Hey man, just stumbled upon your channel! I’m a hobby refiner (e-waste) and just wanted to shoot you a word of caution… That mask won’t protect your lungs from the brown NO2 fumes. There is no filtration type mask that can do the job. Cool video dude!
As a second refining tip, dilute your nitric more to allow more metals into solution (copper in this case), and add nitric slowly until fumes stop while on hot plate. That way you don’t have excess nitric that consumes the copper like I saw in the video. Also diluting the silver nitrite will allow silver to cement faster :) Great video, thanks for the upload! (Next up silver cell?) haha
That's a lot of work to refine those coins , guess I'm lazy I'd just buy silver already refined . Probably cheaper in the long run , cool video though . Be careful with those chemicals and fumes brother
I'm confused. Isn't doing what you're doing illegal it's okay to deface money as long as it's not used to make more money but you can't for instance take a bunch of pre 1980 Penny's and smelt them down and sell the the product because it's illegal. so why isn't this?
@@indyjh8133 its only illegal to destroy pennies (if youre oing it solely for the purpose of getting the copper, there actually are several legal exceptions) or nickels (again there are several exceptions) , except the silver ones. its extremely easy to find this information and the laws. online. melting 90% is 100% legal, as is melting 40% halves
You shouldn’t have any loss in the process you put the silver into solution with Nitric and then add hydrochloric to drop it out into silver chloride then convert the chloride to sulphate then melt it into button
Next time stir the solution the next day with the copper still in it. Some silver nitrate gets trapped in the cemented silver at the bottom. It will increase yields
I know this is an older video, but when you were costing out the experiment with the nitric acid, copper and water. You probably should also think about the cost of electricity with the beaker warmer and your forge. Just a thought, since they are both electric. Great Video, I was very fascinated in the topic.
You shouldn't get more than 40% by weight - but the outer layer of a 1965-1970 Kennedy will measure a higher silver % - since it has an outer layer of 80% silver, 20% copper, clad to a core of 79% copper, 21% silver; totaling 60% copper, 40% silver.
If that's the case,how is a 35% dollar face nickel fetch higher silver weight ( 1 Troy) that in which can't even in dollar face constitution peace/ Morgan ,it doesn't make good sense to me .@@mojavegold-
@@ChildersCastingandRefining thank you for responding! To do a specific gravity test do you need to know what other metals are in the alloy (other than silver)?
How much was the cost to do this? I watched the whole thing to find out and you just said it was a loss but you didn't give any specific figures. Thanks.
Hi... Nice channel. I have 6 lbs of computer pins and contacts from mostly old computers.. Just wondering if you want to work out a deal where we both would make out if you would like to do the refining.. thx
My second round of precipitating with copper the silver powder is a very dark grey opposed to the first round which is a very light color. Any idea why?
I noticed that with this batch too. I’m guessing the darker powder is less pure. That’s how it worked out for me. Not sure why though. I thoroughly rinsed it. Never worked with manganese before so I’ll have to research it. For you, was your copper clean? Did you use tap water? Something must be introducing impurities.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining distilled water.basically the exact process you used.i sanded some very clean copper bar stock.the first precipitate took about 8 hours and come out a very light grey powder. I precipitated again with same copper for over 24 hours and that batch was a dark grey like in this video.i will melt both batches separately this week and test. Great videos by the way!
@@awkfr6261 could be that you have other precious metals in solution like palladium etc, or that there was a small amount of excess nitric that ate up some of the copper and left tiny pieces of copper mixed with the silver. Rinse it well with distilled water until totally clear, and if you want to try to clean it up more, boil in hcl. If you see a color change, you’ll know there was other metals present. Green would be copper, orange would most likely be pd. then rinse with water until clear, and melt finally. Check hcl boil with stannous to be safe
Quick math and I knew the answer before I clicked the video. But a chunk of silver from 20 war nickels isn't worth as much as the coins because you have to prove it's pure silver to most buyers, and the quickest way to do that is hand them U.S. mint coins with silver. U.S. silver bullion and coins with silver always carries a premium over a poured bar or coin. Even if it's from a reputable private mint. A silver Morgan dollar isn't even a full ounce (or pure silver), but it's worth about the same as an ounce .999 bar from a non government mint. I don't even buy most bars. I only buy are silver eagles, U.S. "junk" coins, Euros, and Australian silver. The only bars I buy are Pamp. There's a premium on them for a reason.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining ahh makes sense, I had to wrap my head around the actual weight and not the face value - cool video, thanks for the content
It's illegal to melt pennies and nickels in the US, with some exceptions. This is to prevent people from hoarding or destroying these coins for their metal content, which can sometimes be more than their face value. Numismatic coins Melting coins that have numismatic or collector's value may be subject to stricter regulations or even prohibited. Numismatic coins may have value beyond their silver content due to their rarity or historical significance.
