Nickel Collecting?

I saved some a couple years ago when nickel and copper were high. Back then a nickel was worth 7.5ish cents in melt value. Currently though nickel prices have dropped and the face value of the coin is greater than the melt value. Not sure about nickel, but some say copper prices will continue to drop in 2015. To me it's not worth it in short term value.

And that's just talking raw melt value and not considering that they're illegal to melt. Might still be illegal to melt for 30 years from now. On top of that whoever's buying them/melting them will not pay full melt value. This article is more for hoarding copper cents, but some of it applies to nickel.
http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/614...-scrap-metal

True, cents are still selling for a small premium on ebay. I haven't checked nickels though. Not sure if there'd be a premium or not.

Now those are nickels I would save simply due to age or the silver War Nickels. I've been throwing any before 1960 in tubes when I come across them.

I keep AU or better quality ones, but that's just me and there's not really much value there. I'm just betting on potential value 50 years from now for AU rolls of them.

The composition change will most likely happen one day or another. Will we still be alive is the question. It couldn't hurt to hold onto years before any major changes. E.g. the years before, during, and after westward journey, War Nickels, and when the coin composition ever changes. Those are general idea, but supply and demand is what really drives things. It depends on how many get minted and how much of a demand or not there is. That's why something like a run of the mill 2009 nickel might be worth more than a silver 1943 War Nickel... supply and demand.

Copper pennies sell at a slight premium because there is manual labor involved in separating them out. If I want nickels in bulk, all I have to do is walk into a bank and lay down the cash--the only impurities would be from War Nickels and an occasional foreign. There is absolutely no reason that anyone would pay more than face for what they can easily get for face.

Even if the government did change the composition, it would take *decades* for the new composition nickels to saturate even up to 50% of the circulating population. Nothing short of a mandatory recall could drive up the price of nickels in the next 25-50 years. In 2014, the 1940 nickel only carries a premium of 120-200% of face, compared to roughly 300-500% for pennies and 1000-1500% for all silver denominations.

Aside from the already-established valuable dates, I think the only nickels that will be worth something (that aren't today) are BU examples with full steps, where that is an issue of concern. 2009 will probably remain valuable as long as hoarders can keep supply artificially low, and I don't think the Westward Journey series will ever see a premium.

I don't believe in it, but why just save the ones in change? Go big or go home :)

Well I decided to go and get two more rolls and pulled a '55 D and a '43 P!