Penny Box -- this seems like a good one???

[FL Junkman]

I don't usually search penny boxes but one of my banks had no nickels on Friday so I opted for a penny box instead. After completing this box I had 2,228 coppers, 1981 or older which included 53 wheats and 18 misc. year "S" mintmarks after 1958. I didn't count the 1982 pennies as copper even though some of them are. I find it strange to get a box with this many coppers, a sealed Brinks box. Any ideas as to how this could have happened??

The wheats included:

1911
1917
1920
1929
1934
1937
1939 (2)
1940
1940D
1941
1941D
1942
1944
1945 (4)
1945S
1946 (3)
1947D
1949
1949S
1950D (2)
1951
1951D
1952
1952D (3)
1953D
1954D (2)
1956 (2)
1956D (3)
1957 (2)
1957D (7)
1958 (2)
1958D

I'm going back to this same bank tomorrow and see if I can get another box or two. Maybe there's other boxes like this. HH

FL Junkman

 

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[AzHal]

Very nice find on th 11 and 17. I looked at 8 plastic rolled pennies this last week and found a 1916 boy was I surprised.

 

[GMan00001]

Sounds like someone cashed in a cache of coins that had been sitting somewhere for about 25 years.

 

[treasurefiend]

Great finds on the wheats!!! The reason why so many copper pennies were found is that its not worth saving anymore. A roll of copper cent(s) has 50 coins and is valued at $0.47 when copper is at $1.4275 / lb
Below is a copy from http://www.coinflation.com/coins/basemetal_coin_calculator.html

Total Face Value: $22.28
Coin Type: 1909-1982 Lincoln Copper Cent
Copper Price: $1.4275 / pound
Zinc Price: $0.4723 / pound

Answer:
Total melt value is $21.08.
(exact value is $21.076917213539)

Statistics:
» There are 14.5122 pounds of copper and 0.7638 pounds of zinc in $22.28 face value of copper cent(s).
» A roll of copper cent(s) has 50 coins and is valued at $0.47 when copper is at $1.4275 / lb and zinc at $0.4723 / lb (exact value is $0.47300083513327).

 

[GMan00001]

Great finds on the wheats!!! The reason why so many copper pennies were found is that its not worth saving anymore. A roll of copper cent(s) has 50 coins and is valued at $0.47 when copper is at $1.4275 / lb
Below is a copy from http://www.coinflation.com/coins/basemetal_coin_calculator.html

Total Face Value: $22.28
Coin Type: 1909-1982 Lincoln Copper Cent
Copper Price: $1.4275 / pound
Zinc Price: $0.4723 / pound

Answer:
Total melt value is $21.08.
(exact value is $21.076917213539)

Statistics:
» There are 14.5122 pounds of copper and 0.7638 pounds of zinc in $22.28 face value of copper cent(s).
» A roll of copper cent(s) has 50 coins and is valued at $0.47 when copper is at $1.4275 / lb and zinc at $0.4723 / lb (exact value is $0.47300083513327).

That wouldn't explain the high number of wheats though, in my opinion.

 

[treasurefiend]

No, not the wheats. I usuially pull 15-20 wheats out of a penny box but sometimes more sometimes less.

 

[mistergee]

i thought all 1982's were copper

 

[Shake-N-Bake]

i thought all 1982's were copper

Some are some are not. they switched mid year.

Jason

 

[JoeSwindell]

Yeh for a while I was saving the 82's and down, well really the 81's so I didn't have to look. But it just got overwhelming with the amount of pennies! Congrats on all the wheats though! I have a much lower success per box, maybe 4-10!!

