That would be really impressive considering the presses that are currently used for minting US coins. That press would be more impressive than the coin itself and personally I would love to know the tonnage of that press especially since coins aren't struck hot. It probably is a real coin as it carries a face value and as such probably is considered legal tender.
Representative Ron Paul has long pushed for the US to return to a commodity backed currency usually gold or possibly a bi-metallic standard of gold and silver. Also he has long pushed for a comprehensive auditing of the US gold stockpiles to be done all at once as the current auditing procedure is always done in bits so it is possible for the gold to be moved from one vault to another to make it appear that we have reserves greater than we currently have. Ron Paul has never liked the fed and the audit that representative Dennis Kucinich managed to get pushed through revealed various games they played, but both Kucinich and Paul would like to see a more through audit of the Federal Reserve bank done although for completely different reasons. Also these guys are basically polar opposites of the political spectrum Kucinich is a very liberal democrat where as Paul is a very libertarian republican (he even ran as the Libertarian presidential candidate a few election cycles ago) so when the come to the same conclusion from very different perspectives it is probably a good thing for the country. Also for some kicks you can go onto ebay and do a search for "liberty dollar norfed" or "Ron Paul Dollar" and see the results as Ron Paul has also pushed for competing currencies. The Norfed tokens have an MSRP, not a face value and some even feature Ron Paul on them. The tokens themselves have a bit of history which I found rather an interesting read on Wikipedia if you are into currency and money.
Interesting fact I found out that is somewhat related to this. A few years ago I wondered how big a cube of gold would be that weighted 1 ton (short ton for you in the metric world) and came up with an answer of slightly under 1 cubic foot. A few months later I saw an article in the local paper pointing out that approximately 1 ton of lead fishing tackle is lost in Minnesota lakes each year. This value I am sure shocked lots of people as 1 ton sounds like a lot of material, but when put in the perspective that this is only about 1 cubic foot spread across all the 15,000+ lakes in the state it is really a trivial amount. I do my part and use bismuth or tungsten tackle as I don't want to add to the problem.
Personally I find foreign coins fascinating along with other historical oddities (invasion, inflationary, fractionals, etc). I have always like coins from the British Commonwealth many of which have the current monarch on them. The monarch isn't what interests me but mostly the other interesting designs on them. Also you are correct about the amount on the coin since it is considered legal tender it needs to be counted in the money supply so they chose a token value that wouldn't have any impact on the valuation of their currency but still be impressive to the general public. Also props to you Aussies for deciding that the cotton rag paper for notes is the wrong way to go and went to the polymer notes. Now I just wish I could get some at some not retarded markup people on e-bay sell them at.
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.
Not a burn barrel but they could put in an incinerator. They then could get some green credentials as they would be heating their building with renewable resources.
In my experience a lot of the morbidly obese peoples' problems are caused by being morbidly obese. My mother and step father's family are all obese to morbidly obese and none of them do any physical activity, eat lots of crap (my mom and step dad eat out every night), and in general don't take care of themselves. They all have joint, heart, breathing problems, along with all being type II diabetics. My fathers side are all very fit, don't over eat, eat good food, and are active. The only health issue there is that one of my aunts got breast cancer and she is one of the biggest fitness/health nuts there are and runs marathons and does triathlons still at age 54, she use to race bicycles professionally when she was younger. I am by far the heaviest (255lbs) when compared to that side of the family, but then I do lots of weight lifting and am by far the strongest, even though I am much shorter (5 feet 9 inches). My doctor likes to joke each year when I go in for my physical by saying "Congratulations you are still severely obese" when I get weighed as I am a very fit person who happens to have a BMI well over 35 (30 is considered obese)
As further evidence I will offer up one of my friends from college he was a big fat guy in his mid 30's (grad student for life) who would be out of breath walking from his car to the dorm lobby. His whole family was obese and he would always blame it on genetics and was starting to have joint problems because of his weight. He never wanted to go to the gym or pool because he was worried about what people would think and thought that going would make his problems worse. The last year and a half while I was in college I managed to get him to go to the gym or pool each day with me. At first he struggled (the first 2 weeks are always brutal) and at first he didn't see a change and could barely do anything. After about 3-4 months he was still fat but was getting fit, he would actually be going at a good jogging clip on the elliptical machine for a good 45-60 minutes (instead of a walking pace for 5), was building strength when lifting and able to swim laps without stopping for 30 minutes. Now go forward several years and he is now fit and staying active, his health problems have gone away and is doing well.