I don't see your specific gravity test as valid - you are suppose to see how much water you displace - you have to measure volume not grams to do that. There in fact should be no change in weight at all. You have suspended the silver so it isn't adding to the weight, and you haven't changed the beaker or the water amount.. so where is this figure coming from? Are you actually measuring the change in volume and multiplying by the weight of water displaced? To get specific gravity; you need the weight when you already had into the volume.
The displacement makes the water rise, inturn increases the weight on the scale. But it only my opinion. My other opinion is that this guy knows nothing about what hes doing. He should Maybe go learn from street tips
True, but for practical purposes, we use the SG of water = 1. Therefore wt = vol. The variance of the water SG with temperature at room temp is much lower than the sensitivity of his scale. Water SG = 1 at 4 deg C and about 1.0026 at room temp.
@@louwclaassens4988 right; but you do have to measure the change in volume of the displaced water correct? That isn't what he is doing so far as I can see; he is suggesting the scale is changing. Isn't that right?
@litestuffllc7249 the displaced water is equal to the volume of the object. Therefore the object volume will displace the same mass in water and it will register as such because you are "adding" a mass of "water"
Sounds like all this would cost way more in materials (not to mention time/labor) than the value of the silver...not to mention these DIY melting down of silver/copper coins looks REALLY dangerous if it's not done real careful-like.
Think its definitely not cost effective on 1 oz lol what's the cost i wonder 🤔 I see everyone telling it not worth buying them for 35% but a silver dollar is? 🤔 They have 90% but you'll never get a true ounce for $1 coin and it baffles me you can on nickels ???????? Anyone else thinks it doesn't make sense?😂 IMO war nickel and 40% ½ are THE best deals on silver prices to add cheap weight in ur stack . Even todays newest US issue coins wo any metal is great to have ,as you'll atleast get your monies worth in a shtf sinerio .( At beginning that is more so then Fiat bills)
@@ChildersCastingandRefining yes ,when you need 6 quarters to get ounce so it's more to buy ounce going by premium price at 31$ before anything else added so that's 45/46! Well it's 90% so it's like 22-26$ per face 1$ Thing positive Abt them is smaller incriminate buying power and it's well known.
I’m confused on your proposition of @ of silver in $1 face value of war Nichols. Spot on 90% constitutional reached $21.39 today 9/12/24. War Nichols are 35%. How is it possible to yield 1 Troy ounce. Today silver spot reached $30. So $1 of 35% is worth more than $1 of 90%?
It's because of the size and weight of a US war nickel. $1.00 face of 35% war nickels has 55% more silver than $1.00 face value of regular 90% silver coins.
Not when the price for precious metals exceed the face value of a government backed coin 😂 that's just what I heard, that's the melt value thingy that pops up everywhere?
Can I help you out your only going to get 35 percent or less because they made with 35 percent no more no less if you google it will tell you how many war nickels it takes to make ounce silver I think it’s 1 dollar and 40 cents worth ok this is not necessary at all
There are many exceptions such as if you are doing art with it, not selling the metal, and I think some others. I wonder how many cases have actually been brought for defacing currency?
It is legal to refined silver coins. It is also legal to deface them or whatever if not silver if not refining them. It is a myth that one cannot deface coins. Ever seen those cent presses in tourist shops that etch a design into it.
Just FYI: Any person who exports, melts, or treats 5-cent coins or one-cent coins of the United States in violation of § 82.1 shall be subject to the penalties specified in 31 U.S.C. 5111(d), including a fine of not more than $10,000 and/or imprisonment of not more than 5 years.
