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 Replies: 32 / Views: 8,480 |
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Moderator
 United States
54282 Posts |
2,000 pounds of copper cents  Show your financial support of the Coin Community Family (click here)See my topic on Mexican Numismatic Medals (click here) |
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Moderator
United States
54282 Posts |
I can't find any cases of someone in the United States being prosecuted for melting coins.
Show your financial support of the Coin Community Family (click here)See my topic on Mexican Numismatic Medals (click here) |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
676 Posts |
oh no! I've started an argument!  But, some very interesting information, thanks everyone! Keep it up!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2049 Posts |
I used to actively do this but stopped about 5 years ago. It just isn't practical from a weight and space standpoint at the prices today.
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Valued Member
United States
397 Posts |
I have so far hoarded over 26 kilos of copper pennies. Keep on hoarding!
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Valued Member
United States
125 Posts |
do it. and hoarde nickels too. Its a great way to feed that hoarding urge for really cheap.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Hoarders of copper cents have one thing in common - they just don't understand how much effort is involved for such a tiny potential return. Imagine saving 5,000 copper cents ($50 face), and hauling them down to your LCS to sell at twice face (still not legal), deducting all the sorting time and gas, all for a $50 gain? Yikes!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
807 Posts |
I admit that I separate bronze cents out when they circulate to me. That's partly out of curiosity, to see how many there are. It's a testament to the utter lack of durability of the zinc cents that even now, 40 years on, between 10% and 20% of cents I get in change are bronze. It strikes me that the per-piece savings in cost of production are probably more than balanced out by the much larger quantity which have to be produced, owing to the immense annual wastage.
Perhaps someone who wants to look through them for valuable specimens will offer me something over face for them, at some point. Or perhaps I'll use them as fodder for a coin-roller. Always good to have ten or so in your pocket, if you expect to go somewhere that has one of those roller machines.
I certainly wouldn't go buying rolls of cents just to separate out the bronze ones.
Edited by publius
06/14/2023 10:36 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2049 Posts |
Quote:
Hoarders of copper cents have one thing in common - they just don't understand how much effort is involved for such a tiny potential return.
Imagine saving 5,000 copper cents ($50 face), and hauling them down to your LCS to sell at twice face (still not legal), deducting all the sorting time and gas, all for a $50 gain?
Yikes! None of the local coin shops around here even want them. There is a guy at one that has accumulated quite a hoard and he wouldn't buy it for anything more than face value for his own stack. I just can't see the value in hoarding these right now, but maybe many years down the road they will be worthwhile. If you have the room to store these, the patience to wait for it to be worthwhile, and do find a buyer paying enough to make it worth it then more power to you. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4333 Posts |
@Coinfrog - if selling copper cents for profit isn't legal, how do people advertise and sell them, for instance ebay? Even my LCS buys copper wheats at 2-3 cents each. When I listen to LED ZEPPELIN...so do my neighbors...
Roll hunting since '77
Dirt fishing since '72
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
I did not mean to imply that selling copper cents was illegal - only that melting them is illegal. Most coin shops routinely pay a small premium over face for copper cents as a convenience to customers. They are not hoarding them for a melting gain, believe me. This accomodation is like free lolipops at the doctor's office.
Edited by Coinfrog
06/15/2023 7:57 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
25354 Posts |
One factor that penny hoarders are not considering is inflation. Example: my father bought two $50 bags of 1973-D cents back then because there was instability in the copper market. The buying power of a cent in 1973 is equivalent to 6.85 cents today. So essentially, sitting on those coins for 50 years resulted in a net loss, even considering that they contain 2.5 cents worth of copper. But uncirculated rolls are selling for over $3 on ebay, so in my case it's a wash. Imagine if the guy who accumulated 1 million pennies as was in the news recently had instead invested in silver or the stock market. His heirs would be better off and not have to deal with multiple tons of pennies. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Amen to that. Just a curse.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
6535 Posts |
Hey, most people lead boring lives. But they will be talking about the Million Penny Man for years to come!
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Moderator
United States
188770 Posts |
Quote:
Hey, most people lead boring lives. But they will be talking about the Million Penny Man for years to come! A small price to pay for immortality.   |
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Posted 01/05/2023 6:58 pm
