Hoarding Copper Lincolns

No one possibly knows why some hoard items. I suspect it is part of something buried in our heads from a million years ago. Sort of like Crows that pick up anything that shines and put it in their nests. Of course many people hoard thinking some day they'll get rich on what they hoard.
Usually never works that way though. As an example way back when the Mint came up with those Bicentennial Quarters, myself and a friend went on a hoarding of those quarters thing. After over 30 years he had accumulated thousands of dollars worth and myself, close to that. At a large coin show I asked all the dealers if they wanted to buy them. The only dealer that said yes made me an offer of $0.24 each. All ended up in a local bank the next day.
Hoading Copper coins is similar. The only people making money on that is the ones already taking to a smelter and selling for Copper weight.

People hoard the copper cents in the hopes that once the melting ban is lifted that people will be able to sell them. Probably, such a ban would not be lifted until the abolish the cent though.

I've sold 5000 of them on ebay for $85 or so a couple of times. Even though I paid the postage I still made something after gathering all those cents.

Reminder, not all 82's are copper. Some are Copper-Plated Zinc.

On melting:
The ban on melting is NOT a law passed by congress, but a treasury department "rule". It is designed to suppress massive mining of the penny stock by such operators as Brinks and Wells Fargo etc. who could conceivably strip so many from circulation in so short a time as to disrupt commerce by making change scarce. Copper pennies are of course not pure copper, but contain 5% zinc. This makes recycling to a smelter awkward because you'd have to go through a refining process first to get rid of the zinc. It's just not worth it. But... nobody much cares about backyard melting.

Let's say that you are a metal artist and specialize in making brass plaques for statues or graves etc. If you go to the commercial sector to purchase brass to melt, you'll pay something on the order of a 50%+ premium over the melt value of the metal. But... if you do a bit of math you can calculate how many copper and zinc pennies it will take to create the brass alloy you need... and if you are getting those pennies at face value you're getting them at less than the melt value.

And people are doing that all the time! It's no big deal... a few pounds here a few pounds there. The treasury doesn't care about small time stuff. It's the legal equivalent of jaywalking on a deserted street.

I never knew this, but it appears that you are correct.

Regardless, there is no need to melt them, they are easily sold and traded as bullion now.

ive been hoarding them for yrs, since I was a kid I've hoarded them ( I also seem to have hoarded the early zincs as well forgot I had 10 coffee cans filled with the early zincs) most of those early zincs are almost uncirculated and we all know how fast the zincs turn

Most believe that two forces are at work: 1) US dollar is being rapidly debased meaning you should want to hold hard assets 2) Copper prices should continue to trend up due to pressure from the modernizing 3rd world.

I'm on board with #2, and have trouble refuting #1 .... anyway, if the price of copper goes up through some combination of those two forces, the premium people will be willing to pay for these cents will go up too (even if melt ban is never lifted).

So couple that with hunting for wheats and the no-downside risk aspect ...