PENNY CONFUSION

[eric273]

If I hoard pennies minted before 1982 (95% copper) Other than ebay is there a way to get more than 1 penny?
Everywhere it says if you hoard those pennies then in a couple years theyll lift the ban on melting and Ill be paid more Is there any truth in this. Also is there any reason to make a collection like this anyway. Currently I am going to the bank (Ive done this twice) getting 20 rolls of pennies and sorting out the Wheaties 2009, 2010, 2011 (New Design Pennys) and Canadians and putting all of the rest in a plastic bag (Not sorting copper from zinc or anything like that) Is this a start? Does anyone have any suggestions for a better collection or hoard or what I should be doing. I really like pennys. I also would like to know which ones to trade back to the bank for more and which ones to keep in my hoard and how to tell the diff.

 

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[Demon_Wolf]

People are saving the 1982 and older cents hoping that one day the U.S. Government will stop making the cent for circulation. If so the ban on melting the cent would be lifted and you then could melt them down and sell them for scrap copper. Also make sure you seperate the Canadian Cents from the U.S. Cents. So far from what I understand Canadian Cents are not part of the law stating you can't melt them down. Looking at coinflation the U.S. cent is worth almost 3 cents in copper so if you save them you should almost make a 200% profit on selling them if the ban ever lifts. Good Luck And Happy Hunting!!!

 

[stefen]

If you like pennies then start collecting the best examples you can find. In fact, investing in Flying Eagles pennies is worthwhile....worth anywhere from the low end of $30 to several thousand $$$

Here is an uncirculated sample with a starting bid of $200...

A good collection is worth far more as an investment than rat-holing a ton of coppers. Its easy to buy pennies but a loser when trying to sell.

If you are looking to make a real profit then save your pennies and buy stock or real estate and save pennies only as a hobby.

 

[Rockin Chairs Gold]

I am now and have saved copper cents I locate detecting for some time, and from pocket change (many still in circulation). I to feel they will in the not to distant future stop production on cents and you will be able to melt and sell the copper which is worth much more then their face value.

I have a simple and quick way to tell the two apart without trying to read the dates (old eyes). I own a couple electronic scales and the Zinc cents way in at 2.4 gr and the copper cent weighs in at 3.1 gr. You can sort through a bunch this was in a very short time. I presently own many quart jars full of copper pennies. They averrage about 8 lbs to a quart jar.

Just my two cents worth. Rick

 

[Frankn]

And when people start melting them to get the copper price, the ones that aren't melted become more valuable to collectors. Think about that. Frank

 

[Snarkie]

I started saving my pennies when I was around 7 years old. My thought at the time, was that I could always scrap them. I was told (in 1976) that they would never be worth more than a penny for copper. Being made of copper, this was true, but when they switched, that all changed.

A few years ago, I finally cashed in a lifetime's worth of pennies (some 35 years). I had 5 gallons, weighing an impressive 130 pounds. My dad and I went through them all, sorting out the Wheats and Canadians, and rolling the rest. What was left, allowed me to buy a firearm, which is worth more to me than copper scrap value, so I feel I came out ahead.

One thing to remember though, as far as melting pennies for copper; once it's melted, who the hell is going to know it used to be pennies?

 

[mts]

I am now and have saved copper cents I locate detecting for some time, and from pocket change (many still in circulation). I to feel they will in the not to distant future stop production on cents and you will be able to melt and sell the copper which is worth much more then their face value.

I have a simple and quick way to tell the two apart without trying to read the dates (old eyes). I own a couple electronic scales and the Zinc cents way in at 2.4 gr and the copper cent weighs in at 3.1 gr. You can sort through a bunch this was in a very short time. I presently own many quart jars full of copper pennies. They averrage about 8 lbs to a quart jar.

Just my two cents worth. Rick

My "simple and quick" way to sort them is to use my detector. I put the discrimination on the highest setting and my detector beeps a low tone for zinc cents and a high tone for copper ones. It's much faster than weighing but slower than a rhydale. I can sort them at less than one second per cent.

 

[diggummup]

I don't know, i'm saving the pre '82 cents. Why?.....more like why not? Maybe one day they'll pay off. One thing's for sure, it's not gonna put me in the poor house doing it.

 

[mfitzy111]

you guys might want to look in to saving rolls of nickels -as they honestly are due to be changed to some other (likely clad) cheaper metal and have a worth of about eight cents right now per coin, I've been told that when it reaches ten cents- likely this may, the coins will get pulled out of circulation. best to google, but people have been buying them by the $200 dollar boxes from the banks and stashing them in basements in ammo cans! .... some people really remember back in 1964 when all the silver got removed from the last of the real coins and they don't want to miss out this time on the nickels. (or so I've been reading on survivalblog.com) - read some place $188 in nickels will fit in an ammo can. Good luck on that one...

 

[mts]

you guys might want to look in to saving rolls of nickels -as they honestly are due to be changed to some other (likely clad) cheaper metal and have a worth of about eight cents right now per coin, I've been told that when it reaches ten cents- likely this may, the coins will get pulled out of circulation. best to google, but people have been buying them by the $200 dollar boxes from the banks and stashing them in basements in ammo cans! .... some people really remember back in 1964 when all the silver got removed from the last of the real coins and they don't want to miss out this time on the nickels. (or so I've been reading on survivalblog.com) - read some place $188 in nickels will fit in an ammo can. Good luck on that one...

At today's price, nickels are worth 6.7 cents each. There are pros and cons to hoarding nickels:

Pros:
- You don't have to sort them. Just buy them and store them.

Cons:
- My understanding is that it is harder to separate the nickel from the copper when dealing with nickels. This makes them less desirable for melting. The cost of processing them reduces your profits.
- The melt value of nickels is currently only 34% above face value. The melt value of copper cents is currently 180% above face value.
- Nickels contain a lot less "precious" metal per price paid. A nickel has 3.75g of copper and 1.25g of nickel. You pay 5 cents for those metals. This equates to paying 1 cent per gram for copper and 1 cent per gram for nickel. For copper cents, you get 2.95g of copper for only 1 cent. Put another way, if I buy $1000 worth of copper cents I get about 650 pounds of copper (plus 35 pounds of zinc). If I buy $1000 worth of nickels I get 165 pounds of copper and 55 pounds of nickel. Of course, if nickel ends up skyrocketing way above the value of copper then nickels would benefit greatly. Nickel currently costs $11.54 per pound while copper is only $4.24 per pound.

So I'm not bashing saving nickels. Just trying to lend some perspective. Heck, why not save both?!?! But if I could only save one I think I'd go for cents and just work a little harder at it. Copper cents are almost pure copper which makes them a more attractive investment (that is, until nickel goes through the roof!). I wonder though if there are more industrial uses for copper than there are nickel?