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 Replies: 16 / Views: 2,556 |
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Pillar of the Community
527 Posts |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rko0gqXFloI've spoken to this guy a few times on Facebook via inbox. He seems like a nice guy, but he's become beyond obsessed with hoarding copper pennies. At around the 1:38 mark, he explains that he keeps copper in different places because he wants to have access to it just in case of a currency collapse where he'll need copper to barter with. Now here's my question, gentlemen: Who in the heck is actually going to barter with copper pennies? I mean sure you could barter with them, but it would be insanely difficult it would seem. Bartering with silver is easier because of its value and it's much easier to identify as a coin than a copper one is. Copper ones can only be identified by date and someone who buys junk coinage for its metal value has only your word. And if he has to cash them back in at face value, he's going to take a long while rolling them up. He has about $10,000 in face value of copper pennies according to him. That's about a million pennies and I can only imagine that most banks can't and won't take $10,000 in face value of ANY denomination of rolled coins unless it was like half dollars or dollar coins. I'm holding onto the copper pennies and nickels I have to see what will happen in the future with the coins. I'm hoping that when it becomes legal to melt them one day, I can take them to a smelter if the melt values are high and make a nice profit. If all else fails, I will leave them to my kids if I ever have any someday. So yeah, what do you guys think of this dude's copper cent hoard?
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Valued Member
United States
244 Posts |
It strikes me that bartering with copper is somewhat pointless in the case of economic collapse. Unlike gold, whose value is based on rarity, copper's value is based on industrial use. The price is high now due to the rapid industrialization of various formerly third-world countries such as China. If the world economy goes down the toilet, the price of copper will plummet, rendering a penny hoard fairly pointless. Don't believe? Just look at what happened in 2008 to copper prices: http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CP/M - they fell by more than 50%. And, while definitely a severe downturn, 2008 could hardly be called a "collapse". |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3345 Posts |
This guy's  In the event of a currency collapse, (what does he exactly mean?) the closest thing I can think of is the great depression. People are probably not going to want to trade for a ton of copper, they want gold/silver. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3184 Posts |
he is going way overboard. He should be stacking gold and silver and hoarding copper for fun.
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Valued Member
India
265 Posts |
let us hope there is no depression
warm wishes.
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Valued Member
United States
361 Posts |
I think that is wishful thinking on his part. What does he plan on doing? Carrying around 50 pounds of cents to trade for food?
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
The money in copper cents is find them and turn them. Sitting on them is not nearly as profitable, regardless of what the copper price does.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1031 Posts |
Diversification! Sell some, save some. Also invest in silver and gold. But as they say "To each his own!".
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Valued Member
United States
212 Posts |
Call him a collector, call him a hoarder. If he's happy with what he's doing then.........
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Pillar of the Community
3660 Posts |
I think that if currency collapses, the only things that anyone will be bartering with will be clubs, knives, and bullets.
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Valued Member
South Africa
169 Posts |
Amen Zeewool. I agree if things get that bad, then no money or Metals will buy you anything. Case in Point is some african countries where people literally have thousands, but there just is not food available to buy with it.
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
Copper won't become a bartering tool. Silver and Gold, Maybe. Your logic is still a little flawed. Copper coins are no harder to identify than silver coins are. You have to look at the date on most of those as well. And if you have silver proofs in the latter years with S mint marks, that will take some convincing, or knowledge of the difference between the proof clad and proof silvers. In a true SHTF scenario where Silver/Gold, and even the possibility of copper used as currency, people will quickly learn how to tell what is what.
You just never know what the future holds, people laughed at Noah too. My precious metals are Gold/Silver, and Hollow points.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Your all not looking at the big picture here. Now IF in the future a massive nuclean war wipes out almost everything, we all could well go back to the Bronze Age. We would be making tools and weapons of Bronze and that is basically Copper. So this guy may well know something we don't know of the future.  OR if becomes necessary to run a cable to the Moon, lots of Copper would also be needed for that so SEE, he may well know more than you think. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
People also laughed at my grandfather for buying $100's in silver coins in 1965/66. He sold the coins and bought what is now my parents 80 acre farm. Just from several hundreds in face value back in his day. I have maybe $500-600 in face of copper cents. I continue to collect more. worst case scenario; its worth face value.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1081 Posts |
I think that guy is nuts. As for bartering, think of it this way, most people have no idea what coins are made of, fewer people know which coins are actual silver or even gold for that matter, i.e. Golden dollars. Also keep in mind that about 25% of the US population is for lack of a better, politically correct term, cognitively challenged. So with all that, if he thinks he will go up to the average person with a fistful of copper pennies and think he will be able to get anything in return, he must be smoking something.
Another point, he mentioned he drives around with copper in his car, I wonder how much gas that burns up compared to the return on his "investment."
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Valued Member
United States
287 Posts |
Quote:
Is this going just a bit overboard? Answer: YES |
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Replies: 16 / Views: 2,556 |
Posted 03/27/2011 5:45 pm
