Why Collect Pre-1982 Pennies? A Flooded Market?

[Infector101]

I know the theory behind collecting pre-1982 pennies. The idea is to sell your 95% Cu pennies (worth about 2 cents a piece) to scrap yards after the government gets rid of the penny. My concern with this idea is that once the law is passed there is a waiting period before it goes into effect. During this waiting period I fear that the price of copper will drop on the commodities market due to the soon to be flooded copper market and those who have been hoarding pennies will only break even or worse in the long run. I've been running scrap for years and have watched the markets rise and fall like clockwork. The price rises, everyone cashes it, the market floods, and the price drops. Do any of you that are collecting copper pennies feel like this is a possibility?

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[rfishoutofwater]

i am in it for the long haul. Worse case i cash them in at face!

[Generic_Lad]

Any flood is likely to be temporary, I don't believe that there was a major long term decrease in silver prices when US silver coins were allowed to be melted for bullion and I don't see the same thing happening for copper. Sure, there will be an initial drop in price but it is likely to be short lived, not much longer than 2-3 months.

[jnb1994]

Any flood is likely to be temporary, I don't believe that there was a major long term decrease in silver prices when US silver coins were allowed to be melted for bullion and I don't see the same thing happening for copper. Sure, there will be an initial drop in price but it is likely to be short lived, not much longer than 2-3 months.

Ya this probably will happen. I think at this point the penny only has a couple years left. The US will probably follow canada and get rid of the penny. Everyone will sell copper and price plummets since there is a huge supply. But then wait a couple months/years (depends on how much profit you want) the price will go back up, and probably skyrocket higher than copper has ever been. Look at it this way: half dollars obviously aren't seen commonly. Go to a mcdonalds and order a big mac and you'll never get a half dollar in your chance. We just don't use them anymore. They are still being made, and are still legal tender but they are still not seen. You can still find silver and silver is at around 30 an ounce. When we get rid of the pennies you won't be able to get them anymore and copper will be the new silver

[SilverForBrains]

Yea plus what is the fraction of hoarded copper pennies to the total amount of scrap copper out there?

[Megagold]

My copper pennies are for my grandkids...,my silver, my gold, lol

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

IT SEEMS ODD TO THINK THAT WE CAN GET RID OF PENNIES WHEN WE CAN'T STOP THE PRICE OF A GALLON
OF GAS FROM COSTING ... $/CENTS/AND 9/10 CENTS.

I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CUT A PENNY INTO TEN PIECES SO I CAN BUY JUST ONE GALLON AT A TIME. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE OIL COMPANIES CHOKE ON THOSE LITTLE SHARDS OF COPPER!

MAYBE IT'S JUST ME BUT I GET INSULTED BY THE ATTITUDE THAT BIG OIL COMPANIES THINK THAT WE ARE ALL
SO STUPID, THAT WE THINK THAT THE FRACTION DOESN'T EXIST.

IMHO

[Generic_Lad]

Really we need to stop the debasement of the dollar ASAP. This chart is scary:

I don't think we have really begun to see the rise in prices that we will eventually see because so much of that money hasn't been loaned out... yet.

If you measure gas in terms of gold, or nearly any other commodity the price is falling

The reason we are paying so much is because so many more dollars have been created out of thin air by the Fed and incomes haven't risen anywhere close to meeting the increase in dollars.

[Rascal]

Here's a quick history lesson. There were two coins in high demand in Weimar Germany during the depression years: copper coins of any denomination, and American silver dollars - the latter because there was a shipment of them found in I believe Bremen that were infused into the local economy, saving them from the worst when it literally took a wheelbarrow to carry the paper bills needed for a single loaf of bread.

In a true breakdown copper cents are likely to be the silver dime of the 1940's in terms of real purchasing power. The zincolns? Tossed with the rest of the aluminum fake coins some countries have been peddling for decades.

Rascal

[Farchaus2k]

Such doom and gloom on this thread. Will we be able to use copper cents in the Thunder Dome??