Lincoln Memorials 95% Copper

Well T-Bop, do an experiment. Start with a coin shop, ask if they buy them. Then go to a pawn shop to ask if they buy them. The contact a metal recycler to see if they buy them. The answers they give you will let you know if it is worth saving them or not.

It's illegal to melt them at this time so nobody is likely to pay more than 1 cent each for them. Many, many people do save them for the future. Main problems are the weight and volume and waiting game until they can be melted. It's up to you.

Copper Lincoln Memorials are 30 to 50 years old at this point. It would be like if you went back in time to 1970 and didn't save al the wheaties you found from 1920-1940. Why not save them - especially the nicer ones?

Apparently neither one of you has paid much attention to ebay auctions for lots of these or are aware there are forums dedicated to copper hoarding/buying/selling where they go for more than face value. A quick ebay search yielded this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50-FACE-VAL...em3ceea00244

1.4 cents per...not a huge killing, but the key is dealing in volume and it shows people ARE willing to pay more than 1 cent each.

Also, look at this way...it costs you 1 cent each. If inflation happens, the metal value will likely increase and therefore you have a hedge against inflation. In a deflationary scenario where cash is king, these are still worth 1 cent each. So either way you are not losing anything. And please don't tell me you would lose interest as we all know interest rates on savings accounts are pretty much non-existent.

I save my copper cents mainly just for fun but it's also saving and has a chance to be worth it long term. You don't rack up money saving some here and there but it adds up over time. I've been saving my copper cents for about a year now and without heavily CRH have a 50 cal ammo can about half full now. I like Saving everything though lol. I have a jar for zincolns, nickels, dimes, and quarters and occasionally cash them in either for spending money or on other coins I want. I Say save them but my only concern is what I'm going to due with them once they become a serious hoard.

Well Coinhunter, I have paid attention to ebay. If you look through completed listings you will find at least as many go unsold as get sold. And yes people on ebay will sometimes buy lots of pre 1982, but people on ebay sometimes pay hundreds for Chinese Fakes, doesn't make them worth any more, does it?

Let's look to history. The Wheat cent was last minted in 1958. That is 56 years ago.
Today you can buy circulated wheat cents just about anywhere for 3 to 5 cents and they wholesale for about 2 cents.
Five years ago you could buy circulated wheat cents just about anywhere for 3 to 5 cents and they wholesaled for about 2 cents.
Ten years ago you could buy circulated wheat cents just about anywhere for 3 to 5 cents and they wholesaled for about 2 cents.
Fifteen years ago you could buy circulated wheat cents just about anywhere for 3 to 5 cents and they wholesaled for about 2 cents.

When scrap copper was trading at 70 cents per pound you could buy circulated wheat cents just about anywhere for 3 to 5 cents and they wholesaled for about 2 cents.

When scrap copper was trading at $4 per pound you could buy circulated wheat cents just about anywhere for 3 to 5 cents and they wholesaled for about 2 cents.

Do you see a pattern?

LMC were minted to the tune of 5 or 6 Billion per year.
So tell me as a speculator do you see an upside?
As an investor do you see sn upside?

Take a roll of say 1972 BU cents to a LCS or coin show to sell and you will be lucky to get any takers at anything above face.

This is the reality. It is not mean or bitter, it is just true.
If you like them save some, but know that when you have to start spending money on storage it is money foolishly spent.

At least when you get sick of saving them they are still legal tender.

Simply not true. An item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I showed an example where someone paid 1.4 cents per cent, and had to pay shipping on top of that. So obviously $50 face value is worth more than $50 since there was a willing buyer.

I actually checked with my local coin shop. Guess what? They are selling bags of 95% LMC's at a small premium. They often get these as part of a larger collection. Instead of throwing them into the bank or into the change till, they sell them as an item just the same as wheat cents and any other items you would typically find at a coin shop. I know some of the close minded people here will find this hard to believe, but they are actually selling them (i.e. customers are buying)...gasp...at more than face value. Who would have thought?

When the US discontinue pennies you'll wish you had them to roll search. In Canada they're getting scarse because the market doesn't use them anymore. I was thrilled to get $100 from my uncle today. I'll be sorting them on a rainy day! :) You don't know what you have until it's gone. Follow the talks from the lobbyists that want to get rid of pennies and when they start sounding serious for once and follow the rest of the world (Australia, Sweden, Canada) then maybe start CRH'ing heavier. By then you guys will adopt the metric system too and we'll have a huge BBQ.