Is It Illegal to Melt Pennies and Nickels?

Yes. Under federal rules in 31 CFR Part 82, it is illegal to melt or treat US 1-cent and 5-cent coins, or to export them, except in specific allowed cases. Violations can bring a fine of up to $10,000, up to five years in prison, or both. Owning, saving and selling pennies and nickels as coins remains perfectly legal.

The rule exists because copper cents and nickels can hold metal worth close to or more than their face value. The exceptions are narrow but practical: crafts and jewelry, small amounts carried abroad, collector shipments and incidental melting during recycling. Here's what each one means for you.

What exactly does the rule ban?

The regulation says no person may export, melt or treat US 1-cent or 5-cent coins, except as the rule allows. In plain terms, three activities are covered:

• Melting: heating coins down to recover the copper, zinc or nickel.
• Treating: processing coins in other ways, such as chemically or mechanically, to get at the metal.
• Exporting: sending coins out of the country beyond the allowed amounts.

The rule applies to every 1-cent and 5-cent coin, copper or zinc, old or new. It doesn't care whether a particular penny happens to be worth more than face. A worn 1995 zinc cent is covered the same as a 1965 copper one.

What's allowed and what isn't

This table sums up the exceptions as listed in the regulation. Read it as a summary, not legal advice.

Rules can change and the details matter, so confirm the current text with the US Mint or the official regulation before doing anything beyond everyday saving and crafting. For a legal question about your own plans, ask an attorney.

Why would anyone want to melt pennies?

Because of the metal. A 1959 to 1982 copper cent weighs 3.11 g and is 95% copper. Today that copper is worth about $0.0424 per coin, and the live table below compares it with nickels and silver war nickels.

Worked example: the math that worries the Mint

Picture a $25 bag of 2,500 copper cents. Each holds about 2.95 g of copper, so the bag holds about 7,386 g, or 16.3 pounds of copper. Say copper is $4.50 a pound, a round example. The metal would be worth about $73, almost three times the face value. Multiply that by millions of coins and you see why the government blocked mass melting while it was still minting cents.

You can watch the real number move on our live copper price chart. Just remember that, for pennies, the metal value is something you can calculate but not legally collect by melting. Our pillar guide on whether copper pennies are worth saving weighs up what that means for savers.

Real situations and how the rule applies

"I want to make a penny bracelet to sell at a craft fair."

The craft and jewelry exception covers treating coins for jewelry, novelties or crafts without intent to sell them for their metal value. Selling a finished bracelet as a bracelet fits the spirit of that. Selling a "bracelet" that's really just a lump of copper doesn't. Our guide to legal penny crafts and jewelry has more examples.

"My grandkids want to make pressed souvenir pennies."

Souvenir pressing machines turn a cent into a novelty, which is the kind of use the novelty exception describes. Nobody is recovering the metal.

"I'm moving overseas with a jar of change."

Carrying coins abroad is capped at $5 face value, or $25 if it's for numismatic, amusement, recreational or similar purposes. A big jar of cents goes over that quickly. Deposit the excess before you leave. Our page on rules for exporting pennies and nickels covers shipments too.

"I sold a collection of wheat cents to a buyer in Canada."

Shipping for numismatic purposes is allowed up to $100 face value per shipment. Most wheat cent collections sit well under that face value, but large lots may need to go in several shipments. Check the current rule first.

"A box of old copper wire I scrapped had a few pennies in it."

Incidental melting in recycling is one of the listed exceptions. The rule targets deliberate melting of coins for their metal, not stray cents in a scrap load.

"I have a roll of 1943 war nickels."

The 1942 to 1945 silver war nickels are exempt. Each holds 0.05626 ozt of silver, worth about $3.01. You can sell them to a dealer who buys them for silver, like any junk silver coin. See our war nickel silver guide to spot them by the large mint mark above Monticello.

Does the rule cover dimes, quarters and other coins?

No. The regulation names only 1-cent and 5-cent coins. Pre-1965 silver dimes, quarters and halves are regularly bought and sold for their silver content, and refiners melt them. That's one reason many people who want metal value choose silver coins over copper cents. Our guide to whether a nickel is worth more than 5 cents explains why nickels sit under the same ban as pennies.

Gold coins aren't covered by Part 82 either, though collectible gold coins are usually worth more intact.

What this means if you save copper cents

Plenty of people sort copper cents out of circulation and keep them. That's legal. The rule only bites when the coins are melted, treated or exported beyond the limits. So a saver's plan has to account for three facts.

1. Your exit is selling coins, not copper. Your buyer is a collector or another saver, and they face the same ban you do.
2. Metal value is a reference, not a payout. Our copper penny melt page shows what the copper is worth, but no refiner can legally buy your cents to melt them.
3. Weight adds up. A $100 face hoard of 10,000 copper cents weighs about 68.6 pounds, which matters for storage and shipping.

Some savers hold on in case the rule is ever relaxed. That's a guess about future policy, not something anyone can count on, so weigh it accordingly.

Penny melting rules at a glance

• Keep, save and sell pennies and nickels as coins freely.
• Don't melt or treat them to sell the metal. The penalty can reach $10,000 and five years.
• Crafts, jewelry and novelties are fine without intent to sell for metal value.
• Travel with no more than $5 face ($25 for numismatic or recreational purposes).
• Ship no more than $100 face per shipment, for use as money or numismatic purposes.
• Silver war nickels from 1942 to 1945 are exempt.
• Confirm current details with the US Mint or the regulation text.