(copying the comment I made on the blog)<p>If you are "buying" nickels for the metals, it would appear the value exceeds the cost.<p>The way the statement about cost and value is phrased implies that the value of the coin is equivalent to the face value--which is incorrect. The value provided by the nickel is its usefulness as a tool to perform transactions. When the mint mints a nickel, it is not adding five cents to the GDP.<p>Micropayment is still an unsolved problem.