Hoarding Standards 101
Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 6:58 pmHoarding standards
Pennies 101: the new Rodebaugh version.
A little information/history is always good before starting the hobby
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)
Risk of hoarding: Worst case scenario if copper prices plummet. If you're hoarding pennies hobby doesn't work out, you can always return your investment back to the bank for face value. The only thing you lost was time, effort, and minor inflation depreciation. Very low risk investment potential.
Pennies: What to sort for keeps and what to discard.
Zinc - These are all 1983 to present. You do not want to keep these for their metal content as the face value is worth more than the metal content probably will be for years to come. Use these to exchange for more unsearched rolls/more money for more rolls.
Mixed composition – 1982. Approximately 75% of all 1982 Lincoln cents in circulation are copper. The rest are zinc. It is worth your time to purchase a scale, sorter, or develop some other way to distinguish these cents.
Copper - These are all 1959 to 1981, You want to keep copper pennies. Copper pennies have more metal content value than their face value but are still regularly in circulation. Routinely a single copper cent has held a melt value at or above 2 cents. Although at this time it is 'illegal' to deface money/melt coins, you can store your hoard away until this law is repealed. One can also trade or sell copper pennies above face value without much difficulty at this time.
Wheat Pennies - These are pennies minted between the years of 1909 to 1958. All of these pennies are made of copper, excluding coins minted during 1943 that were made of solid steel plated with zinc. All coins from this series are worth more as a numismatic coin/collector value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_Pennies
Indian Head - These pennies were minted between 1859 to 1909. These are rarely found in penny rolls. There are a few still left in the wild. Any of these found should be reported in the tracking thread on this forum; so bragging rights may be claimed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_head_cent
Foreign Coins – Most common of these that one may encounter is the Canadian cent. Please refer to Coin Composition Thread for more detail on what to hoard.
Mint Errors – There are numerous mint errors. Some are rare; some are not. Some are valuable; some are not. Either way this can be an exciting part of your search. Buy a Cherry Picker’s Coin Guide to learn about most of the known varieties or use the website link below.
http://www.lincolncentresource.com/Erro ... rrors.html
Altered Cents – This group includes any stamp, cutout, or alteration made to a penny after it has left the mint. These are just neat and are often saved for fun by the average sorter.
For coin calculators to determine your copper penny hoard with current copper prices, go to
http://www.coinflation.com/coins/baseme ... lator.html
For the fastest most reliable copper/zinc coin sorter on the market right now, go to:
http://www.ryedalecoin.com
Pennies 101: the new Rodebaugh version.
A little information/history is always good before starting the hobby
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)
Risk of hoarding: Worst case scenario if copper prices plummet. If you're hoarding pennies hobby doesn't work out, you can always return your investment back to the bank for face value. The only thing you lost was time, effort, and minor inflation depreciation. Very low risk investment potential.
Pennies: What to sort for keeps and what to discard.
Zinc - These are all 1983 to present. You do not want to keep these for their metal content as the face value is worth more than the metal content probably will be for years to come. Use these to exchange for more unsearched rolls/more money for more rolls.
Mixed composition – 1982. Approximately 75% of all 1982 Lincoln cents in circulation are copper. The rest are zinc. It is worth your time to purchase a scale, sorter, or develop some other way to distinguish these cents.
Copper - These are all 1959 to 1981, You want to keep copper pennies. Copper pennies have more metal content value than their face value but are still regularly in circulation. Routinely a single copper cent has held a melt value at or above 2 cents. Although at this time it is 'illegal' to deface money/melt coins, you can store your hoard away until this law is repealed. One can also trade or sell copper pennies above face value without much difficulty at this time.
Wheat Pennies - These are pennies minted between the years of 1909 to 1958. All of these pennies are made of copper, excluding coins minted during 1943 that were made of solid steel plated with zinc. All coins from this series are worth more as a numismatic coin/collector value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_Pennies
Indian Head - These pennies were minted between 1859 to 1909. These are rarely found in penny rolls. There are a few still left in the wild. Any of these found should be reported in the tracking thread on this forum; so bragging rights may be claimed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_head_cent
Foreign Coins – Most common of these that one may encounter is the Canadian cent. Please refer to Coin Composition Thread for more detail on what to hoard.
Mint Errors – There are numerous mint errors. Some are rare; some are not. Some are valuable; some are not. Either way this can be an exciting part of your search. Buy a Cherry Picker’s Coin Guide to learn about most of the known varieties or use the website link below.
http://www.lincolncentresource.com/Erro ... rrors.html
Altered Cents – This group includes any stamp, cutout, or alteration made to a penny after it has left the mint. These are just neat and are often saved for fun by the average sorter.
For coin calculators to determine your copper penny hoard with current copper prices, go to
http://www.coinflation.com/coins/baseme ... lator.html
For the fastest most reliable copper/zinc coin sorter on the market right now, go to:
http://www.ryedalecoin.com
