The American Spectator

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Nickels Redux

By Lawrence Henry on 9.17.08 @ 2:12PM

Some time ago, I wrote a column about how comparitively rare nickels were in circulation. It proved an unusually popular piece, getting some three dozen written responses and a radio interview. (The interviewer suggested I might have too much time on my hands.)

From today's USA Today:

One trucker died and two others were injured in a pre-dawn crash that left $182,000 worth of nickels on Interstate 95 near Orlando, the Sentinel says.

State troopers and federal agents "are securing the scene, while local members of the Treasury are en route," according to Florida Today. "The Treasury employees will pick up all the nickels."

By our calculations, the U.S. Mint will have to pick up 3.64 million coins.