I know that people can have problems that aren't apparent but I see a large portion of people with handicapped hangers/plates being fit people it does make me wonder.
I sure see a whole lot of morbidly obese people with handicapped plates of late. They don't get me as much as the people who are just abusing the system (the ones who have the hanger because someone in their family needs it or are using a relative's car) and are just as able bodied as I am.
While were at it why don't we demand that all cars get 1000mpg? Oh it can't be done with existing technology you say? You're just thinking inside the box! If you think outside the box then you'll see it's a reasonable demand
Because the result wouldn't be something that can be driven on a real road. It would be a single ocupant tin can without AC or anything else.
Hell it wouldn't even be a tin can. It would be a composite structure with wheels that looks like sort of like an egg that is only strong enough to support the body shell, wheels, engine and small female drive. It would be powered by an engine comparable in size to the one on a self propelled walk behind lawn mower. You could probably walk as fast as it drives and would have to use the pull cord to start it, plus you wouldn't be able to run the engine for long stretches of time, only enough to get up to speed and then you coast to a stop. Yes in high school I participated in a high mileage vehicle competition and this is what those "cars" that get 1000+ mpg do. We participated in the unmodified category (the engine is untouched) and would get 400 to 600 mpg and ran a car that was a couple layers of fiberglass over thin wood lath (1/16th of a inch) as the form. The engine used was a Briggs & Stratton with a displacement in the single digit cubic inches. The driver was always one of the guy's girlfriend who was in dance line or gymnastics and weighed under 100 lbs. The "car" was built to fit the driver to minimize size and weight.
The best you could expect from a real car would be in the 100-200 mpg range and the vehicle would still be on the small size (think Fiat 500, Smart FourTwo, or original Mini not the bloated BMW Mini size). We could build a car that got this type of mileage, but it would be expensive and sluggish.
The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.
The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices
Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency
To transport things like toxic chemicals, nuclear waste, or explosives you need to be an experienced drive with an immaculate record. Think of those drives as being the Seal Team 6 of the trucking world with their requirements and training. Also they usually drive specially designed trucks instead of the standard box or tanker truck. They also drive on routes that avoid traffic, populated areas, and other less than ideal conditions.
That has been a common complaint in the US for years. I wish I had bought a phone while I was in Europe and brought it back with me to the states. As much of a libertarian as I am I still see the need for market regulation especially since we have an imperfect free market.
Yes everyone is aware of the limitations that ROTC places on what you do after school. For other military service there is their scholarship program that everyone is aware of, but from what I understand there is another program that they also offer which from my understanding is more similar to a 401k with matching that can be used at any school. I was only pointing out that there are ways to get a "free" college education.
If you really wanted to game the military for all it was worth the best way I can figure is to do the following:
1. Become an Eagle Scout (you get a bump in pay since you have a lot of the basic skills they look for)
2. Join the reserves at age 17
3. Do ROTC while in college (get your college paid for and get promoted in the reserves)
4. Serve as an officer until age 37 (you now have your 20 years of service)
5. Go work another 15-20 years in the private sector as a consultant to a military contractor or just decide that you are sick of working and go fishing or what ever floats your boat for the rest of your life.
