I read somewhere (maybe on CathInfo--I can't remember) that we should hang on to nickels for the event of a collapse.

Does anybody know whether that sounds right and the reason for it?

Are there other coins to make a point of hanging on to?

I can see keeping the older coins that were actually minted with actual precious metals, but modern coins have virtually no real value other than the fact that merchants will accept them in payment for real goods and services.

I thought it was because the nickel is the only coin worth more than it's face value. So, if all of the US currency becomes worthless, that one will still be worth about what is now 6 cents. I don't know what that would do for you in a collapse, though. It would be a long time before anyone would be willing to trade for anything that they couldn't use or eat.

I read somewhere (maybe on CathInfo--I can't remember) that we should hang on to nickels for the event of a collapse.

Does anybody know whether that sounds right and the reason for it?

Are there other coins to make a point of hanging on to?

Nickels have the most inherent value compared to other modern coins, since nickel (25%) is the most valuable metal used today in stock American currency.  But whether they will be in high demand or not in the future is another question.  With extreme civil unrest, why would even gold or silver be of much interest to starving people, instead of food, water, or something that could obtain such things -- such as ammunition?

In 1943, copper was in high demand for the war effort, so pennies were minted of steel with a little zinc mixed in.  Today steel 1943 pennies sell for maybe two or three cents each, but the very few copper pennies that were struck with 1943 dies are valued at over $100,000 each.  Copper (and maybe nickel) might again be in high demand in a future war, but hoarding them in anticipation wouldn't be smarter than buying up ammo, for example.

The mostly-copper American cent prior to 1981 was replaced in 1982 with a zinc core (97.5%) that is only plated with copper for appearance (2.5%).  They say that durability is a key consideration in the choice of metals in minting coins, but these new zinc core cents don't hold up very well.  Once the copper is worn even in one tiny spot, the zinc inside quickly corrodes away.  I've found such pennies lying on the ground that are virtually unrecognizable in details such as the date stamp, but they might have been in the dirt for only a few months or years.  Some are rotted all the way through, and this would not have happened to a copper penny less than 200 years old.

Nickles today are 25% nickel and the balance (75%) is copper ("cupro-nickel").  Compared to the rest of the denominations, that's the highest nickel content.  The dime, quarter and half-dollar all have 8.3% nickel and 91.6% copper.
Presidential $1 coins and Native American $1 coins are made of manganese brass, with 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese and 2% nickel.  

(Brass is an alloy or blend of copper and zinc, while bronze is made of copper and tin.)

Nickel is not a precious metal, but only semi-precious, as copper likewise.  Zinc and manganese are not significantly more rare or valuable than is iron or steel.


If you want to collect something that will be in high demand for trading once a monetary crisis begins, you ought to consider stockpiling ammunition, especially .22 cal rimfire Long Rifle, .308 (or 7.62 mm), 30-30, .45 cal. and .38 cal.  (7 mm Remington, 12 ga shotgun shells, 30-06 and .44 magnum might be desirable as well, but not as much so as the former calibers.)



Data from chart on http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=8088
Denomination    Metal used    Composition (%)    Weight (g)    Diameter    Thickness (mm)    Edge    No. of Reeds

Cent    Copper-plated Zinc    2.5 Cu Balance Zn    2.500    0.750 in. (19.05 mm)    1.55    Plain    N/A

Nickel    Cupro-Nickel    25 Ni Balance Cu    5.000    0.835 in. (21.21 mm)    1.95    Plain    N/A

Dime    Cupro-Nickel    8.33 Ni Balance Cu    2.268    0.705 in. (17.91 mm)    1.35    Reeded    118

Quarter Dollar    Cupro-Nickel    8.33 Ni Balance Cu    5.670    0.955 in. (24.26 mm)    1.75    Reeded    119

Half Dollar    Cupro-Nickel    8.33 Ni Balance Cu    11.340    1.205 in. (30.61 mm)    2.15    Reeded    150

Presidential $1    Manganese-Brass    88.5 Cu 6 Zn 3.5 Mn 2Ni    8.1    1.043 in. (26.49 mm)    2.00    Edge- Lettering    N/A

Native American $1 Coin    Manganese-Brass    88.5% Cu 6 Zn 3.5 Mn 2 Ni    8.1    1.043 in. (26.49 mm)    2.00    Edge-Lettering    N/A

.

forever stamps??
Please explain that one. : )

I would go for "high end" coins, the kind of really rare and most choice stuff that tends to spiral upward in worth all the time, as there will always be an elite who will do much to obtain one of these extreme rarities, even in a devastated world.  Remember that the elite do have their own little corners of the earth that no one else knows about, situation in isolated parts of public lands and so forth (for they alone ARE "the people" who therefore privately own all that is "public," not us ordinary little ciphers or cattle).