Space efficient copper penny storage

[PennyPincher]

I found a free and space efficient method of storing pre-82 pennies. I went to the post office and got some of those free flat rate boxes (small size). Then, I stacked up the pennies in the following manner:

27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27, 27
...27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27
27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27, 27
...27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27
27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27, 27
...27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27
27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27, 27
...27, 27, 27, 28, 28, 28, 28, 27, 27, 27

In all, that's exactly 2,300 pennies. The boxes stack on top of one another nicely, they seal tight with the glue underneath the sticker, and they're ready to be shipped or easily transported this way.

[Recyclersteve]

Interesting idea- just don't sneeze before you seal the box! Thanks for sharing.

[JadeDragon]

Looks nice but wow that is a lot of counting and stacking. Mine live in $25 face bags, machine counted by my own coin counter.

[68Camaro]

I agree, very space efficient, and I could see where it makes sense for people with limited space. (Beware of shipping like that though, with no internal bag backup. Drop and dent the box and open a crack, and it's all over.) Like JD though, I chose to balance time and space (whoa, that sounds like sci fi! ). Only difference is that I went with $50 bags rather than $25.

[everything]

Found a guy on the bay market-master, he sells preformed penny rolls really really cheap, just roll them back up into the same boxes they come out of. It cost 15.70 for 500 preformed tubes, free shipping, now they want 18.56 for the same, so yeah that's 3 or 4 bucks to wrap up a 25 dollar box. If anyone has interest in the $25 bank boxes I'll save mine vs. dumping them in the recycle, the bags are a good idea as well, as that's how I bring zincers back to the bank, I like jars and jugs as well. If a fairly permanent home has been found, the 5 gallon pail works pretty well too. BUT, this flat rate box is a great idea for not blowing money on a dead end hobby that's not paying off.

[hobo finds]

I like it, all heads up? If you are goanna store them I would use extra tape, and the post office dose not like extra tape on the boxes if you are shipping them. But you could add them taped up into a larger flat rate box with packing material to keep them from opening up in the mail!

[Sanford02]

and the post office dose not like extra tape on the boxes if you are shipping them

I ALWAYS triple wrap the entire box with good 3M tape before I ship. I have never had a post office employee say anything about the extra tape. In fact, I have seen them encourage other customers to use more tape on poorly packaged boxes including flat rate boxes.

YMMV

[Changechecker]

Great idea using the post office box. I might count and stack one. The rest would be weighted then packed tightly.
I stored mine in old coolers bought cheaply from garage sales or found curbside.

[PennyPincher]

It doesn't really take me any extra time, because I'm stacking them up as I search through the rolls. Using this method saved me a lot of closet space, plus they're easy to move around and stack for storage and transportation (it matters more when moving).

If I were to ship them, I'd place four of these small boxes inside one of the large flat rate boxes from the post office. I think they fit perfectly. Four of these boxes weighs under the 70 lb weight limit. Aside from the work of stacking the pennies in this fashion, it's difficult to beat efficient and free. For those of us living in apartments or condos, it can definitely be preferable.

[Pachucko]

My OCD would love this!!

My lack of free time, not so much...

[Sharkin]

Too much work for me.

I have a 50 cal. ammo can full of pennies. Almost too heavy to carry.

[Recyclersteve]

Too much work for me.

I have a 50 cal. ammo can full of pennies. Almost too heavy to carry.

Hey Sharkin- you might want to post a message in the New Member Introductions area and let us know a bit about yourself. You can mention how you first heard about this site, your collecting story, and anything else interesting or unusual about you.

[TXSTARFIRE]

I use 50 cal ammo cans also. $100 face will fit in them and they weigh 70lbs.

tt

[Sharkin]

Hey Sharkin- you might want to post a message in the New Member Introductions area and let us know a bit about yourself. You can mention how you first heard about this site, your collecting story, and anything else interesting or unusual about you.

I did that on Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:41 pm.

[chris6084]

and the post office dose not like extra tape on the boxes if you are shipping them

I ALWAYS triple wrap the entire box with good 3M tape before I ship. I have never had a post office employee say anything about the extra tape. In fact, I have seen them encourage other customers to use more tape on poorly packaged boxes including flat rate boxes.

YMMV

You can tape all you want, but there are postal employees who have said you can't use much tape. I had one tell me you can only use ONE piece of tape on the top and bottom on the seam only and not one piece more. When I asked how can I protect a heavy box, he told me you aren't supposed to ship heavy boxes...that's not the point of flat rate.

[DANZIG]

I box them and put them in a dry crawl space.

[Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay]

You know you are a coin collecting freak when a photo like the one above gives you that "must sort more!" feeling in your chest.