Is It Worth Keeping Copper Pennies?

Clarification:

It is not illegal to melt Canadian coins in the US.

It is not illegal to melt US coins in Canada.

You aren't going to get rich saving them. You might be able to make a small profit with fairly large quantities at some point but that will likely be more trouble than it is worth.

It reminds me of a cheap family friend who would drive 50 miles out and back to save on sales tax. It would cost him $10 in gas and 2 hours out of his day just to save $12 in sales tax, sometimes it just ain't worth the trouble.

That said, I do save all my copper pennies, as well as a whole bunch of other coins not worth more (or much more) than face value, like SBA's, 1976 quarters, Ike's, and any 2009 coin. I know I am not gonna make any money but who knows... I don't have a lot of money tied up in my modest stash and can cash it all in at the bank if I am desperate.

Of course.

Same here.

Refresh my memory. What year did the Canadian cents go clad?

Copper did reach a little over $4.50 per pound a few years back. But "copper" cents are bronze alloy, not pure fabricated bus bar so: deduct from that for impurity, refining/smelting cost, transportation, etc. ; you won't get rich ... but many persons I have known in "the coin business" or "scrap business" work happily for 3-10% on quick turnover especially with bullion. If I could sell my 1 cent for 1.5 cents, I would consider that a profit ... turning every 2 dollars I have into 3 doesn't sound too bad. Plus it's fun to pull them out of change and into the "blue" coffee can at face ; reminds me of my childhood collecting. I'm not under any illusions of wild grandeur but I'm not greedy either.

I save all my Canadian coins, even when I am in Canada...

That's about where I stand now. I gave up on thinking copper cents would be profitable, but I still save them, as "n9jig" does, to cash in for some 'real money' if needed. I maybe have around $70 in cents now in Tupperware containers, so it's not a lot of money, but sometimes just having a couple extra dollars stashed away is helpful.

Now, if I could only save buckets full of quarters....

True no one knows what the future holds. But it seems as 'real' money is eliminated, value rises as well as people tend to hold on to it. Pennies and nickels are really the only true store of value left in US coin and currency. So worth the trouble to hang on to them. Still have the silver I kept as a child!