As the value of nickel continues to escalate, I decided to write a little piece on the intriguing concept of nickel bullion.

Many older Canadian nickels have the unique feature of actually being made out of nickel.  As Canada is a primary producer of nickel, for many years these coins were minted out of .999 nickel planchets, now making them much more valuable than the face value based on metal content alone.  The Royal Canadian Mint has not made pure nickel coins since 1981 and moved to cupronickel (75% copper/25% nickel) until mid 2001 and then switched to nickel plated steel due to cost.

Like so called "junk silver" coins, they have begun to become collectors items due to the fact that they are worth more "dead than alive".  While it is currently illegal to melt Canadian nickels in Canada, many people believe that they have a premium value due to content and have begun trading at a premium to face value, much like the "junk silver" coins of the '60's and earlier.

Unlike "junk silver" coins, nickels struck in nickel are pure, making them much more tradeable, as no secondary metal has to be seperated out of them to establish a true value.  Also, with each coin weighing 4.54 grams, they divide very nicely into even lots.  100 Canadian nickels = 1 pound of pure nickel.

For year by year specs, goto coinscan.com

Current "melt" values of Canadian coins can be found at coinflation.com/canada/

If you have any questions, send me an email, I will help if I can.  Also, if you found this guide helpful, please vote!

Thanks for your interest and happy hunting.