So if every penny is going to be worth a nickel...........?

Question

what's to stop anybody right now from going to the bank and converting their entire life savings into pennies?

When the penny goes up to 5 cents, you have essentially made a 500 percent profit, right?

Here's the article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070122/us_nm/usa_pennies_shortage_dc_1

Not a joke, i am considering doing this, it would mean a great deal for my savings tto quintuple, and according to what i have read here, it would work....

maybe i'm reading it wrong, can anyone see the glitch in doing this?

Doug, you didn't even read the article , did you?

important excerpt:

The best solution, Velde said, would be to "rebase" the penny by making it worth five cents rather than one cent. Doing so would increase the amount of five-cent coins in circulation and do away with the almost worthless one cent coin.

Answer 1

I am gonna need a dump truck to get back home , LOL , but it would be worth it , even if i had to rent one for a day!

Answer 2

No matter how big your bank is, each branch is allowed to carry only a limited supply of physical cash. This is quite obviously for security purposes. I am sure that a high end robber would not have a problem robbing a bank if they knew they could get out with a few million...whether it be in pennies or greenbacks.

Initially, you'll have to get your money out now and sit around waiting for a federal change in the valuation of the penny. Good luck, on that. Let's assume that you just held ontot he pennies until the spike creates the artificail value...you convert all your $5000 in savings into pennies today and tomorrow each penny is worth .05. First and foremost, you would have to get that $5000 in pennies between the years 1909-1982 which at current metal values is worth 0.0175681 cents. Any penny minted between 1982-2007 is 97.5% zinc and the total metal value is only 0.0095110 cents per www.coinflation.com. The value is in the metal, not the denomination. Your penny doesn't magically turn Lincoln into Jefferson. Your gain is an "unrealized" gain, or a "paper gain". Meaning that you might have paid .01 for that penny, but until someone physically gives you a nickel for that penny, you haven't really made a physical profit.

After that, you have to find someone to smelt the penny down and seperate the metals. Defacing or destroying US minted money for the purpose of profit is against the law. You have to find a smelter who is willing to smelt your $5000 in pennies and then you still have to pay him to do it which will take a nice chunk out of your assumed 500% profit.

THEN you have to sell the seperated metal which will not be bought from you at market price. Even if you got market price, you would have to sell ALL the seperate metals that make up the penny. The one in highest demand is the copper which is a trace metal in all pennies minted after 1982. What if you couldn't sell the Zinc? There goes yet another large chunk out of your supposed 500% profit.

It already costs more than .01 to produce a penny, but I'll bet you $5000 in pennies that if you walk into your bank with 5 pennies right now, they are only going to give you a nickel in exchange.

Answer 3

The coins you have had a lot struck so they are common in normal circulated grades. That is right now, but in the future as more collectors start collecting nickels and cents their value will go up. I would hold onto them.

Answer 4

I hope you're joking.... I hope realize they're referring to the value of the penny. What is worth a penny today will be worth a nickle tomorrow. It's a figure of speech. Cash in your nickle today for 5 pennies and it'll be worth 5 cents in a hundred years.

Answer 5

That's a good idea!

Answer 6

Hmmmmm, money for nothing, that can't be right , can it?

Answer 7

RACE YOU TO THE BANK!!!!

Answer 8

Sounds like it would work to me, i'm going to the bank too, THANKS!

Answer 9

when was that statement made?