Just realized I am sitting on $500 in copper pennies each worth $0.01

[Death&Taxes]

Hey, folks. I was sitting in my office today, wondering about ways I could scrape together a little more money. Suddenly, a great idea hit me. I have about $500 in face of copper cents sitting right under my desk. I'd put them in boxes and stacked them up, and was even using a pile as a footrest. Anyways, tomorrow I'm gonna cart them down to the bank and get cash for them. They've been there for almost ten years now, and they've only been there so long because I'm a sucker for the sunk-cost fallacy. I should never have saved them. I will never be able to melt them, and I'm not going to wait 20 years for all of those swamp-monster bureaucrats down in Washington to get efficient and eliminate the cent.

-Death&Taxes

 

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[enamel7]

They are worth double that in melt value. People melt them all the time.

No they don't. Recyclers wouldn't dare take the risk.

 

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[enamel7]

can recyclers tell if it is melted pennies?

Yes they can, and they won't risk their business or going to jail!

 

[baddbluff]

You've had them for 10 years? Why didn't you sell them a few years back when you could be easily doubled+++ your money? Were you waiting for copper to go to $20/ounce? It's not even a PM.

I learned my lesson sitting on my silver stack as it plunged from $40 to $30 an ounce. Got out at about $27. Now I sell it as I find it.

Here's any easy way to decide whether or not to sell anything...
If you didn't own it right now, would you buy it? If the answer is no, then sell. Simple as that.

 

[fistfulladirt]

You've had them for 10 years? Why didn't you sell them a few years back when you could be easily doubled+++ your money? Were you waiting for copper to go to $20/ounce? It's not even a PM.

I learned my lesson sitting on my silver stack as it plunged from $40 to $30 an ounce. Got out at about $27. Now I sell it as I find it.

Here's any easy way to decide whether or not to sell anything...
If you didn't own it right now, would you buy it? If the answer is no, then sell. Simple as that.

That's really odd BB, my silver hasn't changed in value/mass at all over the last ten years. But the dollar sure has had it's ups and downs!

 

[fistfulladirt]

They are worth double that in melt value. People melt them all the time.

The melting point of copper is almost 2,000 degrees F. The energy costs of doing so would seem to offset any profit to be made.

 

[LooseChange]

The melting point of copper is almost 2,000 degrees F. The energy costs of doing so would seem to offset any profit to be made.

This is what stops ppl from trying to pass cents off as some other scrap (by melting or shredding them, etc).

The scrap value of high grade brass has already factored in the cost to refine the base metals. To get any advantage over face value for your brass cents, you would have to sell them as-is. If you have to invest energy dollars to modify them before selling, you lose every bit of the margin.

 

[lookingharder]

Don't want to start an argument, but I cant find anything anywhere that says they charge you money for setting a record. All you need is a video camera and two witnesses. They do charge a large fee for corporate events attempting to break a record because Guinness will actually help set it up.

 

[FingerChili]

Which one?

Your main post.

 

[Death&Taxes]

You've had them for 10 years? Why didn't you sell them a few years back when you could be easily doubled+++ your money? Were you waiting for copper to go to $20/ounce? It's not even a PM.

I learned my lesson sitting on my silver stack as it plunged from $40 to $30 an ounce. Got out at about $27. Now I sell it as I find it.

Here's any easy way to decide whether or not to sell anything...
If you didn't own it right now, would you buy it? If the answer is no, then sell. Simple as that.

I'm a sucker for saving things I started saving all my silver at $21, and I had no good rationale to do so.

 

[Death&Taxes]

Well, twelve bag changes later and I am $572 to the good. Glad that's over with. At first the tellers were curious, then amazed, then they picked up one of the heavy bags and turned right pissed at me. Hopefully the armored car can handle all those 3.1 gram Lincolns

 

[ramjet2187]

Dumped several K a couple of years ago to finance home repair/remodel. Still have a ton...need to dump them, too. Saved them for the same reason you did. Are you sure you're not me?

 

[Death&Taxes]

Dumped several K a couple of years ago to finance home repair/remodel. Still have a ton...need to dump them, too. Saved them for the same reason you did. Are you sure you're not me?

I got suckered into it by the media and the hype, as well as other people on forums. It's time we face the facts.

 

[ArkieBassMan]

If copper was worth 10x what it is now, the pennies would still be worth the same thing: $0.01 per. It's illegal to melt them and that won't be changing anytime soon.

Wrong. 100% wrong. It wasn't all that long ago that you could sell all you could find for 1.5 - 1.6 cents each. $50 face would sell for $80 all day long. The price of copper fell, and so did that market.