The ultimate CRHer

[Immy]

This week's Coin World has a great story about Ohio based Walter Luhrman who owns Jackson Metals, a metal recycling business. The main thrust of the story is about the proposed lift on the ban on private citizens melting coins for the metal content that's been in place since Dec 2006.

The most fascinating part of the article though, is the quantities he's gone thru and the finds he and his staff make.

- the company is fairly new so they were only able to melt approximately 1 million copper pennies before the ban went into effect.

- his sorting system can separate zinc pennies from copper at the rate of 50,000 per minute!

- he estimates that pre-83 copper pennies make up 23.8% of all pennies currently in circulation

- the tons of cents he receives (thru an agreement made with an armored car company contracted with the Federal Reserve) has yielded "significant quantities" of Lincoln Wheat cents, Indian Head cents and even a few Flying Eagle cents.

- his firm has processed for melting between 80,000 and 100,000 pure nickel Canadian nickels struck between 1946-1981

- his firm has processed some $14 million in half dollars (28 million coins) which has yielded, once again, "significant quantities" of Seated Liberty, Barber, Walking Liberty and Franklin halves, including large numbers of 90% silver 1964 Kennedy halves and 40% Kennedys. Luhrman states that the biggest bonanza has been the half dollar.


So imagine the melting ban disappearing. Copper cents will probably follow suit if companies like this start springing up. Keep on searchin'!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[TxTim]

and I thought Oldred & Gman were looking through a lot of coins....

 

[thurmownator]

Good read immy, thanks

 

[coincollector101]

That Means Im not going to get a good % for a long time...Im in ohio to. do you know where there located in ohio?

Happy Hunting,
CC

 

[cyberdan]

This week's Coin World has a great story about Ohio based Walter Luhrman who owns Jackson Metals, a metal recycling business.

If I am not mistaken his congressman right now is trying to get a bill passed to lift that melting ban. I wonder how much, under the table, coin went into his campaign fund?

 

[Silver Stripe]

This week's Coin World has a great story about Ohio based Walter Luhrman who owns Jackson Metals, a metal recycling business.

If I am not mistaken his congressman right now is trying to get a bill passed to lift that melting ban. I wonder how much, under the table, coin went into his campaign fund?

I't OK they just gave him rejects LOL. HH and hurry up, Mark

 

[coolcash2004]

I sure hope nobody actually melts these coins. Why not just trade them as is, they still contain the precious metal. Melting the coins destroys the beauty and significantly decreases the amount remaining.

-CC

 

[jewelerdave]

It may be good for that biz for a while but at that rate its not a sustainable business model. In time the yeilds will be very low and is not in any way a good long term business model.

Not only that, it publicly invites competition and people will start hording like they did when silver went out. There will always be some copper in circulation but on a scale where that is profitable and worth doing it is marginal at best.
The other consideration is what happens when the dollar recovers?
It really would be best to just leave the currency alone. pennies may be worth 2.5 cents each but a few years ago it was not the case.

I have a feeling that like the mexican peso a few years back, the dollar will have to be revalued, and in so making the melting of useful coins for circulation not worth while. The whole Idea of having a coin in circulation is that it lasts longer than a paper bill, And as we have seen some of them stay circulating for over 100 years. Melting down perfectly good coins is just pointless.
Damaged coins, bent, unusable etc. Ok, thats different,
silver as its mostly out of circulation and what is left in circ is so small, it does not make a difference. Each box of dimes I search though only has maybe 1 or 2 silvers,
Halves, ok they dont circulate much so its not a drain. But pennies. we should really not worry about the copper in pennies. It takes a lot of resources to make them and they are made at a loss. Why cost taxpayers money for the benefit of one business. The public benefits better by having the coins.

 

[Silver_Fox]

Melting down perfectly good coins is just pointless.

Excuse me but aren't you the one who melts silver coins to make jewelry?
MELTING SILVER COINS Casting ETC WITH PICS http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,108959.0.html

 

[Immy]

That Means Im not going to get a good % for a long time...Im in ohio to. do you know where there located in ohio?

Happy Hunting,
CC

Jackson OH is the company's locale, CC.

Fascinating (and suspicious!) connection there Dan! No mention of the Ohio congressman in the article. Maybe he received a box of 40%ers for the effort...

 

[coincollector101]

there 100 Miles from me ....Atleast there Shut Down atm....
They Found Flying Eagle Cents
I wonder What Machines there Useing to process 50000 a min.....

Thanks again immy,
Cc

 

[coincollector101]

I missed that article due to my Subscription ran out the week before.... Bad Timeing.

Happy hunting,
CC

 

[jewelerdave]

Yes, I melt down some silver on occasion, silver quarters barely circulate. Melting down tones of pennies that are circulating and used ever day by people on an industrial scale is pointless.

It is rare that people circulate silver coins as they are horded when found by most.

This is a gate way to open up possibly more coins going out of circulation than going in, If multiple companies start doing this there is a potential for shortages, and a lot of money wasted by the mints etc to keep up. If they were to allow that it would be best to just re do our currency in say aluminum or steel to keep the problem from happening, its not a long term plan. A very current American way of thinking, sell our selfs out short now for a quick profit, and screw the long term consequences...its this thinking that has allowed the dollar to fall and the prices of everything to go up...selling out our infrastructure...no come on. The copper form the coins would just end up being sent to china to be remade into cheap crap to be sold back too us further perpetuating the problem.
thats how it is though.

A more sound approach and cheaper in the long run...would be for this company to just ask for the Mint and Government to just send them a check for there estimated profits every quarter to just sit and do nothing. I bet if they ran the numbers it would be cheaper.

Also there are only laws pertaining to the melting of pennies and nickels at this moment.
the law is kinda vague on the way its written but it seems the law states that coins can not be defaced and used as US money.
Nothing about melting down silver. I have asked around in the refining community and they say they melt down old silver coins all the time, also gold.
If you try to deface a US coin and pass it off as money its a crime, It seems the law was written to keep people from shaving coins of there values then passing them on back when we were on a gold and silver standard, in witch case defacing them and passing them off as full value makes sense, yes that would be a crime, If a silver coin was melted it was converted into something else and is not being passed off as US currency.
It seems the mint does not or has never cared about melting silver, the concern today is about the copper and nickel and the cost to replace them.

basically if its not a problem for someone there is no law against it, it was viewed that melting pennies and nickels was a problem, so they stepped in and made a law to prevent it.

A lot of old jewelry is stamped "COIN" for the alloy coin silver or 90%. A legal alloy.
Ironic that this legal alloy is still legal if its illegal to melt down coins, its just illegal to melt down Pennies and Nickels as of a couple years ago.
Even more ironic the copper penny is of a weight that when mixed with an ounce of fine silver it makes for coin silver.
31.1 grams of silver (troy ounce)
3.11 grams of Copper
Wait...does anyone see something here...isn't that 10% by weight, wonder why?
handy for jewelry students when they need to make "sterling" just toss in a penny, but technically its illegal now, problem is the alloy of the Tin and zinc in the copper screws it up a bit. You really don't want to mix zinc in with the silver, it makes for problems in casting and skin reactions if they are sensitive.
Either way, if someone can find me a law specifically stating its illegal to melt down silver id love to see it. And not just the defacing law.