I keep about $500 in $25 boxes sitting around in case fiat ever became worthless, bank run, etc, they may have metal and fiat barter value combined, that's only twenty boxes of pennies, that's not much, and neither is $500. Still, I'm sure cash would still work, you just might need more of it. I put them in half gallon container and they make a great door stopper, but so does a rock - that is the only real value I am getting out of these things. They are bronze, so from a scrap perspective you will never, ever get melt for them. Hoarding them did get popular when copper prices were up around 4.00.
Once we realize the penny is just a waste of time we will all be better off, and the old collections that have numismatic value will have more numismatic value.
I still do not understand why the bronze percentage is near 30% in the midwest but more near or under 15% on the coastlines, just what I have heard.