Buying copper pennys, good idea or bad idea?

[Cyclonesteve]

I was looking on eBay the other day and I found listings for 10,000 (about 68 lbs) 95% copper pennys for $145-$155 shipping included.

Currently it's illegal to melt them down but if they end the penny it should be legal to melt them. Right now the melt value is around $140-145. ($2.24/lbs) If you look at the copper rounds at gunshows they sell for around $16/lbs!!! Buying pennys gets you copper at near wholesale prices ($2.06/lbs) with restrictions. So, is it a waste my time to mess with copper? Should I buy a 1/10 oz gold coin instead? Maybe 500 rounds of 5.56? Or perhaps a date with Penny? :-)

What do you think?

[FlyingDevildog]

depends on what "Penny" looks like.

I would go with the 5.56 rounds first,
Then Silver,
then gold, if I could.
then Junk Silver.

[Mark Davis]

How much storage space do you have?
How often do you move?
Will moving your stash hurt your back?

In the past, when ever a country has devalued their money, it was done as a paper exchange. The logistics of changing out coins was just too great.

I wonder if saving every coin you come in possession of might be a good idea. But bulk, weight, and storage space have to be given consideration.

In a devaluation the banks would be soothed by knowing the coins they had stored were going to gain value, their vaults would be heavy with coinage after rampant inflation and hard times.

When a call comes out that it is unpatriotic to hoard coins, get as many as you can!

[colonial shooter]

Pennies are on the chopping block according to the treasury. They cost more to make than they are worth. Any penny before  1983 is 90%+ copper, after that it is mostly zinc.

Also on the chopping block are nickles. I have been saving them for years. They are the only coin that has not been changed in its composition since its inception. Last time I checked the melt value (again illegal by code) was 7.5 cents per nickle. That is an investment.

But, like MD says, how much space do you have? A box of rolled nickles from the bank weights in excess of 20 pounds and is about 12"x4"x4" in size. I prefer the junk silver to bullion coins for ease of trade just my .02frn

[Cyclonesteve]

Pennies are on the chopping block according to the treasury. They cost more to make than they are worth. Any penny before  1983 is 90%+ copper, after that it is mostly zinc.

Also on the chopping block are nickles. I have been saving them for years. They are the only coin that has not been changed in its composition since its inception. Last time I checked the melt value (again illegal by code) was 7.5 cents per nickle. That is an investment.

But, like MD says, how much space do you have? A box of rolled nickles from the bank weights in excess of 20 pounds and is about 12"x4"x4" in size. I prefer the junk silver to bullion coins for ease of trade just my .02frn

I've thought about nickels. If I did my math right, they are currently worth 2.76 cents per nickel. You are right, they used to be worth more than 5 cents but base metals have been hammered the last few years. On the plus side, as long as they are legal tender they will never be worth less than what you paid for them. A $25 box of pre-82 pennies weighs around 17 lbs and used to be worth over $50 but is currently worth around $34 in copper.

At current prices, (if your time is worth nothing) the thing to do would be to buy a $25 box of used pennies and go thru them looking for old ones, but if copper keeps going down even that would be a losing proposition.

[wyomiles]

Hey Steve, here is an old thread that you might find interesting.


http://www.fswforum.org/index.php?topic=1975.0

[Cyclonesteve]

Hey Steve, here is an old thread that you might find interesting.


http://www.fswforum.org/index.php?topic=1975.0

Thanks, as I was going through the posts I found a link that says the US MINT has created rules that make it a violation of the law with a maximum 5 years and $10,000 fine for melting or exporting pennies and nickels. I have no idea how the US Mint can write laws and ascribe penalties but that's what the article said. Of course, if the end the penny and make it no longer legal tender that MIGHT change what you can do with them.

Time will tell.

[Mark Davis]

I have been reconsidering my ideas on coin future value.
With the trend being a cashless society, a big pile of coins, in alloys very difficult to break down
have no value in a digitized economy.

[Cyclonesteve]

You may be right. I do wonder if the cashless trend will continue.

I also wonder what the black and grey markets will do in a "cashless" business world. I go to sporting events from time to time. Will scalpers be asking you to enter your pin number. If you have extra tickets and a scalper wants them will you need to pull out your "Cash" app on your smartphone or the bitcoin app? Last night I sat next to a 70's+ couple and I don't think they have a smartphone.

I wonder if transactions will split our economy. Will some move to one side that deals with online transactions and the other side that deals with barter, and/or precious metals. If there is no cash, negative interest rates are possible and bail-ins become a lot easier. I don't think everyone is going to roll over for this. IMHO

In case you can't tell, I cash out much of my paycheck and try to do most of my transactions in cash. 

PS: The value in these coins is the utility of the copper, not it's tender status.

[Scheherazade]

You may be right. I do wonder if the cashless trend will continue.

I also wonder what the black and grey markets will do in a "cashless" business world. I go to sporting events from time to time. Will scalpers be asking you to enter your pin number. If you have extra tickets and a scalper wants them will you need to pull out your "Cash" app on your smartphone or the bitcoin app? Last night I sat next to a 70's+ couple and I don't think they have a smartphone.

I wonder if transactions will split our economy. Will some move to one side that deals with online transactions and the other side that deals with barter, and/or precious metals. If there is no cash, negative interest rates are possible and bail-ins become a lot easier. I don't think everyone is going to roll over for this. IMHO

In case you can't tell, I cash out much of my paycheck and try to do most of my transactions in cash. 

PS: The value in these coins is the utility of the copper, not it's tender status.

Revelation 13:16-17 "He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name."

[Mark Davis]

Steve you talk of pennies, and the price of copper while I talk of all us coins and consider face value after a possible devaluation. 1-10 would be nice 1-100 would be a bonanza!

The day revelation 13 comes true, might as well go down fighting.

[Scheherazade]

The day revelation 13 comes true, might as well go down fighting.

Hopefully it is after the rapture. The technology for it is in place right now.

[Paul Bonneau]

With the trend being a cashless society, a big pile of coins, in alloys very difficult to break down
have no value in a digitized economy.

Well I bet it will be even more valuable in a black or grey market. That and bitcoins. They sure aren't going to use government-approved currency, with every transaction recorded.