| Author |
 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,737 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
708 Posts |
I read a rumor once that, for years after World War 2, the Federal Reserve culled the 1943 Steelies out of circulation with magnets, because they were jamming up machines while in circulation, and for some reason, someone "claimed" that, for some reason, with the zinc plating on the steel, it was not worth melting down the steel to use for other things, so instead, they sealed them in steel drums, took them out to sea on a barge, and just dumped the sealed drums of Steelies into the ocean. Does anyone know if this is a true thing that happened, or if its false? I also heard that a steel mill was given most of the Steelies, but had to agree to melt them down to just use them for their steel content. Are either of these stories true? (The one about dropping the Steelies in the ocean, I read over 15 years ago, and I think its too dumb of a story to be true, because, how would zinc plating make the steel any less valuable as a renewable metal resource? But I could be wrong) Also, wouldn't collectors want to buy those Steelies at a premium from the Mint to stash away for keepsake?  |
|
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
The government did have a program for awhile actively withdrawing the steel cents from circulation. I believe they managed to withdraw about 100 million coins. I have heard both of the disposal stories, I'm not sure which is correct (actually they could have done both). The face value of the coins would have been one million dollars but the value of the recovered metal would have been a very small fraction of that value. It might have actually have cost more to melt them down than the metal would have been worth. The zinc plating would not have seriously affected the steel in the melt because since zinc melts at so low a temperature the zinc would boil off during the melting. That could be one reason why they wouldn't want to melt them though, you have a problem with how to handle the zinc fumes. Everyone would have to wear respirators because you wouldn't want to breathe the fumes. Quote:
Also, wouldn't collectors want to buy those Steelies at a premium from the Mint to stash away for keepsake? There were plenty of steel cents still in circulation at that time so there would be no reason to pay the mint a premium for them. If the mint were to go out and gather up 100 million lightly circulated 2009 Lincolns (out of the several billion struck) how much of a premium do you think collectors would offer for them? Considering that in theory they can gather up 2009 cents just by roll searching. |
|
Moderator
 United States
187702 Posts |
Interesting stories, I had never heard either of them before.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
814 Posts |
Neither have I. Good inf thanks fo sharing.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
950 Posts |
If they DID dump a million dollars worth of steel wheats in the ocean, they would probably be nothing but a rusty lump by now.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19935 Posts |
Interesting, I never heard either story. The bottomline, there are plenty of them still around for us collectors.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
95 Posts |
I've been pulling them out of circulation since I was a kid in the 1960s. I also know someone who got a full roll when they got pennies at the bank. The funny thing is they were looking for pre-1982 pennies for the higher copper content. so they got pre-1982 pennies and no copper....lol
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2734 Posts |
You get to see a War Nickel Sorter on the Denver Mint tour, built to cull wartime 35% silver Nickels from circulation. The sign claims it was never used. Considering those coins contained virtually their face value in silver even then, I'm surprised they didn't go through with this plan... |
|
Valued Member
United States
477 Posts |
Yep, this forum is a wealth of information that I've never heard.
Rick
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Philosophically disposing of them would have been just like getting rid of any other almost worthless rubbish. Disposing of steel cents would have been much less of a problem then, with fewer environmental laws, than there are now.
These days they would have just been recycled, just like any other ferrous metal, such as car bodies.
The main problem is just getting rid of them, just like we dispose of rubbish.
One wonders what is happening with the disposal of clad coins, because there would be much more expense in the separation of the metals. THEY WILL need to be recycled, eventually. Separation costs would outweigh the value of the recovered metals.
Probably helps to explain why bi metallic centred coins are used in other countries. In this case, the centres are just punched out. The alloys are re used, as is.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
They don't separate the metal when they recycle the clad or the scrap from the strip. They just add a little more nickel to bring the melt up to the 75% copper 25% nickel and they have the alloy for the outer layers and for the five cent strip 75/25 coppernickel is a very commonly used alloy.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1053 Posts |
|
| |
Replies: 11 / Views: 1,737 |
|
Posted 08/07/2013 1:13 pm
