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 Replies: 19 / Views: 3,358 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12477 Posts |
Poll Question
Okay, so I've been following discussions on phasing out the cent in the US, it being phased out in Canada and who keeps copper cents (technically brass, even though some say bronze we all know what I mean) for any future bullion value. From what I understand, the cent is still legal tender in Canada and is illegal to melt. I'm concerned about the cent in the US and if it were to be phased out and demonitized. As of this writing, the melt value for 95%/5% zinc cents is $0.0167. The question: Do you keep 95% copper cents for bullion?
In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
Edited by spru
12/30/2016 01:32 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
I did for several years after the switch in 1982 but I was in high school/college at the time and between needing the cash and moving frequently, the rate of return didn't look high enough to warrant my continuing to save them.
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Valued Member
United States
186 Posts |
i use too... then I had 400-500 dollars worth of pennies in boxes
then I started to spend more time, rolling,counting, moving them...then whats the point.
who's buying them anyways ? off to the bank they are slowly going
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Valued Member
United States
408 Posts |
I used to collect 1982 and prior pennies. Then I stopped. It got to be too tedious. If I collect copper now, it would be in bullion bars, but I would rather own silver or gold.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Not worth the bother as bullion.
'Copper' Cents are not copper; they are bronze.
That means that they need to be refined to extract the pure copper, which means added refining costs.
Best collected as bronze scrap and in total weights of 100 pounds or more, to make bronze scrap economically viable. Collect them with this intent in mind, with other bronze non coin scrap.
I used to collect copper, bronze and brass scrap as a kid with my brothers, to make good pocket money. They won't let you scour rubbish dumps these days. They say it's too dangerous, but all they want to do is to make money for themselves.
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
Are pre-1982 US cents bronze?
In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
Edited by spru
12/30/2016 04:32 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
No no no no,
I don't save them no more,
I'm tired of lifting them up off the floor.
No thank you please...
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2130 Posts |
I only save the coppers I get back in change. I really don't spend nearly as much cash as I use to so I don't have that many. I would never coin roll hunt just for coppers.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3079 Posts |
Not worth the time, scrap piping and wire house type not phone/computer type are worth more. Besides you may grow old waiting to sell them as scrap! My parents had 7 3 lb coffee cans filled from about the 30's to modern dates. I sorted them into 81's and post 82's then either cashed them in of swapped them with members of this forum for their unwanted tokens.
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Moderator
 United States
54283 Posts |
Quote:
the melt value for 95%/5% zinc cents is $0.0167. The problem is: 1) Illegal to melt. 2) If it were legal, you couldn't sell them for melt value. 3) Too bulky and heavy to keep and store any significant dollar amount. I figured this out once... There are about 294,000 "copper" cents in a TON. This means if you had close to $3,000 in cents, the weight would be 2,000 pounds. Now that's a "ton of money". That would be 5,880 rolls. That would take up a bit of space. $10,000 in "copper" cents might just collapse the floor and if you live in an upstairs apartment, you might just kill someone. 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
6130 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5029 Posts |
No - I started to at one time but no longer. Got to be too many coins taking up too much space.
Edited by scopru
12/30/2016 09:39 am
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
I stopped saving 95% copper cents ,other than Wheaties about 2 years ago when I realized I was peeing against the wind . So I decided to dump them all and bought some gem bu FSB Mercury dimes with the dump money . My friends please adhere to my words; It's just not worth the time ,effort ,and room to pursue this craziness .Cash in and reap the harvest of nice collector coins !   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3843 Posts |
Used to keep the copper pre-1982 cents but don't save many these days. Seems to be wasted space and effort.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
693 Posts |
I haven't saved copper cents for their bullion value. I didn't think I'd have the space for them. Although I did pick up about a dozen of those one ounce copper rounds, since they have some interesting designs. I paid about $3 each and the bullion value is something like 25 cents apiece. I'm trying not to think of the logic in that.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
ALL Cent coins are annoying to receive in change.  Just throw those you get into an old cookie jar or similar. When you have accumulated a lot, include them in your recycling trash bin. All metal should be recovered by your municipal authority. If you happen to be a CRH'er, go through them before throwing the rest into the recycling bin. I find all Five Cent and Ten Cent coins annoying as well, and just return those to the bank in bulk. |
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Replies: 19 / Views: 3,358 |
Posted 12/30/2016 01:18 am
