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Frugi
Moderator
USA
473 Posts |
 Posted - 02/24/2008 : 21:47:36
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Has any body ever thought of hoarding silver war nickels, not only for the possibility of melting for silver but as a possible source for heavy duty explosives.
powdered magnesium is highly explosive, surely the silvered mixed in could only make it better.
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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
2627 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 06:34:06
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| No, but I'll be sure not to throw my nickels around anymore. |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1848 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 08:12:47
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quote:
Originally posted by Ardent Listener
No, but I'll be sure not to throw my nickels around anymore.
It would be kinda cool to be able to throw an explosive nickel....I have a few I could throw....hehe
Deal |
I'm so sick over pennies....I frequently trade a dime or two for the whole "take-a-penny" container if sufficient coppers exist. That will get you some odd looks. |
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tmaring
Penny Collector Member
USA
266 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 12:43:50
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It's Manganese... not Magnesium. These are two completely different metallic elements.
War nickels are 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese. So no... there is nothing even remotely explosive about them.
The really interesting thing about the war nickels is that the nickel was used... not for gun barells (as everyone was told at the time) but for nickel plating the inside of the piping at the Oak Ridge gaseous diffusion plant, for separating the 0.7% of fissionable U235 from the 99.3% of relatively inert U238. It turns out that nickel is just about the only metal resistant to the highly corrosive uranium hexafluoride that they use in those diffusers.
So... the war nickel DOES have an explosive story to tell... just has nothing to do with magnesium!
But back to the original question... I personally really like to hoard war nickels for their silver content. I would never bother smelting them down for their silver though. To me they are worth far more for the alloy. This is an unique alloy, not used in any other application I can find. And the nickels are great for overstriking. I've done some pieces using them as blanks... after annealing and tumbling, and they come out really nice and bright silver looking. And best of all... you can usually buy them for the melt value of the silver content alone... which means the copper and manganese content is free! |
Tom Maringer
Shire Post Mint
Springdale, Arkansas |
Edited by - tmaring on 02/25/2008 13:17:31 |
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NotABigDeal
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1848 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 17:04:09
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quote:
Originally posted by tmaring
It's Manganese... not Magnesium. These are two completely different metallic elements.
War nickels are 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese. So no... there is nothing even remotely explosive about them.
The really interesting thing about the war nickels is that the nickel was used... not for gun barells (as everyone was told at the time) but for nickel plating the inside of the piping at the Oak Ridge gaseous diffusion plant, for separating the 0.7% of fissionable U235 from the 99.3% of relatively inert U238. It turns out that nickel is just about the only metal resistant to the highly corrosive uranium hexafluoride that they use in those diffusers.
So... the war nickel DOES have an explosive story to tell... just has nothing to do with magnesium!
But back to the original question... I personally really like to hoard war nickels for their silver content. I would never bother smelting them down for their silver though. To me they are worth far more for the alloy. This is an unique alloy, not used in any other application I can find. And the nickels are great for overstriking. I've done some pieces using them as blanks... after annealing and tumbling, and they come out really nice and bright silver looking. And best of all... you can usually buy them for the melt value of the silver content alone... which means the copper and manganese content is free!
Man....thought it sounded too good to be true. I love the War nickels too. You are right about the cheap prices. Thanks for clearing that up.
Deal |
I'm so sick over pennies....I frequently trade a dime or two for the whole "take-a-penny" container if sufficient coppers exist. That will get you some odd looks. |
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wolvesdad
Penny Collector Member
398 Posts |
Posted - 02/27/2008 : 12:12:56
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THe copper content is ALMOST negligable when compared to the silver.... about $0.90 of copper in $35 of silver.....
But if you DID melt them, the copper and manganese bay be enough to pay for all of your refining fees (maybe even 'and then some')
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"May your percentages ever increase!" |
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Miser-stro
Penny Sorter Member
74 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2008 : 02:11:09
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| Well then, they need to make an exploding nickel. Whats been the hold-up?? You could throw them at the bank tellers. |
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Topic |
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Hoarding Magnesium
