Time To Lift The Ban On Melting U S Cents

And I thought State Quarters and Presidential dollars were heavy when we cashed in several thousand dollars for face at the bank. Personally, I don't think messing with copper Lincoln cents is worth the work involved.

I agree, you won't get current melt value due to refining costs. I've been scrapping almost 50 years.

the cent isn't pure copper, it's 95% copper, 5% zinc alloy. I don't know exactly what class it will fall into maybe #2 copper, but I'd think in the brass category which is like $1.40 a pound, and they will pay even less than that. some of them were
95% copper, 2.5% tin, 2.5% zinc, (1864-1942, 1947-1962)
some were 95% copper, 5% zinc, (1944-1946, 1962-1982)

Not worth the time or effort, probably never will be. Refining it to 100% copper again is going to eat up whatever above it's face value of profit for you it would be.

it's why the "we buy gold and silver" places don't also have copper and brass on their signs, and why you gotta take your copper to the scrap yard dude because he loads it up in containers and sends it to China to be refined and recycled back to #1 copper.

And honestly, there's plenty of scrap good copper that takes far less refining out there between wires and pipes for the scrap guy to ever want to mess with pennies unless it became seriously profitable for him to do it.

searched?

"How do you make one hundred dollars by coin roll hunting?
Start with two hundred dollars."

Agree w/JBuck, CRH'ing is about fun, and thrill of the hunt.

I'm not as prolific at saving up copper pennies as you, obviously, but my grandpa told me back in '82 that I should hang onto them, so I've done so when I've thought of it. Even after the melt ban was adopted, I just did—maybe my silly way of honoring my grandpa. It'd be great if they lifted the melt ban. I'm sure there are lots of better uses for copper than handing it out in change or sitting on it.