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 Replies: 174 / Views: 23,901 |
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Moderator
 United States
164494 Posts |
Quote:
Warning: If you are sensitive about what happens to some old cents, such as wholesale hot melt destruction, you might not want to watch this.  Uneasiness aside, very interesting. 
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Valued Member
 United States
396 Posts |
President Trump recently announced that the US Mint will stop minting cents. Maybe I should feel some vindication here  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1862 Posts |
@AllSeasons, funny you should ask. I just clicked on an ad from one of the bullion dealers who is selling bags of 95% copper pennies for $5.99 LB. The hitch is that you have to buy a 34 pound minimum and the cost of shipping. Out of curiosity I just weighed up 3 jars that I have for a total of 27 pounds. Thats in the area of $160. So yes I will continue to cull out as much copper as I get but I won't go out of my way for it.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10977 Posts |
At the current copper price there is about 3.2 cents worth of copper in each cent. So 10,000 cents ($100) weighing 68 pounds is worth about $320 with copper at $4.64/lb.
They would then have to be transported and refined to get pure copper so figure you could sell them for 2 cents each. You'd need to haul around 68 pounds of pre-82 cents to make $100. Plus the time and effort to sort, which most of us would be doing by hand. If you're time is worth more than $1/hour to you? You'd be making nothing.
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Moderator
United States
33166 Posts |
@all even with that recent announcement, I still don't see hoarding cents as much of a money -maker. This shift in minting likely won't greatly increase the value of copper, which is what you would need to make the numbers work.
That is a good breakdown from @bh by the way.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
164494 Posts |
Comparing apples, the Pre-1982 95% copper cents to oranges, the Zincoln.
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Valued Member
United States
433 Posts |
I bury mine around on my property for someone to discover in the future. I have a 5 gallon water jug and a couple large coffee cans buried right now and have a full coffee can waiting to be buried
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Moderator
United States
164494 Posts |
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I bury mine around on my property for someone to discover in the future. I have a 5 gallon water jug and a couple large coffee cans buried right now and have a full coffee can waiting to be buried Sounds like a fun time for someone down the line. 
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19676 Posts |
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They would then have to be transported and refined to get pure copper so figure you could sell them for 2 cents each. You'd need to haul around 68 pounds of pre-82 cents to make $100. Plus the time and effort to sort, which most of us would be doing by hand. If you're time is worth more than $1/hour to you? You'd be making nothing. I purged mine for those reasons and more. Nobody is getting rich from copper, it's heavy and takes up space. We have TRILLIONS of pennies floating around and we will for decades. Hopefully congress takes the next step and eliminates them completely so there's no chance of them coming back.
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Moderator
United States
164494 Posts |
Quote:
Hopefully congress takes the next step and eliminates them completely so there's no chance of them coming back. 
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
33743 Posts |
I've been tossing my pre-82's in a bucket for years. I also remember tossing 90% silver coins in a can back in 1966.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2031 Posts |
After going back and reading all the posts, I feel the title of the post is incorrect. It doesn't matter whether hoarding copper pennies is worthwhile or not.
What matters is if one has fun doing it. And it sounds to me that AllSeasons is definitely having fun!
Edited by jpsned
02/20/2025 7:06 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19676 Posts |
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What matters is if one has fun doing it. And it sounds to me that AllSeasons is definitely having fun!  I had fun, mine were all acquired while searching for the good stuff. Just over one 5 gallon pail. I did sell a few lots out of them even. The pail was immovable, I pulled the handle clean off trying (it was an industrial pail too). The next day the trips to the coin star started. I was sick of that pail taking space by my coin work area. In the end my hunch was correct. With all the trouble, time, gas, etc. that it cost me get rid of them - I certainly lost money even with the lots I sold. HOWEVER, I did pluck out some awesome coins from circulation (bags, rolls, pocket change) for my collection. It was the pail was essentially garbage to me because every single coin had been examined. 
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Valued Member
United States
238 Posts |
I went through a bunch of them before my eyesight got so bad. Had to use a microscope just to see the dates. That got old quick. Ended up rolling everything and took them to the bank. The last 60 bucks worth will go Saturday. It was fun to look through when I could see them. Saving coppers never crossed my mind. I'm getting old and it is time to get rid of things.
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Moderator
United States
164494 Posts |
Quote:
What matters is if one has fun doing it. And it sounds to me that AllSeasons is definitely having fun! 
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Replies: 174 / Views: 23,901 |
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Posted 02/15/2025 11:36 pm
