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I have been sorting three boxes a week with a ryedale ace, it takes me about three hours a week to sort the three boxes. Someone locally is selling ctu's for 130.00, I am not sure if it is worth the 15 hours it takes to get a ctu of copper to save 30.00. What would you do? I was thinking about just sorting one box a week to get some wheats and just buy my copper

I found sorting to be relaxing and I enjoy it as a hobby. Any upside that comes 3, 5, 10+ years down the line will just be a boon to me. I would never pay over face to buy copper pennies personally. I think you'll take more pride in your stack if you knew you sorted it all yourself, but that's just a personal opinion.

I would have to agree with Inflation Hawk on this one. Continue to hand sort until it begins to feel like a chore. At that point, stop for a while. I think we still have years left to sort Cu

I think it also has a lot to do with how much you have now. If you want get to a certain level quickly (500FV, 1,000 FV etc), then picking up a CTU might make sense. But if you are satisfied with your stack, don't bother spending the extra money. Like the others said; if you are getting fatigued, just dial it back.

As for me; my primary goal has been met. I'm just putting along at one box per week.

Also agree with inflationhawk, I hand sort a box or so each week because I enjoy the rush from finding something unexpected, like I did 55 years ago with Topps baseball cards. My goal is to stack at least $1,000FV of Cu, no time frame, just as long as it takes. Also agree with Franco's feeling that we will have a lot of time to mine coppers. I have about 25 unopened boxes of cents in my garage as a fall-back.

stonewallrabbitry wrote:I have been sorting three boxes a week with a ryedale ace, it takes me about three hours a week to sort the three boxes. Someone locally is selling ctu's for 130.00, I am not sure if it is worth the 15 hours it takes to get a ctu of copper to save 30.00. What would you do? I was thinking about just sorting one box a week to get some wheats and just buy my copper

Using those numbers , if your free time is worth more than 2$ per hour then you buy it. If less then sort. This does not take into account fun or hobby stuff just economics.

Fnd something fun to do that you can make more doing and then buy it, that's a more effective use of your time/ money

I prefer the blended approach. Buy some while they are cheap.. continue to sort to build the stack faster.. and occasionally sell off some excess when markets rise. The price is certainly attractive for buying right now. Who knows, you might even be able to negotiate the price down a little bit more if you are purchasing several CTU's at a time. What area are you in? Surely there is a member here near you that can bring the price down to $129.

If your objective is to stack copper then continue as you are. It is slow, but not as slow as what I do. I do get a better return on investment however.

Let me explain. I first hand sort for all wheats and easily seen errors. Second, double sort Ryedale. When I think I have over $100 face of copper (a two gallon bucket) I count with an antique Brandt and bag it in a standard plastic coin bag. When the designated area of the safe is full it's off to Craigslist at $150.

Takes a lot longer, but I get a minimum $50 greater return on every $1000 sorted. I do similar sorts with most other coins, finding between 100 and 200 minor errors and 2 - 3 major errors every month.

I do believe, however, that you should do as you think best for your situation.

I used to hand sort $100 a week. I was selling the copper for 2x face and buying silver with the profits. My buyer quit buying so I trimmed my hunt down to $25 a week. I enjoy the hunt and it's always fun to find something for my Dansco. I have a buyer for wheats but I'm waiting till I have more to sell. Last week I found an 1880 IH. You won't find if you don't seek.

pennypanner wrote:I used to hand sort $100 a week. I was selling the copper for 2x face and buying silver with the profits. My buyer quit buying so I trimmed my hunt down to $25 a week. I enjoy the hunt and it's always fun to find something for my Dansco. I have a buyer for wheats but I'm waiting till I have more to sell. Last week I found an 1880 IH. You won't find if you don't seek.

I used to machine sort $2500 a week. I was getting 2.25x for the copper and converting it into gold and silver when they were even cheaper than they are now. Markets have adjusted downward and I have to spend more time at the day job.. but I still manage to get some sorting in.

If you have a buyer for wheats at a decent price you could always buy them from another member here and arbitrage them.

At the present time I have slowed down a little on hand sorting. Maybe a box a week, however there was a time that I was sorting 2-3 boxes during the week. I was only doing that amount at the times that I couldn't sleep. But I don't forsee me completely stopping the hand sorting at any time soon. I usually pick up maybe 2 boxes a week and so right now I have a supply.

I'm currently finding maybe 24% copper in a box.

stonewallrabbitry wrote:I have been sorting three boxes a week with a ryedale ace, it takes me about three hours a week to sort the three boxes. Someone locally is selling ctu's for 130.00, I am not sure if it is worth the 15 hours it takes to get a ctu of copper to save 30.00. What would you do? I was thinking about just sorting one box a week to get some wheats and just buy my copper

it takes an HOUR to sort ONE BOX with a rydale? I have never had one, but that seems a bit long. I handsort CWRs, and have gotten quick, Ill have to time myself...

It is a Rydale Ace, you have to drop the pennies I one at a time. It is not like the ryedale apprentice

drop one at a time? ITS ON!!! as chad johnson( wide receiver) beat a racehorse(zippy-chippy, the most losing racehorse EVER) in a footrace, I will handsort a box faster than a ryedale ace!(if in fact stonewalls info is correct) I think this would be a good contest for the Japanese fellow...

I've stopped sorting pennies in any kind of significant quantity. My focus has been on adding to my silver stack.

I still continue to look at my change for any stray coppers that I find! I figure a couple CTU's worth is good enough for me.

stonewallrabbitry wrote: (snipped) I am not sure if it is worth the 15 hours it takes to get a ctu of copper to save 30.00. What would you do? (snipped)

Looks like you're asking is it worth it?