So why not start at the local community college or state school and transfer. Basic calculus, English, physics and the like all transfer just as well between schools. You can even find out what other classes will transfer as well if you put forth the effort and call your prospective school or work with the advisers at your local school. I had a friend who wanted to go and finish his degree and started by taking classes at one of the local Minnesota community colleges (Hennepin County Community College) and they were even helpful enough to to work with him and find out what classes they offered that were in his major that would transfer to the out of state school he was going to go to. Here is another dirty little secrete to getting your school paid for, join the armed services, there are a number of options like ROTC, national guard, reserve units, full enlisted and they have lots of options for paying for school. I have a cousin who is doing ROTC and national guard (currently deployed with the Minnesota Red Bulls in Kuwait), and have several friends who went and enlisted in the army, navy, or marines and got their school that way. Granted they may actually send you out of the country but that is a chance you take.
As have I, after that habaneros go down like candy but not so much on the way out. Usually I just toss 2 or 3 ghost peppers into a batch of chile (about 2 gallons) to give it a nice kick but I got ambitious one day and ate one fresh off the plant. My wife on the other hand thinks that regular black pepper is too spicy so if were going to start banning foods because someone can't handle them then I hope you enjoy really bland food. I would prefer that we just label things as spicy so people know what they are getting themselves into. This weekend my son wanted to try some jalapeno peppers I was cutting up for chile because he insisted they were little cucumbers even though I tried to convince him that he wouldn't like them and that they are hot he insisted so I gave him a piece. He didn't like that very much and believed me when he asked for a piece of a ghost pepper and I told him it was hot and he wouldn't like it.
Actually with a loan guarantee Solyndra was able to use the guarantee as collateral to get loans. Once they got those loans they went bankrupt thus leaving the US on the hook for the loans. You are correct in that the US government didn't directly give money to Solyndra, but what they did was assume all of the risk and assumed none of the potential reward. Sounds like what people complained about during the start of the crash, socialized losses privatized profits.
I wish I hadn't commented already as this needs to be modded up.
As a side note the Karma's numbers seem closer or possibly worse than the real world numbers (except for torque) of my 1997 BMW 540i with 223,000 miles on it that I paid $10,000 for 4.5 years ago (It only had 101,000 on it when purchased). Granted it does have better numbers than my recently purchased 1996 Jeep Cherokee with the 190hp 4.0L engine and 368,000 miles on it but even that stupid thing gets just over 21mpg, but I only paid $600 for that.
To be fair it is because the Dems are in power now. Previously it was because primary investors in the company donate copiously to the campaign coffers of Republican Party politicians. The correct term is crony capitalism and both parties do it.
My thought exactly, but why only a backpack full, why not go whole hog and have the largest roller bag that could possibly considered carry on filled with explosives and ball bearings or nails and then go get in the longest line at the airport, they ones with the switch back ropes. More effect when this is done on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as you would probably kill or injure close to 5x the number of people than even a fully loaded 747.
They stop about 100 guns a month from being carried on planes by passengers.
And probably let through 200-300. I have inadvertently brought various things through TSA security that are banned by forgetting they are in my pocket or coat. A short list:
Almost 20 rifle rounds (7.62x54r)
About a dozen shotgun shells (12 gauge 3 inch magnum)
My large pocket knife (4 inch lock blade)
My small pocket knife (3 blades largest is 2.5 inches)
A full tube to tooth paste (shortly after their liquids ban)
2 straight edge razors (yes I use them for shaving)
There are probably other things that have made it through but I don't know what they are. At the same time if I have a deck of cards in my bag they will search it, or if I have my old manual metal body 35mm SLR and associated equipment they will search that
since it sounds like you want to go old school with your black smithing as you use a coal forge why not go and make your own charcoal if cost is a concern. People are willing to give away trimmings from bushes and trees. Also if you are looking for steel or iron why not go out early on trash day and see if anyone is disposing of old brake rotors, brake drums, pipe, lawn equipment, etc. There is plenty of this stuff out there and my uncle usually picks up 50-60 pounds of stuff each week as a garbage man.
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That would be really impressive considering the presses that are currently used for minting US coins. That press would be more impressive than the coin itself and personally I would love to know the tonnage of that press especially since coins aren't struck hot. It probably is a real coin as it carries a face value and as such probably is considered legal tender.