@@man2-tr8vc Separate exception. Under exception d) of the 5-cent and 1-cent regulations, all 5-cent coins inscribed with the years 1942, 1943, 1944, or 1945 that are composed of an alloy comprising copper, silver and manganese are exempted from the prohibition. This is separate from the exemption for artistic and educational purposes, which were established in the body of the regulatory text. I believe that war nickels were actually even exempted from the initial ban on melting the 90% silver coinage, because it was thought they no one would bother.
A simple Google search what show The 100+ people on this video crying about it being illegal that it is not illegal to melt these coins or any other silver coin for that matter. Not sure why so many people want to say something they are not certain of when we live in the age of infinite information at our finger tips
Not sure why everyone thinks this but you can definitely light on fire million dollars and hundred-dollar bills or meltdown as many silver coins as you want
Hey man, just stumbled upon your channel! I’m a hobby refiner (e-waste) and just wanted to shoot you a word of caution… That mask won’t protect your lungs from the brown NO2 fumes. There is no filtration type mask that can do the job. Cool video dude!
As a second refining tip, dilute your nitric more to allow more metals into solution (copper in this case), and add nitric slowly until fumes stop while on hot plate. That way you don’t have excess nitric that consumes the copper like I saw in the video.
Also diluting the silver nitrite will allow silver to cement faster :) Great video, thanks for the upload! (Next up silver cell?) haha
I have a lot more research to do before making a silver cell. Learning on the go, thanks.
Dang, I saw a guy using one while precipitating copper from the “waste” solution, and assumed it must be good for something.
That's a lot of work to refine those coins , guess I'm lazy I'd just buy silver already refined . Probably cheaper in the long run , cool video though . Be careful with those chemicals and fumes brother
I'm confused. Isn't doing what you're doing illegal it's okay to deface money as long as it's not used to make more money but you can't for instance take a bunch of pre 1980 Penny's and smelt them down and sell the the product because it's illegal. so why isn't this?
I love war nickels. Constitutional silver is for stacking. Destroying them for the silver content just seems wrong to me.
I agree.
well it is illegal to destroy money so i agree
I also agree
@@indyjh8133it’s not illegal to melt constitutional silver. It’s just dirty to melt. So not many people do it.
@@indyjh8133 its only illegal to destroy pennies (if youre oing it solely for the purpose of getting the copper, there actually are several legal exceptions) or nickels (again there are several exceptions) , except the silver ones. its extremely easy to find this information and the laws. online. melting 90% is 100% legal, as is melting 40% halves
My favorite part of this whole thing is how sketchy it is.... you and sreetips ar definatly polar oposite sides of the same coin
You shouldn’t have any loss in the process you put the silver into solution with Nitric and then add hydrochloric to drop it out into silver chloride then convert the chloride to sulphate then melt it into button
Yes, but human error is a factor (for me anyway).
Great Vid, love seeing the raw process!
9% Manganese is anything but "negligible."
Next time stir the solution the next day with the copper still in it. Some silver nitrate gets trapped in the cemented silver at the bottom. It will increase yields
be careful dropping items into your beakers... they have a tendency to have the bottoms break out.
Sage advice, "It's hard to move on from dying". Great video BTW.
I know this is an older video, but when you were costing out the experiment with the nitric acid, copper and water. You probably should also think about the cost of electricity with the beaker warmer and your forge. Just a thought, since they are both electric. Great Video, I was very fascinated in the topic.
I’m not sure how to accurately measure how much power they pull, but you are right.
Emry cloth works better that's what you use to clean pipe before sweating
Now do 40% kennedys and you will be shocked how much higher than 40% you get! #BOOM!
You shouldn't get more than 40% by weight - but the outer layer of a 1965-1970 Kennedy will measure a higher silver % - since it has an outer layer of 80% silver, 20% copper, clad to a core of 79% copper, 21% silver; totaling 60% copper, 40% silver.
