Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Penny Hoarding

brooklynct2003

brooklynct2003

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2006
Messages
453
Your pennies are worth 2 cents.

I put all my non-collectible recent coin finds back into circulation(helps support my hobby)

The one coin I always save is any copper penny from before 1982. The reason I do this is I am hedging against the price of copper. I even quickly sort the pennies I get back at the checkout counter and throw the older ones into a gallon size wine bottle where they will sit and collect until such a day that I desperately need to sell them or I give them to my children.

The current salvage melt value of a pre-1982 penny is 2.07 cents.
Even the melt value of today's post 1982 zinc penny is 1.1 cents.

There are thousands of people doing this and if the copper prices rise much further(I think it will keep rising with Global demand), you may see a penny shortage.

a couple interesting links:
http://www.coinflation.com/ - this shows the melt value of all coins currently in circulation
http://realcent.forumco.com/ - a forum where hundreds of people discuss this new hobby along with discussions about other coins & scrap metal.

Comments appreciated from you guys. Anybody else collecting/hoarding their pennies?

Gil from CT
 
I wonder if there's any value in most wheaties as compared to the copper prices? I removed the listed valuable ones but have a bunch of other wheats. steve in so az
 
The value of older copper coins will sky-rocket if copper goes much over $5 per lb.

Much like in 1980 when silver shot up to $50 per Oz. They call 1980 "the year of the big melt". Almost every silver coin from pre 1964 disappeared from circulation for scrap melting, making the remaining ones in people's collection all that much more valuable. In 1980, a 1964 quarter was worth almost $8.00 each in silver melt value. Needless to say, most disappeared from circulation.
 
Thanks for the links, very interesting info. As far as hoarding my pennies, I have yet to cash in any of the clad I recovered metal detecting. I have thousands of pennies, so I guess I am hoarding them.

Pocketchange
 
Thanks for the great info! I have several mason jars full that I've been threatening to Coinstar, but I think I'll just hold onto them for a while longer. ;)
 
those sites are very cool, i already started looking at my change around the house, already found a handful of pre 82 pennies. my wife thinks i'm fanatic so i guess i'm starting to fit in around here. thanks again.
 
P.S.

It takes 149 pre-1982 cents to make a pound of copper.

at Friday's closing price of $3.0838/lb - a penny equals 2.077 cents
At $5/lb a penny will equal 3.35 cents :wow:
at $10/lb a penny will equal 6.7 cents :shock:

some analysts predict that Silver will go to $80 per ounce, Gold to $1000 per ounce and Copper to $10 per pound

Forget the CD's in the bank or the stock market. Buy pennies! :lol: :yes: 8)
 
I've been saving copper pennies for years now.

Thw wheaties i save with no intention of selling or destroying them, but i have quite a few jars filled with 1959-1982 copper pennies.

I probably have approx $20 face value...which is $40 in copper. If it ever hits $10/lb that would be over $100 worth of copper right there.
 
I've been keeping all the pre-82 pennies for a long time. The zincolns I get rid of. At some point in time, I'll turn in the mems, but will always hold on to the wheaties. ;)
 
Florida Tabdigger said:
I have cashed-in pounds of pre-82 pennies...Guess I will keep them now. Very interesting information. Thanks.
P.S. I might keep the nickels too.
Click to expand...

Nickels are already worth almost 7 cents in melt value. If the price of Nickel doubles, your nickels will be worth 14 cents in scrap value.

I haven't started hoarding Nickels yet, but know of people who do. They don't believe in banks or paper money. They stash silver, copper & nickel in jars & bags and are waiting for the Apocalypse.
 
Better not melt them down just yet :P

From one of the many papers reporting this today:
========
WASHINGTON ? People who melt pennies or nickels to profit from the jump in metals prices could face jail time and pay thousands of dollars in fines, according to new rules out Thursday.

Soaring metals prices mean that the value of the metal in pennies and nickels exceeds the face value of the coins. Based on current metals prices, the value of the metal in a nickel is now 6.99 cents, while the penny's metal is worth 1.12 cents, according to the U.S. Mint.

That has piqued concern among government officials that people will melt the coins to sell the metal, leading to potential shortages of pennies and nickels.

"The nation needs its coinage for commerce," U.S. Mint director Ed Moy said in a statement. "We don't want to see our pennies and nickels melted down so a few individuals can take advantage of the American taxpayer. Replacing these coins would be an enormous cost to taxpayers."
=========

Full link:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-12-14-melting-ban-usat_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA
 
and he is referring to the Zinc penny being worth 1.12 cents. He failed to mention the pre-1982 copper penny with is worth over 2 cents.

Interestingly enough, they tried banning the melting of silver coins in the the 60's and again in the 80's and it failed.

Scrap dealers intent on making a profit will ignore those rules.
 
For our Canadian friends...Or anyone who has a bunch of Canadian cents or pennies and wants to know the metal content of these coins:

Before 1997: 98% copper, 1.75% zinc, 0.25% other metals

1997-2000: a zinc core, plated with copper

2001-present: core of 94% steel and 1.5% nickel, plated with 4.5% copper.

So in other words, you should hoard the Canadian cents dated EARLIER than 1997
 
What if we melt them down into lumps of copper and nickel on our own? How would one prove they used to be pennies or nickels??


Is it legal to melt pre-97 Canadian pennies here in the US?? :) I have tons of Canadian coins and was about to go exchange about $40 worth into American dollars.
 
Well, Boys & Girls....

Our government has never been known for its brains (remember the $200 hammers and the $500 toilet seats our government was buying 25+ years ago? :?:), but you can bet if the price of metals (i.e. copper, zinc, and nickel) keeps going up, the Treasury Dept. will either:

a) change the metallic composition of cents and nickels to something cheaper (what, I don't know....perhaps a composite plastic?), or...

b) eliminate the minting altogether of such lower denomination coins.

Whatever the government decides, the current cent and nickel will eventually go the way of the silver coin--the value of the metal will drive them out of circulation because people will hoard them....just like the people did with the silver coinage when it was replaced by clad in 1965. And just because the government passes laws making the melting of such coins illegal doesn't mean that these coins won't be melted anyway...where there's a way for someone to make a buck--legally, or otherwise--there will always be a market.

Trust me, as countries like China and India continue to industrialize, the demand for copper, zinc, nickel, aluminum....all base metals, will keep going up.

Keep saving those pre-1982 pennies!

Harley-Dog
 
If anything the base metal content will establish a minimum floor for the coins you collect.

Silver dimes in any condition now trade for about a dollar or more and silver quarters trade for about $3.00.

The same will hold true for copper cents and nickels. Once the base metal value more than doubles the face value of the coin, they start disappearing from production and it becomes profitable for coin collectors to start dealing in them.

Keep saving your pennies and older nickels, they will soon be changing the metal content and they be a good investment.
 
Currently, there is a seller on Ebay who has listed 2,500 pre-1982 cents for sale with a starting bid of $37.90 (no bidders yet).
http://cgi.ebay.com/Bag-of-2-500-Pre-1982-Cents-95-Copper-Bullion-17lb_W0QQitemZ190063578297QQihZ009QQcategoryZ31373QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What's interesting is that this same seller sold a similar bag last week for $35.90 + $10.10 in postage.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Bag-of-2-500-Pre-1982-Cents-95-Copper-Bullion-17lb_W0QQitemZ190060459347QQihZ009QQcategoryZ31373QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just something to think about.

Harley-Dog
 
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