Representative Ron Paul has long pushed for the US to return to a commodity backed currency usually gold or possibly a bi-metallic standard of gold and silver. Also he has long pushed for a comprehensive auditing of the US gold stockpiles to be done all at once as the current auditing procedure is always done in bits so it is possible for the gold to be moved from one vault to another to make it appear that we have reserves greater than we currently have. Ron Paul has never liked the fed and the audit that representative Dennis Kucinich managed to get pushed through revealed various games they played, but both Kucinich and Paul would like to see a more through audit of the Federal Reserve bank done although for completely different reasons. Also these guys are basically polar opposites of the political spectrum Kucinich is a very liberal democrat where as Paul is a very libertarian republican (he even ran as the Libertarian presidential candidate a few election cycles ago) so when the come to the same conclusion from very different perspectives it is probably a good thing for the country. Also for some kicks you can go onto ebay and do a search for "liberty dollar norfed" or "Ron Paul Dollar" and see the results as Ron Paul has also pushed for competing currencies. The Norfed tokens have an MSRP, not a face value and some even feature Ron Paul on them. The tokens themselves have a bit of history which I found rather an interesting read on Wikipedia if you are into currency and money.
Most people would probably be more familiar with the unit of measure that it is about a 1 cubic foot of gold.
Interesting fact I found out that is somewhat related to this. A few years ago I wondered how big a cube of gold would be that weighted 1 ton (short ton for you in the metric world) and came up with an answer of slightly under 1 cubic foot. A few months later I saw an article in the local paper pointing out that approximately 1 ton of lead fishing tackle is lost in Minnesota lakes each year. This value I am sure shocked lots of people as 1 ton sounds like a lot of material, but when put in the perspective that this is only about 1 cubic foot spread across all the 15,000+ lakes in the state it is really a trivial amount. I do my part and use bismuth or tungsten tackle as I don't want to add to the problem.
Personally I find foreign coins fascinating along with other historical oddities (invasion, inflationary, fractionals, etc). I have always like coins from the British Commonwealth many of which have the current monarch on them. The monarch isn't what interests me but mostly the other interesting designs on them. Also you are correct about the amount on the coin since it is considered legal tender it needs to be counted in the money supply so they chose a token value that wouldn't have any impact on the valuation of their currency but still be impressive to the general public. Also props to you Aussies for deciding that the cotton rag paper for notes is the wrong way to go and went to the polymer notes. Now I just wish I could get some at some not retarded markup people on e-bay sell them at.
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.
Not a burn barrel but they could put in an incinerator. They then could get some green credentials as they would be heating their building with renewable resources.
In my experience a lot of the morbidly obese peoples' problems are caused by being morbidly obese. My mother and step father's family are all obese to morbidly obese and none of them do any physical activity, eat lots of crap (my mom and step dad eat out every night), and in general don't take care of themselves. They all have joint, heart, breathing problems, along with all being type II diabetics. My fathers side are all very fit, don't over eat, eat good food, and are active. The only health issue there is that one of my aunts got breast cancer and she is one of the biggest fitness/health nuts there are and runs marathons and does triathlons still at age 54, she use to race bicycles professionally when she was younger. I am by far the heaviest (255lbs) when compared to that side of the family, but then I do lots of weight lifting and am by far the strongest, even though I am much shorter (5 feet 9 inches). My doctor likes to joke each year when I go in for my physical by saying "Congratulations you are still severely obese" when I get weighed as I am a very fit person who happens to have a BMI well over 35 (30 is considered obese)
As further evidence I will offer up one of my friends from college he was a big fat guy in his mid 30's (grad student for life) who would be out of breath walking from his car to the dorm lobby. His whole family was obese and he would always blame it on genetics and was starting to have joint problems because of his weight. He never wanted to go to the gym or pool because he was worried about what people would think and thought that going would make his problems worse. The last year and a half while I was in college I managed to get him to go to the gym or pool each day with me. At first he struggled (the first 2 weeks are always brutal) and at first he didn't see a change and could barely do anything. After about 3-4 months he was still fat but was getting fit, he would actually be going at a good jogging clip on the elliptical machine for a good 45-60 minutes (instead of a walking pace for 5), was building strength when lifting and able to swim laps without stopping for 30 minutes. Now go forward several years and he is now fit and staying active, his health problems have gone away and is doing well.