If that's the case,how is a 35% dollar face nickel fetch higher silver weight ( 1 Troy) that in which can't even in dollar face constitution peace/ Morgan ,it doesn't make good sense to me .@@mojavegold-
you can put the water and the nitric together then pour it in
Very interesting video, I thought cement silver was above 97% pure so I’m confused
Human error can mess it up.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining thank you for responding! To do a specific gravity test do you need to know what other metals are in the alloy (other than silver)?
every time a war nickle is destroyed mine get more valuably? i dislike this, but "for science" is agreeable... so i am conflicted.
I love war nickels, and don’t think I’ll ever be doing this again.
Where sreetips when you need him😂
How much was the cost to do this? I watched the whole thing to find out and you just said it was a loss but you didn't give any specific figures. Thanks.
Refining multiple times is pretty standard.
Hi... Nice channel. I have 6 lbs of computer pins and contacts from mostly old computers.. Just wondering if you want to work out a deal where we both would make out if you would like to do the refining.. thx
Interesting science 🤔 experiment 🤔 😊
Definitely an experiment, not sure how scientific it is.
Nice job!
Thanks
I left a like because its for science
My second round of precipitating with copper the silver powder is a very dark grey opposed to the first round which is a very light color. Any idea why?
I noticed that with this batch too. I’m guessing the darker powder is less pure. That’s how it worked out for me. Not sure why though. I thoroughly rinsed it. Never worked with manganese before so I’ll have to research it.
For you, was your copper clean? Did you use tap water? Something must be introducing impurities.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining distilled water.basically the exact process you used.i sanded some very clean copper bar stock.the first precipitate took about 8 hours and come out a very light grey powder. I precipitated again with same copper for over 24 hours and that batch was a dark grey like in this video.i will melt both batches separately this week and test. Great videos by the way!
@@awkfr6261 could be that you have other precious metals in solution like palladium etc, or that there was a small amount of excess nitric that ate up some of the copper and left tiny pieces of copper mixed with the silver.
Rinse it well with distilled water until totally clear, and if you want to try to clean it up more, boil in hcl. If you see a color change, you’ll know there was other metals present. Green would be copper, orange would most likely be pd. then rinse with water until clear, and melt finally. Check hcl boil with stannous to be safe
The dark colour , Its the copper he used, knockout should fix it, with borax when melting
Quick math and I knew the answer before I clicked the video.
But a chunk of silver from 20 war nickels isn't worth as much as the coins because you have to prove it's pure silver to most buyers, and the quickest way to do that is hand them U.S. mint coins with silver.
U.S. silver bullion and coins with silver always carries a premium over a poured bar or coin. Even if it's from a reputable private mint.
A silver Morgan dollar isn't even a full ounce (or pure silver), but it's worth about the same as an ounce .999 bar from a non government mint.
I don't even buy most bars. I only buy are silver eagles, U.S. "junk" coins, Euros, and Australian silver. The only bars I buy are Pamp. There's a premium on them for a reason.
Very true.
Add some borax when melting
Diggin the left handed hot plate tho
So cool!
@9:07 what brand of natural-rubber chlorinated black gloves are you wearing? unlined? trident?
30 years of no mask or gloves and I’m still breathing
You just need a copper rod to stick in there doesn't need to be cut up
oh that's gore... that's gore of my comfort character
I'm confused- if $1.40 in 90% = 1 oz,
how does only $1.00 in 35% = 1 oz?
The nickels weigh more and it takes 20 of them to make a dollar vs. 4 quarters or 10 dimes.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining ahh makes sense, I had to wrap my head around the actual weight and not the face value - cool video, thanks for the content
Isn't melting or destroying any U.S. coins illegal? Seems like I remember reading that somewhere.
Not if it’s silver coinage. I recently made a short showing that.
It's illegal to melt pennies and nickels in the US, with some exceptions. This is to prevent people from hoarding or destroying these coins for their metal content, which can sometimes be more than their face value.
Numismatic coins
Melting coins that have numismatic or collector's value may be subject to stricter regulations or even prohibited. Numismatic coins may have value beyond their silver content due to their rarity or historical significance.
@@matthewbarratt1040War Nickels are an exception.
th-cam.com/users/shortsFn3g2zkhLhA?si=JBM2buS16R1rfYX9
Will this this work for other junk silver coins?
Yes
Bu Numbers would be a good bit higher!
