Well here’s an interesting tidbit. Apparently our money is worth more melted down that it is with all of the US Mint’s work done on it. Before you start firing up the coals, you might want to check in to the laws. I guess it’s illegal to melt money and I certainly don’t want to end up in prison. You know how the pecking order in prison works right? You get respect based on the crime you committed. While melting money won’t make you as weak as a child molester in jail, you certainly won’t get any respect from the murderers in there.
http://www.kirotv.com/money/10534107/detail.html
It was illegal to melt silver coins from 1967-1969, but now it’s apparently all right. Maybe the same will happen for copper coins.