your copper %?

[blkcwbyhat]

After getting my ryedale setup,I see that there isn't a lot of pre 82 out there! Now,I don't go thru boxes and boxes non stop,but I'm lucky if I get 20% copper.What is your average?

 

[kb4iqm]

After getting my ryedale setup,I see that there isn't a lot of pre 82 out there! Now,I don't go thru boxes and boxes non stop,but I'm lucky if I get 20% copper.What is your average?

I go through lots of boxes. From $25 boxes I typically harvest 15% to 20% coppers. From customer wrapped rolls it's typically more like 30%+

I couldn't justify the expense of a Ryedale sorter since I don't sell coppers. I bought a Coinalyzer sorter from the feebay seller but it does not seem to work reliably. It mixes zincs in with the coppers and coppers in with the zincs. It probably needs adjustment to the VR setting.

 

[ArkieBassMan]

I don't search many cents at all, but my past few boxes have been around 11%.

 

[mts]

I am consistently averaging about 25% coppers here in the midwest. I also get around 10 wheats (and canadians) per $25 box but all of my wheats are 1940-1950. I use my metal detector to distinguish between zincs and coppers. It works 100% of the time and I can sort them at about 1 second each (counting the time it takes to unwrap them which is significant).

My last box had 28% copper in it. If I remember correctly my worst box had about 22% copper. My boxes don't deviate much from the average.

 

[blkcwbyhat]

KB;
I have a coinalyzer too,same as a sniper.Mine's dead accurate!

 

[legend76]

I avg around 25%, with an avg 8-10 wheaties, occasionally a 20's or 30's, mostly 40's and 50's

 

[Generic_Lad]

I average about 25% copper, with about 4-5 wheats per box and about 1 canadian per box.

 

[kd5txx]

I'm probably around 30%-35% on bags and 20%-25% on boxes. Get avg 12-15 wheats per $25.

 

[mts]

I'm probably around 30%-35% on bags and 20%-25% on boxes. Get avg 12-15 wheats per $25.

Looks like I may have to start trying to get bags. None of the banks around me have coin counting machines though.

Not to try and hijack the thread, but I've never found an Indian head cent. Does anyone else come across these in their searches? If so, do they usually come in boxes, CWR, bags, other?

 

[Generic_Lad]

While I personally haven't ever found an Indian head (aside from the one time that I went into the bank and got a small set that included a wheat penny, steel penny, Indian Head and a memorial penny for like $3) I've seen people on the forum find them in boxes, in the reject bin of coin counters, and not sure about the bags, I'd assume that you'd find some in bags but I don't recall seeing anyone in the forum pull one out of a bag, then again I don't see many bags of cents posted lately.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I avg around 25%, with an avg 8-10 wheaties, occasionally a 20's or 30's, mostly 40's and 50's

Thats about dead on what Im finding

 

[CardsNCoins]

After 62 boxes so far in 2011 I am averaging 29.51% copper, 17.28 wheat per box, and 6.3 Canadian copper per box.

HH

Nick

 

[$ilver$urfer]

I would say about 30-35%. I don't keep super accurate stats but go by weight of the copper after it is culled. I've had plenty of boxes in the 40% range but low thirties seems to be what it is! 15 wheats per box too!

HH,

$ilver$urfer

 

[AGCoinHunter]

19.09% here.

 

[blkcwbyhat]

KB:
do you have a divider set up under the bottom? It kicks the rejects to one side,without it,they fall randomly.I made the wooden box thing with the center piece belt sanded with a 45 degree on each side,centered on the outlet.I made the box big enough to fit some small tupperware square boxes on each side.I'm still working on some type of thing to make it easier to feed,my thumb gets sore quick!!

 

[ianSF]

I get about 20% copper when searching boxes in the San Francisco Bay area. After going through about 25 or so boxes, I have found three indian head cents. I now live on a ranch in the Nor Cal boonies. My local bank boxes have a slightly higher copper rate, about 30%. Silver halves are a bit more common in boxes too.

 

[blkcwbyhat]

what I can't figure out is that copper cents have been out there for 80 some years,zinc for 30 or so...you would think the percentage would be the opposite.Silver has been 50/50,so I see the decline there.

 

[BuffaloBoy]

30.6%

 

[kb4iqm]

KB: do you have a divider set up under the bottom? It kicks the rejects to one side,without it,they fall randomly.I made the wooden box thing with the center piece belt sanded with a 45 degree on each side,centered on the outlet.I made the box big enough to fit some small tupperware square boxes on each side.I'm still working on some type of thing to make it easier to feed,my thumb gets sore quick!!

The coinalyzer is an electronic coin mechanism for a vending machine and fits the industry standard coin mechanism mounts. I used to be in the vending business and still have some machines and parts in storage. I took an old vending machine coin door, stripped it down to the bare minimum, and made a stand to hold it vertical. I mounted the coinalyzer in place of the original mechanical coin mechanism, it fits perfectly. All I have to do is set a pail under the back of the coin door to catch the coins that pass. All rejects and coin returns go into the coin return hopper on the front of the coin door. The pass/reject/return port spacings on the coinalyzer are in the industry standard locations.

When I first set it up, it worked, but it had trouble discriminating reliably. It would pass some of what it should reject, and reject some of what it should pass. If I ran multiple passes it would eventially get them all right. Like if I run the reject clad cents through several times it would eventually get all of the copper out. Then do the same with the coppers and it would eventually get all of the clads out. After testing it like this for an hour or so, it stopped passing coins totally and rejecting everything fed to it. I put it aside to mess with later, have not tried it again since then.

If I can get the coin mechanism itself to work reliably, then I'll just set up a dime feed hopper from a slot machine with the discs resized for pennies. These hoppers can be bought for under $50 from vending suppliers that sell used parts on feebay, and replacement discs are available as they wear out. Would be less than $100 invested to automate the process if I do all of the mechanical work to put it together. Now that I think we can afford

Bob

 

[kb4iqm]

I used my now working coinalyzer to work through a $25 box of pennies. Ended up with 549 coppers out of 2500. A bit better than 20% copper.

Bob