Realcent.org

Were you actively following the status of the possible melt ban being lifted? I feel like it is a shame that people spent so much time and effort to hoard these coins only to end up disappointed and I am concerned about being in the same boat.

Can you expand on your thoughts a bit? Has Congress declared that they will never lift the melt ban?

No movement in Congress that I'm aware of.

People collected copper cents under different motivations. A very few made a business of it - selling to hoarders that didn't want to make the effort themselves. But most small time collectors were keeping them for themselves, and they in turn each had their own motivations. Some of them hoped for a near term decison to remove the penny melt ban so they could turn a faster profit. And some of those ended up with buyer's remorse and cashed in, or had other reasons (divorce, need to move, etc) for cashing in their hoards.

I still have all mine. I have moved a few times with them. My motivation for sorting is manifold, but teaching my children and future grandchildren about real money is among the top reasons. Therefore, I have no reason or urge to unload regardless of the potential lack of restrictions.

Just my normal luck.I have to dispose of my board in the next few months due yo job loss and health issues.

Still have mine. Won't unload them until I can get 2x or more. They are paid for and not hurting me to have them.

I think I posted this to the wrong thread, copy and pasting here. I am no longer a copper cent accumulator.

I am out. The melt ban outlasted my patience. Around about late 2009 I figured out on my own that copper cents were worth more than their face value so I just started saving them from my change. Then I discovered this wonderful site and started getting the occasional box of pennies from the bank. I accumulated a very small hoard by realcent standards, $500 in face value to be exact, but as my wife and I were doing a complete house cleaning this past fall, we both saw the amount of space (and weight) of these things and I just felt my shoulders sink as I thought about moving them in the future especially if the stack grew. And yeah, I know, this is small compared with a lot of you guys. So. I figured that I could just transfer their face value into another undervalued tangible asset....silver! Now, I am a bit obsessive compulsive in some aspects of life, like coins, so I had rolled my copper cents and stored them in $25 boxes. I went to my credit union empty handed first and told them what I wanted to cash in. They were happy I had warned them and they told me to come in anytime now that they were aware. So I loaded 20 boxes in my truck, brought an old radio flyer wagon with me and wheeled them in. They took them and actually multiple employees had to go through each box to verify they were all full and accounted for
Then they handed me the cash. And yes. I did tell the teller, who I knew well, what they were and she said she knew someone who might want them. So perhaps someone with more patience and more years left got to utilize these.

In the meantime, I bought silver at a price that I thought was cheap. It takes up less space and I feel has a ton of potential as far as a store of value and potential increase in value.

So there you are gang. In retrospect it was generally fun and I pulled about 20 rolls of wheats (still have them), over 7 rolls of Canadian (7 rolls of Canadian, here in South West Virginia?), one Indian head cent, 2 King George V Canadian, bunches of other foreign coins and dozens of dimes.

In the end I actually felt more relief getting rid of them than remorse or regret.

I will continue to read the stuff here and am still a hard money advocate so realcent will still be a constant site for me to read and contribute to. I just will not be saving copper cents anymore.

Keep stacking!

I'm still holding on to mine.

The "melt ban" was a law written by the Treasury. Congress has naught to do with it.

The Covid19 is being used as the next argument for a cashless and more reason to print more cash. I've even started gathering nickels again.

coppernickel wrote:I'm still holding on to mine.

The "melt ban" was a law written by the Treasury. Congress has naught to do with it.

The Covid19 is being used as the next argument for a cashless and more reason to print more cash. I've even started gathering nickels again.

Why do you prefer nickels over copper pennies?

I've actually been cashing in all my nickels this last month and buying silver. Since my son was born in 09 I had never spent a nickel. They were going to be his when he turned 18. I talked to him about it and he was fine with me putting it into silver. Problem is i had/have to go through them and pull out all the war/buffs/V nicks in there first. Have about 4 buckets.
D

In light of the shaky, debt-laden economic conditions finally becoming apparent along with a crash potentially hastened by Covid-19, I want to hang on to my pennies and nickels because, initially, there will be many who are uneducated about the value of silver. (For certain, the learning curve will be steep but rapid for those who want to get on the silver train.) Pennies and nickels will have, however, immediate acceptance. I have a limited pile of clad dimes and quarters too...for the children...I mean for the vending machines.

I had a good hoard, but sold it all when I moved half way across the country. I intended on starting over, but I also had my first kid the same time I moved. Kid took priority, then more kids got added. So, I don't really have the time to get a new hoard at this time. Maybe some day when my kids are old enough to 'help' me with the hobby.

chris6084 wrote:I had a good hoard, but sold it all when I moved half way across the country. I intended on starting over, but I also had my first kid the same time I moved. Kid took priority, then more kids got added. So, I don't really have the time to get a new hoard at this time. Maybe some day when my kids are old enough to 'help' me with the hobby.

I remember being the happy beneficiary of some of your sales. As for time, you're right, once the kids come along it's tough to carve some out. But just set a small goal: One roll per night or one box per month. Dump once/month.

cwgii wrote:Just my normal luck.I have to dispose of my hoard in the next few months due to job loss and health issues.

This was part of why I created this thread.

Got to $750. and also got to age 79. Spent three days unrolling and boxing loose coin. Sold to Highroller for small plus of face. Now 82 and moved closer to kids an glad I did not still have Cents to move.
The little stuff I kept was a hassle but I went from three Bed house with Five car garage to two room Apt in Senior living, plus store at Sons house. Kept most of the other coins and Now 82. Wife is Now Happy to not cook or clean We walk 85 Feet to Dining room three meals a day.

Glad to hear of you and your wife enjoying life!

Rosco wrote:Got to $750. and also got to age 79. Spent three days unrolling and boxing loose coin. Sold to Highroller for small plus of face. Now 82 and moved closer to kids an glad I did not still have Cents to move.
The little stuff I kept was a hassle but I went from three Bed house with Five car garage to two room Apt in Senior living, plus store at Sons house. Kept most of the other coins and Now 82. Wife is Now Happy to not cook or clean We walk 85 Feet to Dining room three meals a day.

Glad to hear from you. Kind of thought to have contact at gem show time. 22 year's younger, but going to get rid of my stuff , thinking of moving/ job loss/ health.

Last week I brought just over $450 face value back to the bank - fed the coin counter for a while It does not look like the retail market will be bringing 1.8 or 2x any time soon.

shinnosuke wrote:

coppernickel wrote: I've even started gathering nickels again.

Why do you prefer nickels over copper pennies?

1- Nickels are so close the melt value, and require no sorting to be worth stacking.
2-There may be silver nickels if and when I have time.
3- My source banks are still letting me buy them.

coppernickel wrote:

shinnosuke wrote:

coppernickel wrote: I've even started gathering nickels again.

Why do you prefer nickels over copper pennies?

1- Nickels are so close the melt value, and require no sorting to be worth stacking.
2-There may be silver nickels if and when I have time.
3- My source banks are still letting me buy them.

I've got several boxes of nicks that I will go through someday looking for 35% and buffaloes. No hurry right now. I also keep every nickel I receive in change...although I mostly purchase with a credit card and get 1.5% back.

The penny was discontinued years ago in Canada. No obvious market has developed in Canada for old pennies. Not heard of anyone taking them to the scrap metal dealers or anywhere else.

I still find pennies in storage lockers and am able to dump the non-coppers through a CU coin counter.

I still have a all my copper pennies. I did stack nickels back during the last crash but cashed them in when I moved about 6 years ago. I would hoard more copper pennies if I could get them for face. I think it is a shame to dump them for face. I could see a cashless society being created in the very near term.