Should I collect any and all pre 1982 cents, no matter condition?

I know that quality comes first in collecting coins but with pennies pre 1982 being nearly all copper, is it wise to collect any and all pre 1982 pennies, no matter the condition. I've noticed in my roll searching, the 1960s-1970s penny stacks are much smaller than the rest. What's your thoughts on this?

 

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I do not see a reason to do that - but just my opinion. After I get enough Wheaties I just run to the local shop, convert them to cash and buy me something that really interests me. PS - I already have a completed dansco album of cents so not knocking them. Of course for key dates I might put them aside for special attention at the local shop.

 

Answer yourself this - Do you want a giant heap of coins that take up a ton of room and have really no value beyond face? Would you rather take that money and turn it into more coins to search? I had about $300 F/V of pre-82 copper cents before I realized what a huge waste it was and turned them all back into the bank to use for more CRH funds.

 

A penny saved is a penny earned .
90% copper ones cannot hurt.

 

The way things look, after going through about $25 worth of pennies, I may only come across maybe a $1 to $1.25 worth of copper pennies. In about the next twenty years or so, I'm sure the 60s and 70s piles will look like the 50s now, which I average about 2 in a box.

 

The way that prices are going, I'm sure that copper pennies, maybe not in my life time, will possibly have some sort of value as wheat pennies.

 

Depends on how much you go through. I was doing $200 worth every week and about 20% were pre-82 coppers. Now I keep only the AU-MS coins that I pull.

 

Is it really worth keeping them though? I don't think the "investment" would be worth it in the long run.

 

When you get to 9 - 50gal. trash cans full of 95% copper and then discover that (once the law changes) they won't sell for what others think, I'd like to know how many people you will need to hire to roll them and/or run them through the Coin Stars to get your money back?

Chris

 

I was saving them until my wife had taken notice in the man cave of my 36 gallons of them. Since then I only keep wheats etc.

 

Sometime in the future when the price of copper gets over a certain level you might see bags of pre 1982 copper cents being sold for their metal content since it is illegal to melt them. Their intrinsic value now is not enough for dealers, and most other people, to bother with them.

The more of these cents removed from circulation means the government has to strike at least that many to keep the supply available for commerce at its current level.

 

10 copper cents or a silver dime?

 

I myself wouldn't bother.

 

not worth it plus it takes up valuable space.

 

You should hoard them. That's all they're good for.

 

I still keep them. I don't think it is a great investment, but I don't think it hurts either. There are markets where they trade for slightly over face from time to time. Unfortunately shipping costs can be prohibitive. To a hoarder like myself it is enjoyable to collect them. To someone who does not like clutter it is probably not a good idea.

 

I'm a roll searcher - I limited myself to one 5 gal bucket. It's been full a number of years now. All I save now are ones in mint state for my BU roll set. It's easy to get buried in them....there are plenty of them still out there.

 

I like to keep them for coin pressing machines. One of these days, I'll buy one of those machines and sell the pennies for 50-cents a piece.

 

I don't collect 'em, I accumulate 'em. I just throw 'em in the old wine jug.........