2 Penny's edging

I dont get it? http://www.coinflation.com/coins/basemetal_calc.php
1.7? What am I missing? I should set up another thread so Im not hijacking like a jerk. But is this link wrong? You guys know this stuff, what am I missing because Im curious now. Besides the fact that altering a coin for profit is a felony? Its not really worth more when considering melt value? I hate the internet!

 

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In short, (if it ever became legal) if you were to take a ton of pennies to a copper dealer thinking you'll get top dollar they'd stare at you wondering if you lost it.

You'll have to get those pennies processed to make pure copper .. so that will cost you more than a pretty penny to do that.

What you are holding in your hand is essentially "scrap copper". Not "pure copper"
basically what you have from 1959 to 1982 is a disc of 95% Copper and 5% Tin & Zinc. It's up to you to purify it a tad more to make it something worthwhile or sell it to someone who will process it (which costs money).

For instance electrical grade copper is 99.99% copper. I don't think pennies even fall in the first two grades of copper scrap. edit: actually taking a quick look #2 copper is 94-96%.

 

OK. This makes sense.

 

I have enjoyed this thread. Thanks. I do want to mention something in the line of collecting pennies. My wife has been watching me go over the coins in my pants when I take them off at night. (Nothing dirty. I'm 72) One night, she asked me to show what I had gotten and she asked me to show them to her. Now she has a pint canning jar that she puts her coins in.

 

...the other half of the equation is inflation, not only if you could melt pennies, which you cannot legally.

In the 1950s, a nickel bought 10 times more than a nickel does today, and time, read that: buying power over time, is not your friend. So if you put up $100 in coins in 1995 their overall buying power has decreased to about $93 today.

So if you have collected for 57 years like me and others much longer, you might want to revisit your coin investment as a retirement scheme. I’m talking coins at FV from circulation, not specially procured, super value coins that actually appreciate over time.

BTW, I, too, used to think saving pre-82 cents for their copper was a smart idea. Then, about 18 months ago, @cpm9ball @paddyman98 and many other forum members made it perfectly clear that doing so was a fool’s errand. Over 500 pre-82 cents “escaped” back into the wild 18 months ago and, since then, several hundred more.

@Marie909 ...I implore you to keep the above in mind as you go through your coins. And, also, keep in mind that it takes time to become an experienced collector, that you will make mistakes but you will learn from them. Our mission here at Coin Talk is to help you learn, give you accurate information and help you minimize mistakes as you progress...Spark

 

FWIW, my "journey" to try to convince the copper hoarders that pre-82 Lincoln cents were not worth saving began more than 15 years ago. I started by calling almost every reclamation center in Florida to ask what they paid for copper alloy. It was then that I learned that it was only worth 25% of the value for Grade A copper because it was a costlier proposition to extract the copper.

Ever since then, I simply ran into a stone wall from disbelievers, and I had to challenge them to call the reclamation centers in their area to check for themselves. Most didn't bother, and that is why it has been a slow process to convert the disbelievers.

Chris

 

I think this topic got off the path from the start. It look's to me in your picture that the coin has damage. I'm very new at this so take my advice lightly.

 

Point taken, but the scattered, kinda-related posts were informative and fun.

...the 1980 looks like some die deterioration, IMHO, and I agree the 1989 has normal wear for the date and maybe damage to the IN/IGWT...Spark