Schiff's Nickel Pitch: Melt Value Premium, Legal Blockade

Peter Schiff is recommending that investors purchase nickels in place of US Treasury bonds. He contends that the copper and nickel in each coin currently have a higher value than the bond market offers.

Schiff estimated the melt value at 7.76 cents, approximately 55% greater than its face value. But a federal prohibition prevents anyone from melting down these coins.

The nickel and copper in modern nickels are now worth 7.76 cents, 55% more than the cost of buying nickels from the bank at face value. The U.S. government stopped making pennies last year. Soon it may stop making nickels too. Buy yours while you can. Much better than Treasuries.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) September 8, 2026

The Unconventional Math Behind Schiff's Nickel Advice

On Tuesday, copper closed at $6.69 per pound on COMEX, marginally below its August record. Nickel settled at $16,776 per metric ton. Each nickel coin contains 3.75 grams of copper and 1.25 grams of nickel.

Using those prices, the metal content is worth 7.63 cents, about 53% above face value. So Schiff's figure of 7.76 cents is fairly close. Additionally, copper reached a new record in London on Tuesday, as traders braced for US tariffs on refined copper.

Schiff's warning about supply also appears valid. In fiscal 2025, the US Mint spent 13.31 cents to produce and ship each nickel, meaning taxpayers pay more than double the coin's face value. The Mint produced its last circulating penny in November of the previous year.

Legal Barriers to the Nickel Melt Trade

But Schiff's nickel investment idea runs into a legal barrier. Critics in the replies to his post pointed out this issue, and they are correct. Under US regulation 31 CFR Part 82, melting or exporting five-cent and one-cent coins is prohibited. Offenders face up to $10,000 in fines and five years in prison.

Schiff dismissed the objection.

You don't have to melt them. They will hold their value.

However, that response ignores the practicalities. A nickel weighs five grams. So $10,000 worth of nickels would weigh one metric ton. To invest $100,000, one would need to store 10 tons of coins.

In contrast, the 10-year Treasury note yielded 4.77% on September 3 and requires no storage space.

This advice aligns with Schiff's long-standing criticism of Bitcoin and paper assets, which has been sharpened by record US debt and rising yields.

Thus, the premium exists in theory, but it is locked inside coins that cannot be legally melted. The key question is whether the Mint will also discontinue the nickel, which would determine if the investment ever pays off.