I don't see your specific gravity test as valid - you are suppose to see how much water you displace - you have to measure volume not grams to do that. There in fact should be no change in weight at all. You have suspended the silver so it isn't adding to the weight, and you haven't changed the beaker or the water amount.. so where is this figure coming from? Are you actually measuring the change in volume and multiplying by the weight of water displaced? To get specific gravity; you need the weight when you already had into the volume.
The displacement makes the water rise, inturn increases the weight on the scale. But it only my opinion. My other opinion is that this guy knows nothing about what hes doing. He should Maybe go learn from street tips
True, but for practical purposes, we use the SG of water = 1. Therefore wt = vol. The variance of the water SG with temperature at room temp is much lower than the sensitivity of his scale. Water SG = 1 at 4 deg C and about 1.0026 at room temp.
@@louwclaassens4988 right; but you do have to measure the change in volume of the displaced water correct? That isn't what he is doing so far as I can see; he is suggesting the scale is changing. Isn't that right?
@litestuffllc7249 the displaced water is equal to the volume of the object. Therefore the object volume will displace the same mass in water and it will register as such because you are "adding" a mass of "water"
Thinking of melting down all my slick STQs and mercury dimes.
don’t
1 1/8 is not 1.25
Good catch
Yes but 1.126 is very close which he said at the beginning of the video.
Cool video
Sounds like all this would cost way more in materials (not to mention time/labor) than the value of the silver...not to mention these DIY melting down of silver/copper coins looks REALLY dangerous if it's not done real careful-like.
Definitely, it’s just for fun.
This read my mind im freaked
Think its definitely not cost effective on 1 oz lol what's the cost i wonder 🤔
I see everyone telling it not worth buying them for 35% but a silver dollar is? 🤔 They have 90% but you'll never get a true ounce for $1 coin and it baffles me you can on nickels ???????? Anyone else thinks it doesn't make sense?😂
IMO war nickel and 40% ½ are THE best deals on silver prices to add cheap weight in ur stack .
Even todays newest US issue coins wo any metal is great to have ,as you'll atleast get your monies worth in a shtf sinerio .( At beginning that is more so then Fiat bills)
Even 90% isn’t cost effective. The original coin is always worth more.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining yes ,when you need 6 quarters to get ounce so it's more to buy ounce going by premium price at 31$ before anything else added so that's 45/46!
Well it's 90% so it's like 22-26$ per face 1$
Thing positive Abt them is smaller incriminate buying power and it's well known.
Cool video man!
New sub
Been a sub to sreetips from his start, guessing you are too.
Not from his start, but have been subbed for a while.
I’m confused on your proposition of @ of silver in $1 face value of war Nichols.
Spot on 90% constitutional reached $21.39 today 9/12/24. War Nichols are 35%. How is it possible to yield 1 Troy ounce. Today silver spot reached $30. So $1 of 35% is worth more than $1 of 90%?
It's because of the size and weight of a US war nickel. $1.00 face of 35% war nickels has 55% more silver than $1.00 face value of regular 90% silver coins.
I don't like nickels war nickels I heard they're 35% AG most smelters don't like them, they want 90 or more.
I like them, don’t know why, maybe because I find them more often in change.
In Australia it's illegal to melt currency, cool video
It is in the USA too lmao
Not when the price for precious metals exceed the face value of a government backed coin 😂 that's just what I heard, that's the melt value thingy that pops up everywhere?
It's also against the law to counterfeit and laundry it too ,but government does it all the time LMAO 🤣
Biden is smurfing and the feds are counterfeiting 😂😂😂
Not illegal in any country if refining silver from coins.
1 1/8 = 1.125 so you did great
YOU CAN REFINE 35% SILVER FROM EACH NICKEL ... AND THEY ARE WORTH MORE AS A NICKEL THEN YOU WILL EVER GET FROM THE SILVER VALUE.
Making money wasn’t the goal.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining WHY WOULD YOU BE OK WITH LOSING MONEY FOR ANY REASON???
You need vacuum breaker
I could use a lot of better stuff. Lol
Roughly $25 worth of silver?
Around $30 based off today’s prices.
Wow it’s over $35 in 2024
Federal law prohibts destruction of U S. Currency ?
Not silver coinage.
