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 Replies: 20 / Views: 2,310 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1450 Posts |
in my neck of the woods! Seems like the last couple of weeks all I am getting in penny rolls is poor quality 1990's and shiny new 2005-2008. I used to be able to get a roll of 95% coppers from about every 4 rolls, the last 2 weeks it is taking 6 rolls on average for each copper roll and the coin quality in general is awful.Lucky to see a wheat from the 1950's once per 4-5 rolls(except when I get lucky like I did a week ago and got 3 full rolls of wheats). Better be grabbing and holding any better quality copper cents you find, we may be reaching the point of non-existent copper in circulation pretty soon. Anybody else noticing similar results?
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Valued Member
United States
56 Posts |
A lot of people have started hoarding copper cents, so that doesn't surprise me that they're getting harder to find. Still, 1 out of 6 rolls being copper is not too bad, considering that the mint has been producing copper-plated zincs for over 25 years now.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
764 Posts |
its all because of you copper hoarders!
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Valued Member
United States
346 Posts |
Yeah, I'm gonna start hoarding my copper here, pretty soon, and I'm gonna contribute to the "copper getting harder to find" pandemic.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1450 Posts |
Actually, I am about done hoarding since I don't have any more storage space but I will continue to search rolls for good quality copper coins. Used to be I could do 20-30 rolls and have 25-20 red cents from the 60's and 70's. The quantity of quality coins has dropped off noticeably so when you see a good one better grab it. I have my better quality stuff in coin tubes and have 12 full tubes of very nice cents,from 59-82.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
581 Posts |
It's way, way harder to find red cents from the 1980's. In five years, you'll wish you had been saving those instead of the copper ones. You yourself have made the comment about the lousy quality of the 1990's cents.
Put 2 and 2 together. The survival rate of the older copper ones will be a long, long time. Witness all the super high quality wheaties out there.
Your copper pennies are only going to be worth the copper that's in them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1450 Posts |
The great irony of this is that I started hoarding for the copper then got hooked on collecting Lincoln cents again, just like when I was a kid. Hoarding brought me back to collecting, now the collecting part has me a bit ticked off at hoarders taking all of the good quality coins to hold for melting. I know many of you are opposed to hoarding for many reasons but I'm glad I am back to collecting these lovely little gems and had I not started hoarding and seeing so many nice cents still in circulation, I would not be collecting again. Now I need to go back through all of my early rolls and make sure I get all of the quality copper.
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Valued Member
United States
56 Posts |
I don't really see what's the point of singling out the higher-grade copper cents, especially when you can still buy entire BU rolls of most dates for only $1 or so. I would think that only better dates like the 1969, 1971, and the "S" mints might be worth setting aside in nicer condition.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
666 Posts |
 With the number of coins minted I just don't see how the zinc cents will every be valuable regardless of condition. We're talking Billions of examples per mint per year. The memorial coppers aren't much better. Just look at the value of most wheat cents made in the 40's and 50's. Isn't the going rate around 3 cents... Isn't that pretty darn close to melt? So in over 50 years these newer wheat cents have managed to retain their copper value. Even uncirculated examples of these latter day wheats can be found for as little as 10 cents. When I roll hunt Lincolns I'm looking for wheats and varieties. I keep the copper just as something to do. I have every intention of melting down those kept coppers as soon as it's legal. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
543 Posts |
I really disagree with hockingzigs statement that the coppers are getting harder to find, I get at least 20 coppers per roll out here in North east pennsylvania.
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Valued Member
United States
146 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1450 Posts |
Jeremymh, I am glad to hear that. I was simply making an observation of what I have noticed, I hope my experience is the exception, not the rule. I had great luck in eastern PA just last month, some of the best roll searching I have ever had so it may just be my location and the number of people in this small area roll searching.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Quote:
what are coppers ?
Pre-1982 Lincoln cents were minted on 95% copper planchets. Part way through 1982, the planchets were switched to copper plated zinc. The value of the copper exceeds the face value of the cent(about 2 cents copper value) however it is illegal to melt them so the value can only be realized by trading sales, not refinery melt sales. The current demand is relatively small and the vast majority of dealers do not trade in them because the profit margins are too small and they can make much more with gold and silver which can be melted. They do sell in bulk on ebay fairly well from what I understand but this is mainly small time individual sales. Demand could increase at some point, especially if the melting ban was lifted. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
632 Posts |
I'm sure somebody has already mentioned this, but I was too lazy to skim through all the previous posts.
It seems like copper cents are becoming like silver halves. They're more predominant in certain areas. Some areas of the country are dry on silver, and other areas of the country people are getting rolls of franklins from the bank!
Where I am, finding copper cents is as easy as poking through the change you got back from buying your subway sandwhich. There is no shortage of pre-82's here.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
581 Posts |
I've been thinking a bit about this since yesterday.
I think the big problem with zinc linconlns will be to find "problem-free" examples in the next decades. If you've worked with them for awhile, you know that they literally "rot".
I have one of those whiteman folders where you push the coin in the hole. It's a folder for the Lincoln post-1959 set. Three years ago, it was up to date and all the coins were nice and red. Just a couple of weeks ago, I opened it up and there is all kind of nasty toning going on with the 1980's and 1990's lincolns. Now I haven't taken any special care of the album - it sits on a shelf in our bedreoom closet, but in aother 5 years, what will those coins look like?
Edited by Kabiye_Lady
07/27/2008 09:45 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1121 Posts |
I hoard copper and put away anything red pre 90.
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Replies: 20 / Views: 2,310 |
Posted 07/26/2008 12:20 am
