So if a Silver Quarter is Worth It's Value in Silver, Why is a Pre 1982 Copper Penny Not Worth Its Value in Copper?

[AusTexDude]

Takes about 145 Pennies to make a pound. Copper is going for $4.16/Lb. Why are pre 1982 Pennies not worth 0.028 cents each?

 

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[ToddsPoint]

Takes about 145 Pennies to make a pound. Copper is going for $4.16/Lb. Why are pre 1982 Pennies not worth 0.028 cents each?

You can melt old silver because it’s no longer used as currency. You can’t melt pennies for scrap because they are still in use. So technically a copper penny is worth .028 but you can’t legally sell cents for scrap.

 

[l.cutler]

A lot of people do save the pre 82 bronze and brass cents for metal value and some will buy them in bulk for a couple cents each. Lot of effort for not much gain in my opinion!

 

[Loco-Digger]

See the melt value below for silver quarters

 

[Gold Maven]

416/145=2.87 cents, per cent. your figure is dollars per cent.

 

[pepperj]

Takes about 145 Pennies to make a pound. Copper is going for $4.16/Lb. Why are pre 1982 Pennies not worth 0.028 cents each?

Why the penny isn't worth 0.028 cents each?

1 cent is actually worth 0.02684
In the scrap industry the difference of $116.00 is over 4% and that increase wouldn't happen at the refinery level.


Penny is 95% copper 5% zinc

However, #2 Copper can still be found in various items like pipes, wires, and other copper materials. While it may not fetch as high a price as #1 Copper, it’s still sought after in the scrap metal market for its recyclability and usability in various industries. The minimum copper content of this type is between 94-96%.

The price of #2 copper is $4.05 a pound making the penny worth

Scrap 1 cent

Scrap $1000.00 worth

 

[pepperj]

Why the penny isn't worth 0.028 cents each?

1 cent is actually worth 0.02684
In the scrap industry the difference of $116.00 is over 4% and that increase wouldn't happen at the refinery level.


Penny is 95% copper 5% zinc

However, #2 Copper can still be found in various items like pipes, wires, and other copper materials. While it may not fetch as high a price as #1 Copper, it’s still sought after in the scrap metal market for its recyclability and usability in various industries. The minimum copper content of this type is between 94-96%.

The price of #2 copper is $4.05 a pound making the penny worth

Scrap 1 cent

View attachment 2188319

Scrap $1000.00 worth

View attachment 2188320

The copper cent is actually Building Metal (form of brass)

 

[TORRERO]

You can melt old silver because it’s no longer used as currency. You can’t melt pennies for scrap because they are still in use. So technically a copper penny is worth .028 but you can’t legally sell cents for scrap.

This begs the question.... can you melt down wheat pennies because they are not in circulation ?

 

[pepperj]

This begs the question.... can you melt down wheat pennies because they are not in circulation ?

They're still legal tender are they not?

I would say that the collector value mirrors or exceeds the scrap value.

Find Out How Much Is Your Lincoln Wheat Penny Worth

Looking to see how much your wheat penny is worth? Review our chart, which lists coin values for Lincoln wheat-back pennies minted from 1909 to 1958.

www.thesprucecrafts.com

I see online the asking prices are $10 a roll to $26 for a pound of Wheats.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Melt value does not mean they are being melted. Just appraised that way for their precious metal content. Makes transactions easy. Copper is not anywhere near as precious. One OZ of silver gets you lots of pounds of copper.

 

[enamel7]

This begs the question.... can you melt down wheat pennies because they are not in circulation ?

No, because they are in circulation.

 

[TORRERO]

No, because they are in circulation.

I'll let you in on a little secret...
No US currency has ever been taken out of circulation, not silver or copper, just the gold.. technically a penny from 1865 could still be spent as a penny.. So Silver coins were not taken out of circulation either, They just stopped being made because of the cost of silver.. So why are you allowed to sell them for silver content if they have not been removed from circulation in your context ?

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Are there any laws outlawing the sales of them?

 

[pepperj]

I'll let you in on a little secret...
No US currency has ever been taken out of circulation, not silver or copper, just the gold.. technically a penny from 1865 could still be spent as a penny.. So Silver coins were not taken out of circulation either, They just stopped being made because of the cost of silver.. So why are you allowed to sell them for silver content if they have not been removed from circulation in your context ?

