Another question for you "MD'ing Veterans"... SCRAP METALS recovered.....

[TheRockDoc]

So I am new to this addiction/obsession...obviously. The other day, I am out swinging and a fellow detector says to me, do you save brass? My immediate answer was..... "I dont know". Once he heard my answer, he knew I was a neophite. He then mentioned that the last time he turned in his brass, it was like 300 or 400 bucks or something like that, several hundred dollars anyways. He then says that orange brass is worth even more. Since then, I have saved everything that is orange(ish) metal. I am hoping I can get some feedback as to what metals pay enough for scrap that it is worth dealing with saving up/storing, and then taking to the scrapyard to cash in?

My next question is, how do you tell what type of metal it is? I am hoping there is an easier way besides life's most common answer.... that being, "you just learn"... So yeah, what should I be saving for scrap, and how do I identify it?


Thanks again everyone I appreciate the great info that is a product of Tnet.

Happy hunting.

[Jason in Enid]

Well, part of the learning is just digging and seeing conditions. Iron is rusty. Aluminum (old aluminum) will be pitted with whitish gunk. Copper turns green. Brass turns brown. Zinc desintigrates into nothing. If you aren't sure what a piece of your junk is, scratch it up with some sandpaper.

Keep a few buckets for your scraps to go into. When you fill a bucket, take it into the recycler / junk dealer.

[Keppy]

Well seeing 467 post's here never thought of you as a neophyte = " new " & Jason gave you some good info.......

[TheRockDoc]

Well seeing 467 post's here never thought of you as a neophyte = " new " & Jason gave you some good info.......

Thanks Keppy, I see how that would be questionable... I found this site by searching for info about silver coins, and coin roll hunting, It was several months that I came to this site only for the coin roll hunting forum. I then starting reading about dirtfishing and then in september bought an etrac for my first machine. I literally had never even picked up or held a detector before I got the etrac shipped to me. I hadnt even, still havent actually even been with anyone who also detects, I have been flying solo since I got it. I feel good about where I am at though, I have 5 silvers so far, (3 of them have come this year already!).

So I'm only a neophite when it comes to metal detecting, I been CRH'ing since May of last year.

[TheRockDoc]

Well, part of the learning is just digging and seeing conditions. Iron is rusty. Aluminum (old aluminum) will be pitted with whitish gunk. Copper turns green. Brass turns brown. Zinc desintigrates into nothing. If you aren't sure what a piece of your junk is, scratch it up with some sandpaper.

Keep a few buckets for your scraps to go into. When you fill a bucket, take it into the recycler / junk dealer.

Thanks Jason, so are you saying if I think its something besides zinc or iron, just to throw it in a bucket and take it to a scrap yard and they will tell me what type of metal every piece is? I think with your description I could determine with a fair amount of accuracy what type of metal it is.... Thanks for the info.

Other question is this, is there anything (besides the obvious PM's) that I should be saving up to scrap besides Copper, Brass, Aluminum-maybe, and .... anything else? What about lead? to cheap im guessing, but maybe to get it in the trash opposed to a park, or someones yard etc..., anything else I should keep to scrap?

Thank you very much sir.

[Jason in Enid]

You cold scrap lead. If you hunt beaches you could find a lot of it. For lead, you might be better off talking to bait shops and selling to them. They could save money from buying commercialy and you could get more than scrap price.

Everything else, YOU need to sort before you take it to a scrap dealer. Have several buckets in the garage. When you come home from tecting, dump your trash and sort the scrap. Each type goes into it's own bucket.

[mlayers]

I keep 4 buckets in my garage. When ever I come home from detecting I go to the garage first and empty out my scrap finds. I turn my scrap in every year or every other year. You will be surpise how much it will add up too.......Matt

[Michigan Badger]

Good answers have been given.

I know copper/brass are valuable. I rented a house and when the renter left he stripped all the electrical wiring out of the garage and stole half of my aluminum dock.

Oh, just to show no hard feelings, he left without attempting to pay $5,000 in back rent. I let him go months because he had such a sad story.

Yup, the stuff is worth money. P.S. My renter also stole everything inside the house. I am now a former landlord.

[mtntrekr2]

If the detector found it, and you dug it, the scrap yard will buy it.
Last year I had 2 five gallon buckets filled with magnetic scrap ( tin and iron )
the scrap yard paid $12 for all my junk nails, bottle caps, and some rusted crap
that had no possible chance of being id'd.
I cannot say what the pull tabs are worth. I have 2 buckets of them mixed with a lot of can slaw.
Or the bucket of spent rifle shells.
I guess what I am saying is if you dig it and save it. By the end of the year you will have some cash for next years batteries.
Joe