I know that people can have problems that aren't apparent but I see a large portion of people with handicapped hangers/plates being fit people it does make me wonder.
I sure see a whole lot of morbidly obese people with handicapped plates of late. They don't get me as much as the people who are just abusing the system (the ones who have the hanger because someone in their family needs it or are using a relative's car) and are just as able bodied as I am.
Because the result wouldn't be something that can be driven on a real road. It would be a single ocupant tin can without AC or anything else.
Hell it wouldn't even be a tin can. It would be a composite structure with wheels that looks like sort of like an egg that is only strong enough to support the body shell, wheels, engine and small female drive. It would be powered by an engine comparable in size to the one on a self propelled walk behind lawn mower. You could probably walk as fast as it drives and would have to use the pull cord to start it, plus you wouldn't be able to run the engine for long stretches of time, only enough to get up to speed and then you coast to a stop. Yes in high school I participated in a high mileage vehicle competition and this is what those "cars" that get 1000+ mpg do. We participated in the unmodified category (the engine is untouched) and would get 400 to 600 mpg and ran a car that was a couple layers of fiberglass over thin wood lath (1/16th of a inch) as the form. The engine used was a Briggs & Stratton with a displacement in the single digit cubic inches. The driver was always one of the guy's girlfriend who was in dance line or gymnastics and weighed under 100 lbs. The "car" was built to fit the driver to minimize size and weight.
The best you could expect from a real car would be in the 100-200 mpg range and the vehicle would still be on the small size (think Fiat 500, Smart FourTwo, or original Mini not the bloated BMW Mini size). We could build a car that got this type of mileage, but it would be expensive and sluggish.
What no Lucas Prince of Darkness jokes?
The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.
The three position Lucas switch - Dim, Flicker and Off.
The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.
Lucas is an acronym for Loose Unsoldered Connections and Splices
Lucas systems actually uses AC current; it just has a random frequency
Or it might need a fresh charge of Lucas Replacement Wiring Harness Smoke.
So were any of the components in the cruse control system made by Lucas Industries?
If you have never worked on a British car then the humor may be lost on you but there is an entire sub culture around Lucas the prince of darkness.
To transport things like toxic chemicals, nuclear waste, or explosives you need to be an experienced drive with an immaculate record. Think of those drives as being the Seal Team 6 of the trucking world with their requirements and training. Also they usually drive specially designed trucks instead of the standard box or tanker truck. They also drive on routes that avoid traffic, populated areas, and other less than ideal conditions.
That has been a common complaint in the US for years. I wish I had bought a phone while I was in Europe and brought it back with me to the states. As much of a libertarian as I am I still see the need for market regulation especially since we have an imperfect free market.
Yes everyone is aware of the limitations that ROTC places on what you do after school. For other military service there is their scholarship program that everyone is aware of, but from what I understand there is another program that they also offer which from my understanding is more similar to a 401k with matching that can be used at any school. I was only pointing out that there are ways to get a "free" college education.
If you really wanted to game the military for all it was worth the best way I can figure is to do the following:
1. Become an Eagle Scout (you get a bump in pay since you have a lot of the basic skills they look for)
2. Join the reserves at age 17
3. Do ROTC while in college (get your college paid for and get promoted in the reserves)
4. Serve as an officer until age 37 (you now have your 20 years of service)
5. Go work another 15-20 years in the private sector as a consultant to a military contractor or just decide that you are sick of working and go fishing or what ever floats your boat for the rest of your life.