Cool video, but I’m sure you could’ve found something else to demonstrate other than using coins that can’t be reproduced.
If you want to see how much silver you can truly get from war nickels, you have to use war nickels.
@@ChildersCastingandRefining indeed I suppose.
Is this legal???
Yes, but only with silver coins. You can’t do this with copper Pennies yet.
@@ChildersCastingandRefiningAlso can't refined nickels not made from silver, the ones made from copper and nickel in current circulation.
Can I help you out your only going to get 35 percent or less because they made with 35 percent no more no less if you google it will tell you how many war nickels it takes to make ounce silver I think it’s 1 dollar and 40 cents worth ok this is not necessary at all
You're a bit slow huh?
Plus cost of time
Always
Nickels are still a form of currency. I'm not sure you should be defacing US currency.
It’s legal. Some still think you shouldn’t do it.
Defacing? He's melting big difference. Also you can do anything with your own money including make jewelry or even fishing lures
Isn't it illegal to deface US currency?
There are many exceptions such as if you are doing art with it, not selling the metal, and I think some others. I wonder how many cases have actually been brought for defacing currency?
Entertainment purposes are perfectly legal.
It is legal to refined silver coins. It is also legal to deface them or whatever if not silver if not refining them. It is a myth that one cannot deface coins. Ever seen those cent presses in tourist shops that etch a design into it.
Is It Illegal To Melt War Nickels? #shorts
th-cam.com/users/shortsFn3g2zkhLhA?feature=share
Holy Jesus can you talk and talk and talk.
Bro gloves!!!!!
very cool. only thing id suggest for next time is wearing gloves
Just FYI: Any person who exports, melts, or treats 5-cent coins or one-cent coins of the United States in violation of § 82.1 shall be subject to the penalties specified in 31 U.S.C. 5111(d), including a fine of not more than $10,000 and/or imprisonment of not more than 5 years.
Silver coins are exempt.
You're destroying history!!!! It feels wrong!!!!
This is sad
😔
stop what you are doing. it is illegal. you are defacing money.
War Nickels are exempt.
th-cam.com/users/shortsFn3g2zkhLhA?si=4kuQ7mhf-j2DYKlY
This is Illegal
Nope. It’s not. All pre-65 silver coins and nickels minted between 42 and 45 are legal to melt.
@@pubsociology2945yes it is, it is illegal to deface and melt them for profit, but it is not for educational or art purposes
@@man2-tr8vc Separate exception. Under exception d) of the 5-cent and 1-cent regulations, all 5-cent coins inscribed with the years 1942, 1943, 1944, or 1945 that are composed of an alloy comprising copper, silver and manganese are exempted from the prohibition. This is separate from the exemption for artistic and educational purposes, which were established in the body of the regulatory text. I believe that war nickels were actually even exempted from the initial ban on melting the 90% silver coinage, because it was thought they no one would bother.
A simple Google search what show The 100+ people on this video crying about it being illegal that it is not illegal to melt these coins or any other silver coin for that matter. Not sure why so many people want to say something they are not certain of when we live in the age of infinite information at our finger tips
@@mattm3492 I found that out
Money is government property. I am thinking destroying government property is against the law
Definitely not against the law
@@mattm3492 you might want to look that up because it is
It’s only against the law if you try to spend it after defacing it. Otherwise you’re just buying the coins at face value.
@@zyllofmitain hi when you get a chance look it up destroying US currency is against the law please look it up
Silver coins have an exception. Pretty sure copper pennies are still illegal to melt and/or refine.
Destroying history for clicks. Hooray.
Excuse me destroying us coinage or currency is a crime even for older monies
Not sure why everyone thinks this but you can definitely light on fire million dollars and hundred-dollar bills or meltdown as many silver coins as you want
Silver coinage has an exception.
What are you, a coin cop
I like this video, but you do know that's illegal, though....I hope....and you posted the evidence on TH-cam
It's not illegal. Silver coins are refined legally.
Is It Illegal To Melt War Nickels? #shorts
th-cam.com/users/shortsFn3g2zkhLhA?feature=share
@12:28 what brand and length are these gloves?
Thxtoms, 18”
A dent is NOT A LOSS of Silver.🤪
😂
Pointless