Originally Posted by
genec
I can't fathom the reward in such effort? What would the metal from the coins be used for? I suppose it might make sense of silver quarters, but nickels???
Back when the phrase originated, the coins were made of silver, including nickels. Heck, it used to be worth the time to shave silver and gold off the edges of coins. That's apparently why coins have edge decoration now (the ridges) - to show when they've been tampered with.