point:

if they were true legal tender, you'd be able to buy a car with a dozen of them and only owe a sales tax on the face-value of the coins

I don't know whether or not that would work, but when the seller of the car tried to convert the coins to their real value (rather than their face value) you can be sure they'd be expected to pay taxes on the increase.

American eagle gold coins are legal tender.

When it comes to commemorative coins there are 2 values for them. You are correct that there is the melt value (the value of the coin) but then there is the collector value as well. The US government does the same thing and is still producing silver dollars as commemorative coins that are actually legal tender some are even are bullion coins as well. This similar to other coinage from such countries as South Africa, Canada, and China. Some of these coins carry a substantial premium above their melt value, others not so much. Even some non legal tender ingots have collector value to them since they are prized for their quality or rarity, the one of these I am most familiar with it the Engelhard American Prospector silver round.

When it comes to commemorative coins there are 2 values for them. You are correct that there is the melt value (the value of the coin) but then there is the collector value as well. The US government does the same thing and is still producing silver dollars as commemorative coins that are actually legal tender some are even are bullion coins as well. This similar to other coinage from such countries as South Africa, Canada, and China. Some of these coins carry a substantial premium above their melt value, others not so much. Even some non legal tender ingots have collector value to them since they are prized for their quality or rarity, the one of these I am most familiar with it the Engelhard American Prospector silver round.

Being minted under "the authorization of the U.S. Mint" does not make them legal tender! The mint simply gave them permission to make commorative coins that look like antique legal tender.

Citation needed.

Seriously... just about anything you say, "Jane Q. Public", needs to be followed with a citation from now on. Since you obviously don't know what the hell you're talking about most of the time, and you follow people around trolling them.

No actually... I'LL provide the citation, since I know for a fact that you're wrong. Fuck you and your shit. Here. Straight from the U.S. Mint itself. Bullion coins from the U.S. Mint IS LEGAL TENDER.
http://www.usmint.gov/downloads/mint_programs/am_eagles/AmerEagleGold.pdf
Page 2, under "Easy to buy and sell":

American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins, with their unique U.S. government backing, may be sold for cash at many coin and precious metals dealers worldwide. They are also legal tender.

The metal value in all metal coins is less than the face value of the coin.

Not the U.S. Mint's bullion coins. Have a look.

Of course, nobody would spend them by face value... the 1 oz. gold bullion coin is marked "50 dollars".

Um, are you aware that those are produced by the U.S. Mint? They are legal tender, technically, although nobody would ever use them as legal tender because their metal content is worth far more than their face value.

Of course ne'er-do-wells have resorted to stealing copper wire, ever since The Man made melting down pennies a federal crime. US pennies and nickels are technically worth more as metal than their face value. (I can't source it but I recall reading that before the new regulation was made a company was actually gearing up to enter the penny-melting business until the feds put the kibosh on it.)

.

You do realize the penny is about 97.5% zinc, not copper, right?

What you see as a copper penny is a zinc slug covered in a thin layer of copper so it looks like a penny. Theres more copper in about an inch of CAT5 than in a penny.

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/?flash=yes&action=fun_facts2

http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/?flash=yes&action=fun_facts2

Before that it was 95% zinc for 20 years or so before that. Pennies have been worthless for years, regardless of the virtual value of pennies, the actual value is less than a cent, intentionally ... so people don't melt them down.

Pennies are a really shitty source of copper and destroying pennies carries a far worse punishment than simple theft in most cases.

In 85 or so when the Mexican economy tanked, you could cross the Texas border and come back with more silver than you could carry in exchange for a 5 USD bill at one point. There again, the solution was simply to make their silver coins worthless as far as the metals they contained. Of course, the first thing they did was stop doing exchange for coins anywhere near the border, and only do exchange for paper money, making it much harder to turn $5 USD into Mexican coins unless you traveled far enough down into Mexico, making the whole venture a loser.