 

[dp2013]

Great box. It normally takes me 4 boxes to get that much copper.
As for the 82's it seems they are 80% or more copper. If you are hand sorting and hoarding it's worth it to get a cheapo small scale on ebay (about $7 including shipping).
The coppers weigh 3.1 grams the zinc 2.5

 

[TxTim]

Great box. It normally takes me 4 boxes to get that much copper.
As for the 82's it seems they are 80% or more copper. If you are hand sorting and hoarding it's worth it to get a cheapo small scale on ebay (about $7 including shipping).
The coppers weigh 3.1 grams the zinc 2.5

Yes - exceptional box.
Run the 82's by the coil on your GMT - should tell you the copper vs zinc.

 

[tank014]

How do you tell wether an 82 is copper or zinc. Also how do you know wether it is a small date or a large date

 

[mick56]

How do you tell wether an 82 is copper or zinc. Also how do you know wether it is a small date or a large date

Here's a cheapy way to tell. I made a scale by cutting off the head of an aluminum nail and gluing it in the exact center of a popsicle stick. Put a copper penny on one side, and the 1982 on the other. Very easy to see if they are the same weight or not.

 

[GMan00001]

How do you tell wether an 82 is copper or zinc. Also how do you know wether it is a small date or a large date

Here's a cheapy way to tell. I made a scale by cutting off the head of an aluminum nail and gluing it in the exact center of a popsicle stick. Put a copper penny on one side, and the 1982 on the other. Very easy to see if they are the same weight or not.

I have done a similar trick using a multi-sided pencil and without the glue. Though if you are going to do a lot....use the glue as its painfully slow to keep recentering the stick (or ruler).

 

[1996]

I was just sitting here, thinking about your post, and it really, really doesn't make sense not to save the 82s. Here is my reason for thinking this. I went through $110.00 in pennies. Out of these, I found more than 3 full rolls of 1982 copper large date cents (denver and philladelphia(philly right?)) A single 1982 copper small date cent. And 18 cents that were either zinc lg. date, zinc sm. date, zinc D lg. date, or zinc D sm. date.
So, from a collectors stand point, I would consider the zinc 1982 cents more valuable than the copper 1982 cents, because they are more rare. (I guess they started production of the zinc cents late in the year?)
If you are more interested in saving them for the copper value, it's not a 50/50 mixture you are letting go, it's more like a 89/11 ratio.
Also, I bought a cheap scale several months ago for a more taboo subject than weighing pennies, but I am constantly using it for different things. I think a cheap scale is a good investment that you will find very useful. I gave, like 10 bucks for mine, from a hong kong ebay seller, and I've carried it all over the place in my pocket and such, and it still works like a champ.
That being said, save the 1982s, and if you don't want the zincs, send them to me!!
Just my opinion.

 

[theeteetotaler]

from what i have heard brinks was sorting Cu and now with the price drop they probably have released it all back into the wild, the high wheat count would make sense considering your box was 90% Cu.

 

[Yinzi50]

This just happened to me too. In Nov. 16-19th I was in downtown Philly (Market Street) for professional conference. I got a penny box from Brinks and it contained all pre-1982 pennies except a few 2008. Not a single one in between 1983-2007. I found more than 50 wheats and the oldest was 1910. Next day bought another box, the content was the same.

The third day I went to the bank again but no luck.

I support the "Brinks dump the copper hoard" theory. Try one at your local area.

 

[1996]

This just happened to me too. In Nov. 16-19th I was in downtown Philly (Market Street) for professional conference. I got a penny box from Brinks and it contained all pre-1982 pennies except a few 2008. Not a single one in between 1983-2007. I found more than 50 wheats and the oldest was 1910. Next day bought another box, the content was the same.

The third day I went to the bank again but no luck.

I support the "Brinks dump the copper hoard" theory. Try one at your local area.

I'd bite, but I don't have however much a penny box costs at the moment. Maybe after Christmas.

 

[mistergee]

In Nov. 16-19th I was in downtown Philly (Market Street) for professional conference.

hey stay out of my hunting grounds just kidding center city is tuff on halfs though...i should try some other denominations ...sounds like there may be some good stuff in the smaller face coins