I don't think there's any laws prohibiting the sale of any currency-just melting it.
If there was the numismatist wouldn't exist.

 

[Limitool]

I don't think there's any laws prohibiting the sale of any currency-just melting it.
If there was the numismatist wouldn't exist.

I'm just curious and admit I am naive on currency. I've been reading this thread and am confused a little. It's against the law to melt down coins I see. I see about 3 rolls of pennies are a pound or $1.50 and scrap copper is $4.00+ P/LB.

QUESTION: Outside of it being illegal and actually melting pennies my question is... How would anybody in the world know any copper turned in came from penny currency...? I'm just curious what prevents this from happening?

 

[TORRERO]

Are there any laws outlawing the sales of them?

But if you sell it Midwest Refineries, I'm sure they are not buying it to hold until given authorization to melt it down... no... something else is at play here, you can melt and sell silver coins, but you can't melt and sell copper coins... that's it..

 

[pepperj]

I'm just curious and admit I am naive on currency. I've been reading this thread and am confused a little. It's against the law to melt down coins I see. I see about 3 rolls of pennies are a pound or $1.50 and scrap copper is $4.00+ P/LB.

QUESTION: Outside of it being illegal and actually melting pennies my question is... How would anybody in the world know any copper turned in came from penny currency...? I'm just curious what prevents this from happening?

I guess it's called the code of ethics on the scrap yard end-get caught, and it's a pile of problems.
If still in penny form.
I only bought currency once. Tokens and LCs from the late 1700s-early 1900s.

NOTE: If the currency is from another country then it's no issue in smelting the coinage down.
I've seen barrels of coins from Cuba at the brokers going to the smelter.

Then the issue of if it came in melted into ingot of some sorts.
As a yard it was hard to sell this to a broker.
What is inside that copper ingot?
Lead isn't good-nor is some other contamination.
So basically the broker just passes on the melted items.

Which leaves the yard to seal to China-less money yet.
When copper was @ $1.00 or less there was a $0.10 per pound profit.
When copper was @ $4.00 the profit was $0.60-0.80 per lb profit.

 

[pepperj]

But if you sell it Midwest Refineries, I'm sure they are not buying it to hold until given authorization to melt it down... no... something else is at play here, you can melt and sell silver coins, but you can't melt and sell copper coins... that's it..

There's lots of sites that sell silver coinage @ a premium over spot.
Think of it like a the currency exchange between to countries.

We sell to a bank for X-they sell to us for X the margin is the profit.

In flipping commodities there was 2 ways of doing it.
Small volume bigger spread.
High volume little spread.

 

[AU24K]

My former landlord used to work at a bank and he would occasionally bring me bags of 5000 "loose" unrolled cents.
I must have searched at least 10 bags......
I would search through them, saving the pre 1982 coppers and searching for WAM's and wheats.
I found several 1998 and 2000 WAM's and even a 1999 WAM, which I had slabbed.

I also found a 1972 DDO, which I also had slabbed.

I still have most of those copper cents, sorted and rolled by date and mint mark.

Current Stock, listed by roll quantity:

Awhile back, I sold about $20 face value, locally, for $30.
What the buyer did with them is not my concern.
Perhaps he searched them for errors?

Due to the constraints of shipping costs, I think it would be hard to sell them for any significant profit,
other than locally.
------
To "Melt them Down," for copper, one would have to know how to remove the impurities,
the 5% zinc, to achieve "Pure" copper.
Which I know.....

All of that being said,
The above referenced rolls are for sale!
$1.00 per roll of your choice.
PLUS shipping cost.
What you do with them is YOUR business.

Best Wishes,

Scott

 

[Limitool]

TORRERO... "but you can't melt and sell copper coins..."
Pepperj... "get caught, and it's a pile of problems. If still in penny form."

I believe you both and have no argument. I was only inquiring if somebody DID 100% melted down a $1,000 dollars worth of pennies into say 5 lb. bricks how would anybody know when you went to turn in for the going price today. It appears anybody could triple the value today...? Or am I thinking wrong or missing something outside of unlawful.