Like many, I've put a lot of time and money into a lot of things. Stocks, bonds, real estate, partnerships, hedge funds, mutual funds, PMs. A spectrum of "investments". Time, experience, and my family have had their affect on me so I take this whole stacking and sorting with a different time frame and frame of mind.

First, I'm looking long-term. How long? Perhaps several generations. So it really isn't being done to compare time and money to. Puts it into a kind of hobby form. I'm not using this as a way to get ahead in this world. If I were, I'd fell real shitty about the time I spend doing it. Not trying to "get ahead" anymore has given me a much better outlook on life. Perhaps not much of an improved outlook towards humanity as a whole but, much better personally.

Second, since I do look at it to compared against my past "investments" I can tell you I greatly enjoy taking $400 of my hard earned FRNs (Federal Reserve Notes,) passing them thru a Ryedale (was an Ace, now is Blue) and ending up with about $300 in FRNs and over $200 in sound money (see my recent post on sound money) value. The sound money part I stack and the FRNs get put back into the cycle.

Third, the sound money part isn't taxed and doesn't get devalued or debased or subject to mismanagement or manipulation, etc. and I can't say that about any of my past investments or FRNs. Fact is, I consider it a bit detached (when compared to typical investments available to the common man) from harm caused by either our government or wall street. Being able to put my hard earned time, and life energy into something like that, well it doesn't get a whole lot better.

So is it worth it? Change your time frame and frame of mind and get back to me with the answer.

It's a Jungle out there,

I can't believe there's a ryedale where you have to put them in one at a time. Just handsort...

scyther wrote:I can't believe there's a ryedale where you have to put them in one at a time. Just handsort...

I had one. I lasted a couple of weeks with it and then sold it on eBay and bought the faster model. The mechanism is exactly the same, it just doesn't have the hopper. The ace just has a shoot you drop the pennies down.

penny pretty wrote:

stonewallrabbitry wrote:I have been sorting three boxes a week with a ryedale ace, it takes me about three hours a week to sort the three boxes. Someone locally is selling ctu's for 130.00, I am not sure if it is worth the 15 hours it takes to get a ctu of copper to save 30.00. What would you do? I was thinking about just sorting one box a week to get some wheats and just buy my copper

it takes an HOUR to sort ONE BOX with a rydale? I have never had one, but that seems a bit long. I handsort CWRs, and have gotten quick, Ill have to time myself...

An experienced hand sorter can sort 1 box an hour. There have been a few members over the years that have accomplished that. My best was 1 hour 4 minutes.

I can double sort a box in about 40 minutes if I am doing it as fast as I can but usually I just do it at a comfortable pace while watching television

I'm down to about 6 boxes of cents a month. I've been searching for silver dimes mostly. But I'll still be sortin copper as long as there are boxes/bags available at the bank.

15 hours to sort a ctu....i would just buy it and pay the small premium right now. You are sorting for wheats, then ask for a ctu that has not had the wheats picked out. Or sell the Ace, sell what you have and buy that Apprentice that is for sale or trade. Thats how I got my three units....traded CTU's for them. Good Luck.

I slowed way down on hand sorting recently. Mostly because of a lack of free time and the hassle of dumping zincs.

To pick up the slack I've been buying from a local hand sorter who keeps the wheats and sells me Cu by the roll.

I do miss it... think I'll stop by the bank today and ask for a box

stonewallrabbitry wrote:I can double sort a box in about 40 minutes if I am doing it as fast as I can but usually I just do it at a comfortable pace while watching television

You can sort a $25 box of pennies in 20 minutes..? You're obviously not including the time it takes to break open all 50 rolls. That is 2 a second. I also have to question the accuracy...

johnbrickner wrote:

stonewallrabbitry wrote: (snipped) I am not sure if it is worth the 15 hours it takes to get a ctu of copper to save 30.00. What would you do? (snipped)

Looks like you're asking is it worth it?

Like many, I've put a lot of time and money into a lot of things. Stocks, bonds, real estate, partnerships, hedge funds, mutual funds, PMs. A spectrum of "investments". Time, experience, and my family have had their affect on me so I take this whole stacking and sorting with a different time frame and frame of mind.

First, I'm looking long-term. How long? Perhaps several generations. So it really isn't being done to compare time and money to. Puts it into a kind of hobby form. I'm not using this as a way to get ahead in this world. If I were, I'd fell real shitty about the time I spend doing it. Not trying to "get ahead" anymore has given me a much better outlook on life. Perhaps not much of an improved outlook towards humanity as a whole but, much better personally.

Second, since I do look at it to compared against my past "investments" I can tell you I greatly enjoy taking $400 of my hard earned FRNs (Federal Reserve Notes,) passing them thru a Ryedale (was an Ace, now is Blue) and ending up with about $300 in FRNs and over $200 in sound money (see my recent post on sound money) value. The sound money part I stack and the FRNs get put back into the cycle.

Third, the sound money part isn't taxed and doesn't get devalued or debased or subject to mismanagement or manipulation, etc. and I can't say that about any of my past investments or FRNs. Fact is, I consider it a bit detached (when compared to typical investments available to the common man) from harm caused by either our government or wall street. Being able to put my hard earned time, and life energy into something like that, well it doesn't get a whole lot better.

So is it worth it? Change your time frame and frame of mind and get back to me with the answer.

It's a Jungle out there,

Great post John-it is a refreshing reminder of why I got into this hobby and gets me through the days that aren't so enjoyable where it just seems like repetitive busy work.