Supposedly when the mint decided to start pulling the 1943 steel cents from circulation years ago they ended up dumping a bunch of them in the ocean to get rid of them. Some people consider that an urban legend but perhaps that could happen.
Steel was still steel. It would likely take more work to pack those on a ship and unload them in the ocean than just dumping them in a giant crucible and turning them into sheet or bar stock for industrial consumption.
This isn’t true. There’s transportation and refining costs. Steel being so cheap and considering the opportunity cost it absolutely could be cheaper to just use new steel and sell/trash/give away old shit.
Also depending on the price could have actually been less steel than they were worth, so selling/smelting would actually give out more cash than scrap value.
Steel was still steel. It would likely take more work to pack those on a ship and unload them in the ocean than just dumping them in a giant crucible and turning them into sheet or bar stock for industrial consumption.
This isn’t true. There’s transportation and refining costs. Steel being so cheap and considering the opportunity cost it absolutely could be cheaper to just use new steel and sell/trash/give away old shit.
Also depending on the price could have actually been less steel than they were worth, so selling/smelting would actually give out more cash than scrap value.