TV Tokyo, a news program in Japan, did a video piece on copper pennies and copper penny investing in the United States. We were featured and show up towards the end. It’s mostly in Japanese, however, there’s some English in there very worth watching. It’s on the link below, just click play on the video when the page loads.
We get many inquiries and requests for information on how to sell copper pennies. What we will not do is give away our operational procedures. What we will do is give bits and pieces of advice that may help you decide if selling copper pennies is right for you.
After all, how to do something first stems from if you should do something.
Ever heard of ‘Location, Location, Location’ in terms of real estate? For copper pennies, it is:
‘Price, Price, Price’
If you aren’t sure about pricing, it may be very advantageous to search copper penny auctions and pricing via Ebay. Here is a link to a page on our site with listings which will open a new window in your browser:
Now that you have an idea of pricing possibilities, you simply have to note and accept the following:
Copper pennies are simply not a flat rate. The pricing is sporadic from lows and highs that can yield vast benefits to buyers and sellers if the timing is correct in their favor. Yes, in general, prices are on the rise, however, just like in the metals industry, the price will change with market supply and demand fluctuations.
As a seller, it is critical to remember how pricing and turnover work. Just like in a normal market situation, a seller can simply hold onto their product to wait for higher pricing during fluctuations in pricing. Though this means that the seller is also holding the risk of an opportunity cost loss to already have sold the copper pennies at a lower price to sell more quickly for faster turnover.
This all probably seems quite obvious. But it’s easy to get wrapped up in the idea of something without careful consideration to the risk. Getting involved in selling copper pennies means careful consideration to risk versus reward as far as sell quickly lower price vs seller slower higher price.
The decision is ultimately up to you. Just remember that the last person standing with copper pennies when the penny is eventually eliminated will be the one to gain the most benefit. If your profits now offset that risk of holding for later, sell sell sell. If your ability to sell is not yielding the profits you desire, it may be time to consider holding for a longer time.
Finding yourself torn between selling or holding copper pennies? When in doubt, do both! There’s absolutely no harm (in fact, it’s quite brilliant) to sell copper pennies and convert your profits into holdings.
“It’s one of those things where I think people get attached emotionally to the way things have been,” the president said. “We remember our piggy banks and counting out all the pennies and then taking them and getting a dollar bill or a couple of dollars.”
“This is not going to be a huge savings for government. But anytime we’re spending more money on something that people don’t actually use, that’s an example of something we should probably change,” Obama said. “One of the things that you see chronically in government is it’s very hard to get rid of things that don’t work so that we can then invest in the things that do.”
- Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
Opinion on Obama’s Penny Speech 2013
Let’s be blunt. Eliminating the penny means admitting that inflation has run rampant and the one-cent, is, essentially and literally, worthless.
The penny is, however, money. Remember that it is still a legal form of currency. So when money becomes worthless, it is an admitting there is a problem with the money system.
Meanwhile, Obama and Bernanke are printing unlimited amounts of money. Buying up bonds and other various things to attempt to stimulate the economy. Eliminating the penny would bring attention to rampant inflation currently going on under Obama’s administration.
This would be a big ‘No No” to do. Therefore, side-stepping the issue is the politically motivated thing to do. And exactly what happened.
In fact, it is important to note that while this article may single out both Obama and Bernanke, this isn’t a political party issue. This is a United States political issue. Meaning, the policies from the mainstream political wings on both sides are manipulated by the financial institutions and their benefactors (think Federal Reserve is neither Federal or a Reserve). This has been going on since the inception of the latest Federal Reserve in the United States one hundred years ago.
The Coin Modernization Act of 2010 has officially announced their findings. So what is the answer?
‘We need more time.’
No news is the absolute best news as it means that we all have a lot more time to capitalize on pennies and nickels before the Government takes them in themselves.
Most intriguing is the part on the one-cent coin:
“At Present, changes to the metals formulation of the one-cent coin would not yield significant cost improvements over the current formulation because the current market price of zinc is competitive with the prices of the credible alternatives, steel and aluminum.”
What solution does this leave? Elimination of the one-cent as the only viable solution.
Buy pennies and buy nickels while you can. If supply drops to zero from a coin denomination elimination, whether you’re a bullion investor or a numismatic coin collector, prices inevitably must go up.
A friendly reminder that the Coin Modernization Act 2010 is to report its findings mid-December 2012. That means, any day now, we could get the update on whether the penny is being eliminated or having a metal composition change. This also goes for the nickel being eliminated or having a change in metal composition.
Most likely, any change in metal composition would be a change to steel. Right now, pennies are made of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper. Nickels are 75% copper and 25% nickel. Each costs more than twice its face value to mint.
The Coin Modernization Act of 2010 itself was passed on December 14th, 2010 and was enacted to:
‘provide research and development authority for alternative coinage materials to the Secretary of the Treasury, increase congressional oversight over coin production, and ensure the continuity of certain numismatic items’”
Since its inception, there are many rumors floating around of trials of new compositions for both the penny and nickel, particularly steel. Taking a look at Canada, one can see the penny was made of steel in Canada by the Royal Canadian Mint, and actually eliminated as of this year, 2012.
The Canadian nickel is currently made of a metal composition of 94.5% steel, 3.5% copper, and 2% nickel plating coming in at a weight of 3.95 grams.
So what happens next? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain.
History repeats. The price to buy pennies sky rocketed as soon as the announcement of the Canadian penny elimination came out. Will it happen again in the United States? Perhaps the impending “fiscal cliff” talks will push the change or elimination of the penny and nickel right over the edge. After all, the cost to make the penny is 2.41 cents.
