A better way of investing in copper

how did a thread about copper turn into someone showing how smug they are by not having a television?

 

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I wondered how that happened too.

 

There's a simple reason more and more people are collecting copper pennies: its just plain smart. We saw the rapid disapearace of silver dimes when the U.S. switched to the sandwhiched copper and nickel version in the mid-60'sbecouse of an inflated dollar and spikse in the price of silver. Astoundingly, virually all silver currency was depleated within 5-6 years.

What happened in the 1970's? The same thing. Inflation hit all-times highs (again) and the price of copper sored. This caused the materials in the penny to be worth more than the penny itself! So the U.S. ment began minting cheaper zink pennies, which costs far less to mint. However, we did not see the speedy evaporation of copper pennies like we did in the 1960's...

Nontheless, if you where to go a bank and ask for a roll (50 cents) of pennies, you would only find about 8-12 copper pennies. They are disapearing. And eventually the copper peny will be quite a rare find indeed.

Thanks for reading yet another exceedingly tiresome lecture,
CopperJacket

 

how many copper pennies would it take to buy an ounce of gold in copper value alone?

 

Just about 662 copper pennies to an ounce of gold

 

I'd like to buy some gold from you. here's $6.62

LOL

 

My mistake. The proper amount (had I ounched in the extra couple zeros into my calculator) would be 64,400 pennies to the gold oz. This amount would NOT be based on U.S. currency however. Only on base melt value. 64,400 pennies worth of copper would be equal to the gold oz. You doen't see people buying a 1853 gold DOLLAR for 1$, now do you?

 

that's nice. what do 64,000 pennies weigh and what is the area of them?

 

Well played, sir. I set myself up for that. I guess it just annoys me (to no end) how you keep hearing edited over and over and over again the same arguments (from people who should know better):

1) It's against the law to melt pennies
2) Who has time to sort pennies?

1) No . Why on earth would you want to do this? Unless, as previuosly mentioned, you are edited
2) You have more time than you think. Turn off the edited TV. edited

 

It's about 25 and a half penny boxes (50 rolls/box), but...

Again, I think you're missing the big picture:

How much does an ounce of gold cost?

How much do 64,000 pennies cost? (In case of retards, this answer is $640)

No - before you ask - I can't imagine ANYone willing to trade an ounce of gold for 25 boxes of pennies. The point is that if someone does a little scratching below the surface, there seems to be a huge arbitrage potential there. The trick (for some clever person), is to figure out how to make it happen (if they have not done so already).

Buying (and sorting) copper pennies at face value, as mentioned, is buying them at half their intrinsic net worth. THAT part is a no-brainer (for edited). The tricky part is storage and converting that potential profit into something tangible (and more liquid than a box of 2,500 pennies).

 

The essence of value investing is to purchase an asset when the market price is lower than the intrinsic value of the asset, then waiting until the market recognizes the value. What you are describing is arbitrage, where the asset can be acquired for a low price in one market and resold for a higher price soon after in a different market. So I agree that there are no good arbitrage possibilities for copper cents, but they might turn out to be decent value investments. However, as others have pointed out, they are too bulky to make any serious money. But I still find myself pulling them out of pocket change and throwing them into a container because I can't stand to spend them for face value. It's a sickness.

 

You are not alone in this "sickness"!

 

seems like you'd be miles ahead just salvaging scrap copper. wires, pipes, etc. do you allow yourself to listen to the radio while sorting?

 

:dead-horse:

 

FryDaddyJr - I'm just as guilty as you for taking this thread off-topic (and judging from the PM I received, I guess I offended some folks with my 'language' ??? - sorry).

Let's man-up and put our [petty] differences aside once and for all, shall we?

The original topic (I think?) was about hoarding copper pennies - practical or not? I submit that it is very practical, as you don't have to scrounge scrapyards, ram your car into telephone poles, etc, to find 'copper.' You clearly disagree, as you feel that 'copper wire and pipes' are more obtainable. Perhaps true in your area. Not mine. For me, it's easier to pick up a few rolls of pennies on the way home from work every few days and sort them at home. I average between 25-33% copper yield, and the rest goes right back to the bank. I get a wheat about every 5 rolls and they go in a separate stash.

So, again, let's just agree to disagree and not make everyone else on this forum suffer through our bickering, ok?

And, yes - I do listen to the radio in my fallout shelter.

 

There was an article on the front page of yahoo last month. Your copper collection method is getting out there! Good thing theres lots & lots of copper penny's out there still!

 

Well you're on a roll cvicisso

 

That TV would have a few pounds of copper. One could hoard Tv's

I hoard copper pennies. I do it because for one cent i am getting better than 2 cents if not 3 cents in metal. So i can only realize my intrinsic profit by selling them, melting them, or shoving them into copper scrap to make it weigh at the scrap yard.

So pennies is a good idea for that idea alone. And at the same time, it is still cash in the stash, and i have saved $150 in pennies, so that means i have saved 150 dollars that i didn't have to think about trying to do.

Hoarding copper itself is a good idea, if you can get some for one, and two, you sell it when the price is high.

Purchasing copper bullion, in my opinion, is nonesense. Sure if a round is 2 bucks at a coin dealer for its 'numismatic' collectability, novelty, what have you, but otherwise.

One, you are paying 3-4x it's value to get something stamped .999. People are paying pound price for ounces. That is a rip off.

Two, copper is in everything. Sure it has high demand, but it is not rare. It is not permanantly used up (like industrial silver), and is easily recyclable versus electronics PM's.

Three, copper is free! Sure if you steal it, but that is wrong. True if you find it, which you can do without going out of your way looking for it.

With copper being in demand for new products in a consumerist economy, just as much of it is being thrown away at the same time. Anything electrical is going to have copper. Dig in the trash and cut the cord off that broken alarm clock.

Pennies you can keep with the idea of making 3 times what you spent on it. Buying bullion would only make sense if you can buy it for 1/3rd of it's value, and then turn it over to the scrap yard to realize your profit.

I do property maintnance and construction work, so i always end up with steel, copper wire and pipe scraps, and aluminum storm window frames, etc. I get paid to take it to the dump, and there i separate the metal and i get paid at the scrap yard.

I have literally a garbage can full of copper wire. Some bare, some insulated, but i will 'hoard' it long enough to strip the insulation, and wait until the price goes up seasonably to sell it, and then take my proceeds and save it, or buy silver with it to secure the value of the copper i just sold.

I just think that buyng copper for intrinsic value is plain silly. (except for pennies, since it is money, no loss involved, it can be spent for what it costs you to keep it). Saving free copper, and then selling it when the price is right, is genius!

 

Well, these people buy sell and trade them all the time. Many are good peeps too... www.realcent.org

 

10 pounds (only 30 rolls) of pre-82 pennies going for 2-3x face:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OVER-10-POUNDS-PENNIES-1959-1982-15-FV-COPPER-BULLION-/220954172386?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3371e51be2#ht_500wt_1244