Don't Melt Down Those Pennies or Nickels

The value of the metal in a nickel is now 6.99 cents, while the penny's metal is worth 1.12 cents, according to the U.S. Mint.

Prices for zinc, which accounts for nearly all of the metal in the penny, have risen 134 percent this year, according to the London Metal Exchange.

Even accounting for a recent decline, the price of copper is up 50 percent since the start of 2006.

But people who melt pennies or nickels to profit from the jump in metals prices could face jail time and pay thousands of dollars in fines, according to new rules set up by the U.S. Mint.

See article in USA Today.

See article in WSJ.