Thoughts on saving Pre 1982 Pennies??

[slinnils]

In the last week or two I have saved a little more than two jars full of Pre 1982 pennies. I am wondering if this is a good idea and if I should keep on saving them? Any thoughts?

 

[Joe777Cool]

There's over 12 trillion tons of copper in the world, to date man has mined about .75 trillion tons, much of which is recycled. It will never be a precious metal, and while each cent is worth approx 2.5 cents, you would need a warehouse to store them all. Plus at the moment they are barely selling online.

 

[x512x]

There's over 12 trillion tons of copper in the world, to date man has mined about .75 trillion tons, much of which is recycled. It will never be a precious metal, and while each cent is worth approx 2.5 cents, you would need a warehouse to store them all. Plus at the moment they are barely selling online.

I agree

 

[millerb91]

Best bet cash them in and buy a box of Pennies and get the cents out and maybe fine some SF cents and wheats are easy to sell

 

[GarouLady]

I have started to save up pre1985 canadian pennies. Since canada has stopped making their pennies, it is now legal, to my knowledge, to melt them down for the 98% copper in each penny. I save them in a large pill bottle I got from the pharmacy right now but when I get enough i plan on putting them into one of many kitty litter plastic jugs that I have downstairs. worse comes to worse I can bury the whole thing somewhere on my property, just in case. Just literally my two cents.

Sincerely, garoulady

 

[millerb91]

I have started to save up pre1985 canadian pennies. Since canada has stopped making their pennies, it is now legal, to my knowledge, to melt them down for the 98% copper in each penny. I save them in a large pill bottle I got from the pharmacy right now but when I get enough i plan on putting them into one of many kitty litter plastic jugs that I have downstairs. worse comes to worse I can bury the whole thing somewhere on my property, just in case. Just literally my two cents.

Sincerely, garoulady

Yea when I read that I was happy that I wasn't waisting my time saving the Canada cents

 

[austin]

The old man on Pawn Stars collects them. Has big buckets full. They talked about a law where you can't scrap them and he said he was just waiting for the law to go away..

 

[maverick]

I keep all the pre 82's I find, I have several jars and 2 boxes of 81 and older cents. I don't know, if I need to spend them, I will, right now they don't take up much room or bank roll, so I keep adding to them from my pocket change now. I don't buy boxes of them to look through anymore, I did some in the past but stopped searching them. HH, Maverick.

 

[admrose]

The old man on Pawn Stars collects them. Has big buckets full. They talked about a law where you can't scrap them and he said he was just waiting for the law to go away..

This is the stupidest law ever. It's more of a Mint directive, actually. They're afraid if they allow the cents to be melted down it'll cause a shortage of cents. It's been 29 freakin' years and billions of pennies since there was any copper to speak of in cents. Really time to let this one go.

P.S. I save my pre-1982's, neatly organized by decade (for the wheats) and just thrown together (for the '59's - '82's)

 

[rfishoutofwater]

I still save them and now have 2 old glass 5 gallon water bottles full. Working on a 3rd. Maybe someday down the road ill get rid if them but at least there worth no less than face.

 

[GarouLady]

It's illegal to scrap american pennies but not canadian. As for the law being stupid, I think they passed it due to the sudden rash thefts of copper items by less favorable folks turning it in for scrap. and unfortunately people are still doing that. I wouldn't doubt that someone has figured out a way to melt american pennies and are turning them in for scrap. Me, I plan on saving my maple leaves. I was thinking about outlineing a window with them.

Sincerely, Garoulady

 

[Poor Mans Gold]

I currently have 38 $50 bags stored in the basement. If I run into a problem, I can always cash them in. As of now I don't need the money. Working on bag #39 as we speak.

 

[hursst]

Let's say copper is 2.5 cents per penny and they change the law and you can now melt them down. What makes you think that you will receive 2.5 cents per penny? People that have the ability to melt these down will be buying them at about 1.01 cents per penny, as they will pay wholesale. Even if you melt them down in your back yard, you still have to sell them to someone, and you will get a wholesale price. Factor in the price of gasoline, containers and your time.

Also, what makes you think that the gov't will change the law to allow you to melt these down when the gov't can melt them down themselves and make that money instead of you? They could simply demand that you return pennies to the gov't or you can bury them in your back yard, much like what they did with gold in 1933, but either way, you will not make a reasonable profit off of pennies no matter what you do.

In addition, the fact that you are hoarding pennies somewhere means that the money is not in the bank earning interest. Every year, you lose about .75% (approx. the maximum average interest rate for a money market fund) plus an additional 2.3% (approx. the average inflation over the last few years). So, every year that you keep pennies, you lose over 3% on the value of those pennies each year, assuming the price of copper stays roughly the same (it has been about the same for the last 7 years). So, over the last 7 years, hoarded pennies have returned a loss of about 15%, while putting that same money in the bank would have resulted in a gain of about 6% (with compounded interest), just by putting it in the bank. That's a 21% difference. Think about getting that same money and investing in bonds, mutual funds, or even gold/silver over the last 7 years. Your returns would have been much higher as well as being indexed for inflation.

The bottom line is that you will not make any money by hoarding copper pennies. Spend them.

 

[50cent]

The proper term is cent and not penny, all official literature int he US refers to the .01 piece as the cent. The UK uses the term "Penny". This is a coin forum, we should do our best to refer to each coin as to what it really is not what it is popularly (and incorrectly) called.

Its not worth saving them, if your wasting time, sorting them out by hand lol. Get a ryedale or go home.

 

[sagittarius98]

I have started to save up pre1985 canadian pennies. Since canada has stopped making their pennies, it is now legal, to my knowledge, to melt them down for the 98% copper in each penny. I save them in a large pill bottle I got from the pharmacy right now but when I get enough i plan on putting them into one of many kitty litter plastic jugs that I have downstairs. worse comes to worse I can bury the whole thing somewhere on my property, just in case. Just literally my two cents.

Sincerely, garoulady

It is pre-1997 cents.

 

[Joe777Cool]

Last I checked this was an online treasure hunting forum, not a 9th grade English midterm! If we are going to start correcting people, its you're not your....but I wouldnt do that cause everyone knows what you mean. Not trying to start a fight or be a douche, but I just dont feel there is a need to correct people

 

[maine_Jim]

If you don't need the money or care if you make a return on the money then store them in a safe place and take a look at them now and then. Myself I took the bags I'd saved up and cashed them in at the bank. It was fun searching them and an inexpensive hobby but I moved and got tired of storing them. Who knows - a few of us that hoard them might get the last laugh!

Maine_Jim

 

[quiksilver]

Hmmmmmm isnt this "exactly" how peolple started debating silver coins after 1964

 

[1more4me]

Good arguments- I'd like to add something to the thread. Copper prices are based on worldwide demand- and supply. Though there is plenty of copper in the ground, the biggest miners have and are currently mining the best, most concentrated ores. As this easy stuff runs out- the price will go up. Today its 3.60 a pound. 10 years ago it was .50 cents. The idea or hording cents seems as logical as hording silver. At some time in the future copper could reach $10.00 or more. If my kids decide to recycle my hoard in 2033- I bet they'll get more than .02 cents for them- maybe not as much as the wheaties- but I got nothing else to horad in that particular corner of the barn.
PEACE

 

[Joe777Cool]

As a follow up, despite my pessimism I currently have my own hoard of copper. Maybe one day it will incrrase t $10 pound, but I just dont see the value. if the gvmt lifts the ban, u are talking millions of tons of copper flooding the market.