Hindsight may be 20 - 20. But we can all conclude that buying pennies and nickels now creates huge potential gains for you with their respective face value to fall back on.
Buy pennies and buy nickels while you can. If supply drops to zero from a coin denomination elimination, whether you’re a bullion investor or a numismatic coin collector, prices inevitably must go up.
100 pounds of pure copper scrap graded .999. U.S.A. manufactured and material Certification verified. Great for various craft projects, melting, and investing in industrial grade .999 pure copper. 100 pounds is a simple and easy quantity to diverse into the pure copper market without the extra cost of premium purchased copper bars. If you’re looking for a good size quantity of copper scrap punchings, you have come to the right place.
Copper Scrap Specifications
Made in the United States. Material certification verified.
Weight: 100 Pounds
.999 pure copper
Boxes Mailed: 2 box
Copper Scrap Shipping
We usually ship within 1-2 business days upon receipt of full payment and correct shipping information.
All purchases ship secured and insured.
International Purchases accepted in accordance with U.S. law and Continental U.S. mainland shipping only.
All sales are final and non-refundable.
Copper Scrap Disclaimer
All copper Scrap are considered U.S.A. products having been acquired from U.S.A. copper manufacturing companies, processed, and cut within the United States. Copper scrap comes in various shapes and sizes as being copper punchings of .999 pure copper grade copper material.
International Purchases accepted in accordance with U.S. law and Continental U.S. mainland shipping only.
All forms of currencies have intrinsic value. This means the actual physical monetary value of the item itself. A penny is made of metal. Therefore, it has metal value based on the metal content. For example, a copper penny is made of 95% copper 5% zinc and weighs approximately 3.11 grams.
This means a copper penny holds 2.9545 grams of copper and 0.1555 grams of zinc. Of course, wear and tear as well as various anomalies can change this figure. But the point to make is that this is a physical tangible value associated with the penny.
Currency Value
A penny also holds a currency value. This value is one-cent or 0.01 of a dollar. The purpose of this value is its trade value and use in a marketplace as a medium of exchange in place of a barter economy. A currency value is very subjective in a global marketplace when incorporating exchange rates and other factors.
It is good to note that currencies like the dollar are heavily devalued due to mass printings of more money into the money system. This means the intrinsic value bolsters compared to the currency value from the impact of inflation.
Numismatic (Collector) Value
Finally, a penny holds coin collector numismatic value. This often has to do with rarities of coins, makes, quantity of units produced, models, years, various errors, and other factors.
Penny Value Conclusions
What’s the point? Simple. You can convert these three value terms into three different values:
Intrinsic = Investment Value
Currency = Back up Value
Numismatic (Collector) = Supply & Demand Value
Metals are useful to society, and have a historic proof of keeping up with inflation at a minimum, often outpacing inflation. What does this mean? Your pennies are devaluing from inflation because of their face value but increasing in value because their metal value is not decreasing with inflation. While everyone else keeps their money in the digital world of banking, you are holding physical value that is increasing at a faster pace than money sitting in a zero percent-to-low-percent interest bank account.
Worst case scenario, you still have currency value to fall back on as a back up plan. If the metal value breaks historical statistics and turns the other way around, you still have a currency value, proving that unlike a bet in the stock market, your pennies won’t reach a value of zero.
Finally, pennies will be eliminated from circulation at some point. Every country has done it but the United States. Therefore, once it happens, the total quantity of pennies in circulation will drastically be reduced. Demand, however, for coin collectors will almost certainly stay the same. As a result: Supply drops. Demand holds steady. Value goes up.
That sums up the three multi-values of the pennies. Thoughts? Feel welcome to leave a comment below.
The concept of what copper is changes based on what exactly you’re trying to accomplish with a search to determine a definition. Some definitions are more basic than others which are more subjective versus objective and based on perspective.
Copper is a metal that generally has a reddish-brown color. Chemically speaking, it is the atomic number 29. Copper is a very good conductor of electricity which yields one of its dominant values in society.
Copper comes in various forms from investment bars like the above photograph, copper scrap pieces like to the right and even
pennies minted mid-1982 and older were made of 95% copper. It may seem odd, but inflation has caused these little United States coins to become more valuable for their actual weight in copper more so than their actual face value in currency. People collect them to eventually cash out just like silver coins from the 1970s.
So what is copper? Copper is just a metal. But what how you choose to reap the benefits of copper is up to you.
Copper Punchings from post-USA manufacturing use usually get sent to refineries to be re-processed into pure copper bars. Why does this happen?
Copper bars sell for more than the copper punchings. Interestingly enough, copper punchings yield a great way to diversify your copper investments into more manageable, smaller pieces suitable for low-value barter trades.
Regardless of your reasoning for an interest in copper punchings, the key is to buy quality for cheap. After all, .999 copper is .999 copper regardless of its form.
If you need bars for practical industrial use, that’s the way to go. But if you’re simply looking to hold onto copper for investment purposes, punchings may be a unique and innovative solution for you by intercepting the punchings post-use but pre-refinery.
Third Party-based sponsored advertisements are utilized so you can see alternative pricing choices not regulated by us for complete transparency and market freedom.
Low-risk investing is wise for any long-term investor looking to have gains while preserving wealth. Nickels offer a great solution for low-risk tangible investing.
How to Make Money off of Copper Pennies
Penny Cost 2012 Boosts Copper Penny Investing
Pure Copper Investing
The Three Multi-Values of Pennies
Investing Millions in Copper
Copper Penny Sorting versus Copper Penny Buying
Copper Penny Floor
Invest in Copper Below Market Price
