Why I like pennies (so far).

[UncleVinnys]

Pretty new to CRH, but I like pennies.
I wonder if there are other things I should know about penny hunting.

I like pennies because . . .

1. You get a high rate of return, about 22% are copper, and the real value is about 2.88 cents per coin.
2. You often find good collector items, like Wheaties and rare dates.
3. Every once in a while there's a dime mixed in there.
4. If the economy does collapse, everyone knows the value of copper.

What do you-all think?
(Trying to keep an open mind.)
I did try dimes and had some luck finding silver.

 

[BuffaloBoy]

I like pennies because my last 2 boxes of pennies produced:

24 wheat pennies(averaging 12 per box)
19 foreign... 18 Canadian (1957-2000) and a 1995 Bahamas 1 penny
You don't have to worry about rolls being shorted, it's only a penny!

I like nickels because:
Each box averages a silver war nickel or a buffalo nickel. I got a liberty "V" nickel dated 1904 back in December of 2010
Rolls are rarely shorted
Plenty of pre 1960 nickels(averaging 30-35 per box, excluding buffalo/wartime nickels)

I like dimes to a point:
My last 2 boxes produced a silver dime each, but the boxes were each shorted exactally $2.70 each(I count every coin in the rolls as I open them)

Never did quarters, heard they are statistically the hardest denomination to find silver in.

I like half dollars because of the suprise, you never know what you may get, plus you *could* have a box containing over $100 in silver value, most of the time they are skunks though. Nice to look for errors like the 1974 d double die which is worth a decant amount of money.

 

[blkcwbyhat]

Mostly,I agree with you.It's cheaper to begin with,and most people never bother to look at them. Finding a keeper is always a bonus.And you almost never get skunked,either with copper,or oldies. But without a sorter,it is really a pain in the eyes! As far as your thoughts about a collapse and the copper price,I'm on the fence there.Just as gold and silver are more investments,copper is an industrial metal. One famous survivalist recommends hoarding nickels,as they need no sorting,other than war nickels.In the event of a massive collapse,who would you sell to? Unless the melt ban is lifted,its still face value.And you can't eat them.Personally,I say bag them and sell them on feebay to people with the $ to buy and hoard,let them take the risk...then use that to buy 90's or better.

 

[clovis97]

I like pennies because there is almost always a handful of keepers.

I am not a 'sky is falling' believer, but if you have been studying copper, I think it has no where to go but up. The easy copper, if I understand it correctly, has all been mined from the easy places.

I just get a few rolls at a time, and hand sort them. It is fun to go through them, but I still haven't found a wheat yet.

 

[blkcwbyhat]

I'm with you Clovis. I'm not fearing an impending doomsday either.As far as easy mining,I'm sure even all the easy gold and silver was done long ago.

 

[UncleVinnys]

Great feedback, guys! Thanks.

 

[Gaijun1]

I Started With The Penney's I Averaged About 34 Wheaties a Brinks Box And Several 30's 40's And 50's
Just Started the Nickels This Week Not Doing Too Bad But Collected The 64's
I'm Learning Though The War Nickels Are Coming Nicely Here

 

[Metalmole]

Pennies are a great way to start. its what I started with because it was very reasonable. My mom used to go to her bank and pic up boxes for me. Now thats the bank that orders all my halves for me now.

I used to get 20 or more wheaties a box and lots of Foreign coins. I havent found any dimes in them yet though.

HH