A copper cent is worth ... a penny :-(

[jrf30]

The price of copper has SHOCKED me. I read the stories a while back about how it could retreat from $4 per pound to maybe $2.75 (Sorta like gas per gallon??) And it went down to $3.25 pretty quickly but then started holding its ground. Then boom. It fell. And fell. And fell some more.

Now it is at $1.58 per pound. OUCH. Mines in AZ are closing,a nd Freeport just delayed one BILLION dollars of mining plans this morning. And for us, it means that a copper cent, which used to be worth about 2.4 cents in metal value, is now worth 1 penny again.

The bags of $50 copper cents selling on ebay for $120? No more. It was great while it lasted, and I thought it would last a lot longer, but it is gone.

I'm still going throgh pennies, and taking out the copper and the wheats. The Ryedale works wonderfully. But, I'm not doing as much as I used to, as the profit and some of the fun has been taken out of it. At lest getting a 1912 wheat or something like that is still a positive. And I'm still saving copper for the next year or two. But if it doesn't turn around soon, I'll keep what i have and stop hoarding new supplies.

It's a little discouraging though. So, any other copper hoarders feeling the discouragement effect from these prices?

 

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[packfan_1982]

Just imagine how the people who paid $120 for the pennies feel. I myself have just 1 box of copper cents stashed away, and have no plans to add to it at this time.

 

[dp2013]

At least now the thieves have little to no incentive to snatch the coil out of our air-conditioning unit & the pipes from under the house while we are away.
Seriously though, the price of commodities are doing the only thing they can do when the economy is tanking. Go down.
My sole purpose for hoarding copper cents has been to do just that. Hoard. I have seen other posts where some people are setting copper cents free into the wild-- I'm looking for the percentages to go up. A few weeks ago I expected copper cents to dry up sooner rather that later-- I don't see that happening for a good long while now.

 

[Codes]

Sucks for the people that paid more than face value for copper pennies......

Good for the people that sold them for more than face value!

 

[GMan00001]

At least now the thieves have little to no incentive to snatch the coil out of our air-conditioning unit & the pipes from under the house while we are away.
Seriously though, the price of commodities are doing the only thing they can do when the economy is tanking. Go down.
My sole purpose for hoarding copper cents has been to do just that. Hoard. I have seen other posts where some people are setting copper cents free into the wild-- I'm looking for the percentages to go up. A few weeks ago I expected copper cents to dry up sooner rather that later-- I don't see that happening for a good long while now.

Unfortunately, they just have less incentive as their price is free so its all profit....

Maybe this will also stop the discussion of discontinuing the penny for awhile.

I only hoard about half of the low mintage and S-mint memorials. This year I have been mainly scanning through for wheats and oddities and not even bothering to turn over memorials if I can't see the date. Might have cost me half of the 1960 small date or a 1970-S small dates, but oh well I just haven't had time. I will also save the really shiny copper ones....usually, but those get put in a different pile.

 

[daveg13]

The copper market this year was the one thing I've ever timed perfectly and did well this summer. If the inflation that everyone says is coming happens, the price will go back up.

 

[danny1987]

copper penny's are still being sold on ebay. selling 2 cents a piece.

 

[GPURS]

Human nature is funny, ain't it? Most people will hoard, and not sell stuff when the price is at all time highs. Then, when market prices drop to the basement(The REAL time to accumulate or hoard), people lose interest, give up and cash out at the bottom ..

 

[BBcardsRI]

I got rid of my copper cents already. Only had a little over 3 boxes of them though, so it wasn't a huge profit or anything.

All metals are taking crazy hits. Deflation is hurting... need the inflation to kick back in...

Can't stay like this forever.

~Dave

 

[fiddycent]

hang on to your stashes guys...the prices can't stay like this for long. i look for silver to skyrocket soon. reason? have you checked your local coin shops lately? even those guys don't have anything on hand to sell...which, according to the laws of supply and demand says when there's no supply and big demand...

 

[STDevil]

Keep building the stash. I am planning for my son's kid, so I do not really care what happens "now". My grandpa took care of me, my dad took care of my son. That makes things pretty easy.

 

[mistergee]

Keep building the stash. I am planning for my son's kid, so I do not really care what happens "now". My grandpa took care of me, my dad took care of my son. That makes things pretty easy.

exactly

 

[jrf30]

Human nature is funny, ain't it? Most people will hoard, and not sell stuff when the price is at all time highs. Then, when market prices drop to the basement(The REAL time to accumulate or hoard), people lose interest, give up and cash out at the bottom ..

That's why I'm buying houses right now. :-) I've bought 31 so far this year. All rentals at HUGE positive cash flows! I closed on two yesterday. One had sold brand new in 2005 for $259K. It is worth only about $140K today, thanks to a crushing market. BUT ... I bought it for $88,000! I like that it is worth less than it was, but the lack of buyers at the BOTTOM (or near it. I think we may go down a little more) is amazing. So I buy well below the "bottom". It's 4 bedrooms, 2/5 baths, and a 2 car garage. 2,203 sqft, and only 3 years old. I shall rent this house for $1,050, and get a mortgage for $61,600. That means my monthly P&I (Mortgage) payment is $404.67. That gives me a $600 per month positive cash flow! After other expeneses the positive flow will go down a LOT, but I"ll end up positive about $3,000 or so a year. And I have a house that is worth $140,000 today with a mortggae of $61,600 on it. That's almost $80,000 in equity (on that one!). All for about $27,000 invested ($88,000 minus $61,600 mortgage) It will give me a positive cash flow of over 10% per year on the money invested, and pay down the mortgage in addition to htat cash flow as I go, plus go back up in value at some point (I'll wait). I hope to sell it for about $190,000 in 4 or 5 years. That is not the top, nor where it was in 2005, but by then we should be past all the foreclosures at this rate, and the prices should stabilize a little higher than they are today. I'll owe about $57,000 on it at that time, will have gotten about $15,000 in cash flow from the rent, and therefore only have about $12,000 truly net invested in the house. My cash back out after paying off the mortgage will be about $115,000 (depending on what it sells for. maybe less or maybe more, but who can tell what it will sell for in 4 - 5 years?)

That sounds good to me.

Buy when there is blood in the streets. Sell when everyone says they want to buy. :-) YOu are right.