So why not start at the local community college or state school and transfer. Basic calculus, English, physics and the like all transfer just as well between schools. You can even find out what other classes will transfer as well if you put forth the effort and call your prospective school or work with the advisers at your local school. I had a friend who wanted to go and finish his degree and started by taking classes at one of the local Minnesota community colleges (Hennepin County Community College) and they were even helpful enough to to work with him and find out what classes they offered that were in his major that would transfer to the out of state school he was going to go to. Here is another dirty little secrete to getting your school paid for, join the armed services, there are a number of options like ROTC, national guard, reserve units, full enlisted and they have lots of options for paying for school. I have a cousin who is doing ROTC and national guard (currently deployed with the Minnesota Red Bulls in Kuwait), and have several friends who went and enlisted in the army, navy, or marines and got their school that way. Granted they may actually send you out of the country but that is a chance you take.
As have I, after that habaneros go down like candy but not so much on the way out. Usually I just toss 2 or 3 ghost peppers into a batch of chile (about 2 gallons) to give it a nice kick but I got ambitious one day and ate one fresh off the plant. My wife on the other hand thinks that regular black pepper is too spicy so if were going to start banning foods because someone can't handle them then I hope you enjoy really bland food. I would prefer that we just label things as spicy so people know what they are getting themselves into. This weekend my son wanted to try some jalapeno peppers I was cutting up for chile because he insisted they were little cucumbers even though I tried to convince him that he wouldn't like them and that they are hot he insisted so I gave him a piece. He didn't like that very much and believed me when he asked for a piece of a ghost pepper and I told him it was hot and he wouldn't like it.
Actually with a loan guarantee Solyndra was able to use the guarantee as collateral to get loans. Once they got those loans they went bankrupt thus leaving the US on the hook for the loans. You are correct in that the US government didn't directly give money to Solyndra, but what they did was assume all of the risk and assumed none of the potential reward. Sounds like what people complained about during the start of the crash, socialized losses privatized profits.
I wish I hadn't commented already as this needs to be modded up.
As a side note the Karma's numbers seem closer or possibly worse than the real world numbers (except for torque) of my 1997 BMW 540i with 223,000 miles on it that I paid $10,000 for 4.5 years ago (It only had 101,000 on it when purchased). Granted it does have better numbers than my recently purchased 1996 Jeep Cherokee with the 190hp 4.0L engine and 368,000 miles on it but even that stupid thing gets just over 21mpg, but I only paid $600 for that.
To be fair it is because the Dems are in power now. Previously it was because primary investors in the company donate copiously to the campaign coffers of Republican Party politicians. The correct term is crony capitalism and both parties do it.
My thought exactly, but why only a backpack full, why not go whole hog and have the largest roller bag that could possibly considered carry on filled with explosives and ball bearings or nails and then go get in the longest line at the airport, they ones with the switch back ropes. More effect when this is done on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as you would probably kill or injure close to 5x the number of people than even a fully loaded 747.
They stop about 100 guns a month from being carried on planes by passengers.
And probably let through 200-300. I have inadvertently brought various things through TSA security that are banned by forgetting they are in my pocket or coat. A short list:
Almost 20 rifle rounds (7.62x54r)
About a dozen shotgun shells (12 gauge 3 inch magnum)
My large pocket knife (4 inch lock blade)
My small pocket knife (3 blades largest is 2.5 inches)
A full tube to tooth paste (shortly after their liquids ban)
2 straight edge razors (yes I use them for shaving)
There are probably other things that have made it through but I don't know what they are. At the same time if I have a deck of cards in my bag they will search it, or if I have my old manual metal body 35mm SLR and associated equipment they will search that
since it sounds like you want to go old school with your black smithing as you use a coal forge why not go and make your own charcoal if cost is a concern. People are willing to give away trimmings from bushes and trees. Also if you are looking for steel or iron why not go out early on trash day and see if anyone is disposing of old brake rotors, brake drums, pipe, lawn equipment, etc. There is plenty of this stuff out there and my uncle usually picks up 50-60 pounds of stuff each week as a garbage man.