The metal value of pre-1982 US pennies is $.017 (or 70% greater than face value), and a US nickel has a metal value of $.032 (or 64% of the face value). It is, however, illegal to melt down US coins for their metal value.

This is a pet peeve of mine, how we create coinage where the material cost alone is greater than the value of the finished product, not to mention the other production costs. Only in the government does this business model survive.

While visiting the US Mint in Philadelphia a few years ago, I asked the guard if they would ever get rid of the penny. "Never," he answered. "The Treasury has an ongoing contract to produce a certain quantity of coins, and they will never end that. We have warehouses full of coins we haven't released, and we still keep producing more to store in warehouses."