Is Hoarding Pre-1982 Copper Cents Pointless!

For about the last year I have kept a little bag in my home/office and while out or at work when ever I find/receive change I always through the pre-1982 copper cents in a separate pocket and throw them in the bag at home, but will it all be worth it or is it pointless on such a small scale? would that bag earn more over time in the bank, than the rise of copper price by the time we are allowed to melt it? just curious. I think I will poll this!:hail:

 

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For once, size doesn't matter!!!

It's weight. OMG. I've only got like $50 face and I'm just glad I don't live on a boat becase we would be permanently leaning in that direction!

 

Different Can

Since I eyeball all my change I maintain a "special" can for pre '82's.

I even got a 1953 Wheat in change yesterday. So it went into the eXtra special can.

I'm not saying it makes sense. But it does help me keep cents.

 

pointless in my opinion , in the time it took you to gather enough to scrap them inflation already ate away at your "investment" now if you are simply hording for the sake of hording then let the sadness be resumed, but if it's to sell it for scrap then that's pointless...

 

I agree.

 

My 2 cents

I just keep Au or better copper cent.:kewl:

 

Pointless and one of the biggest waists of time imaginable.

 

Doesnt seem to be much of a point, But i guess if you have an extra
Bedroom or two...........LOL

 

Yes, spend them put them back into the bank and take the electronic money, there will be more for me.

Copper is usually considered a base metal, but it is abundant enough that it could be used as a monetary standard. One of the problems with fiat currency is that it is subject to the whims of the people in democratic countries, pols know that a strong dollar means the goods and services that their countries produce are more expensive, idle hands are the devils playthings, and when people are not working they are into mischief.

So you have pols vieing with each other to inflate their currency internationally, sorry but the idea of an economy centered around consumption not production is unsustainable, it only lasts until the credit runs out and the economy is drained of real assets.

Copper could solve that problem, tho it would be unusual to see copper dollars, I think that before that happens the powers that be will try to go to a cashless electronic money that will be a nightmare of manipulation and legalized theft that will make such adventures as the savings and loan thefts and the derivatives swindle seem like peanuts.

 

My answer was save them, but no need to guard them with your life.

 

I've seen rolls of pre-82 pennies running $1.25 - $1.50 at the shows which is about 2.5x to 3x face. They seem to be decent sellers. If you had an efficient way to sort them then money can be made at it by this method. Pennies are often overlooked when people are cherry picking so there is also a chance to hit a more valuable coin.


I don't think it would be a good way to acquire copper "bullion" however.

 

one of the machines I have been involved with making was an inspection machine for fasteners, a feeder bowl sorted them into a single line, and they were quickly passed thru a camera hooked to a computor that when any flaws or defects were spotted a puff of compressed air blew them out of the line into a reject bin. It would be simplicity to just do the same thing with a scale instead of a camera. I did wonder why someone would build a quarter million dollar machine in order to eliminate a minimum wage job, I suppose it was because the idea was that a machine would make less mistakes, and everyone in manufacturing is searching for perfection.

I find that sorting copper coins is an inexpensive way to indulge the hobby, especially since my daughter is getting married and I do not have the extra cash right now to make some more expensive acquisitions, I would rather sustain the hobby in this way other than just quitting it altogether.

 

It's about as pointless as the folks who started keeping silver coins from circulation from 1965-on. Boy were they dumb! LOL :rolling:

 

I also think its pointless and i'm with jello. on this one, I keep only the shiny AU cents!

 

Who are you going to sell them to? If you took 500 pounds of copper pennies to the place where you take your beer cans, are they going to buy them from you? Is anybody going to believe you when you tell them they're all pre 1982?

 

Pointless to some of you folks, but I've got two young'uns payin' a visit for a spell this summer. I figure two half gallon jugs of pre-82's and a couple o' whitman folders should keep 'em busy on rainy days.....

 

This is one of the most flagrantly bias polls I ever seen. I don't think you will get an honest poll with this catch-22 poll. just sayin!

 

Sounds like great fun.

Sounds like great fun. And don't forget to spike the jugs with a few wheats and maybe an IHC or two.

 

There are already several penny sorters on the market. Most go by weight since the zinc penny weighs differently from the copper one. This is also the way you determine if 1982 is copper or zinc.

Here is an example.

http://www.ryedalecoin.com/

 

I would say yes... just for the fun it. Always a chance you might find an error coin among them.