Realcent.org

Like many long time members I have a few pounds of copper cents sitting idle. While the amount won't materially change my circumstances I am considering diversifying. Anyone having luck selling? Trades? I hate the thought of cashing them in. Thoughts

PM me your CTU price if you have one, thanks.

I too have a few hundred I was going to turn in.

Turn in-to copper bars. Wishful thinking.

I don't have an answer on how to liquidate your coppers. I wish I did.
I tried to sell some - but since I was not willing to package and ship - I did not have much luck. I was not interested in a 1.1x offer.
I have one 55 gallon drum that I have been cashing in (cuz I want the space), slowly. I bring a canvas bag to our bank and dump them in the coin machine once or twice a month.
The rest I guess I will sit on for a while (they are stored in a better location than the drum is).
If you are interested in selling - I wish ya luck.

One thing I'm doing to weed out some coppers that I really don't want is to look through them all again. What I mean is that I used to basically look at the front to see the date, but didn't really look at the back unless the back side was facing up in the pile. Now I'm going back and finding some that look just fine on the obverse but not acceptable on the reverse.

In fact, I went through a stack of a little over 2,400 coppers (about 2/3 were 1959-1982- the other 1/3 were wheats). I found that I (the new stricter Steve) took about 9% of the coins out of the pile as unacceptable.

To be careful about how I'm doing this, I have added a separate note to those coffee cans where I looked at both sides. The note says "reverses checked carefully". If a can doesn't have that note, then I have more work to do or I sell those coins for a bit less when the time comes.

What do I do with the ones that don't make the grade? If they are wheats, I have a separate can for ugly wheats. If they are 1959 or later, they go back into circulation.

I have I wish I'd been smart enough to indicate which cans back in the day were true hand sorts vs. Ryedale sorts. That sure would have made things easier. Oh well. Live and learn...

Why sell it? It took time and effort to separate/cull it out, so just keep it. Since the economy is slowing down and industry need is decreasing, it will probably take many years for the price to reach new heights. I have about 4000lbs of pre-1982 pennies (non including my wheaties). They're not going anywhere. When US gets rid of the penny they will be legal to melt down.

Having a collection can bring peace of mind. (BYOB). Alternatively the dollar value tied up could be put into more productive investments. If/when the penny is removed from circulation, I would imagine there will still be a time period before it becomes legal to dispose of. Then the logistics begin. Transportation, buyers, market value.
I dumped a few bags this week (fee free thankfully). The girls at the bank were not too happy handling the heavy bags changing them when the machine filled.
I hate the idea of all those hours/days/weeks worth of effort being lost. My kids don't have any interest in them so I think my options are limited.

You are falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy. Sell your pennies and move on. Don't wait for an emergency.

'Alternatively the dollar value tied up could be put into more productive

Thogey wrote:You are falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy. Sell your pennies and move on. Don't wait for an emergency.

'Alternatively the dollar value tied up could be put into more productive

For those in the stock market this is like cutting your losses on a stock. Sure, Sears was a great American company back in the day, but the stock is a piece of garbage now. Disclaimer: Pennies may still have their day at some point, but I’m not expecting anything soon.

My thoughts exactly. I am going to use some of the proceeds to pay debt

Changechecker wrote:My thoughts exactly. I am going to use some of the proceeds to pay debt

You've either got very little debt or you must have a LOT of copper.

By the way, I have to wonder after reading a thread like this what happened to the estate of the late great HCBTT (Hoard Copper by the Ton). If anyone ever hears about what happened to it, I am all ears (as Prince Charles would have said before his surgery)...

Thogey wrote:You are falling victim to the sunk cost fallacy. Sell your pennies and move on. Don't wait for an emergency.

Those pennies are still 'worth' about 1.7 cents each. The big problem is finding buyers and the transaction/transportation costs involved. I am still buying but it is difficult to find sellers in the St Louis area.

sorry - dup!

RealCent started the forum when the idea of collecting copper cents was severely ridiculed. Thirteen years later we still gather and jaw over the same topic. Thank you.

For me, I still look at the fundamentals.

A copper cent is still worth more than or cent, someone mentioned currently 1.7 times face value.

In the race twix the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race.

Reviewing my stocks, 401K, etc., I see the pennies doing better; even if I look only at face value. That is taking into account the stock market at all time highs.

The contentment I get from working with, sorting, and repackaging those tangible beveled copper disks is worth their weight in, well copper.

If TEOTWAWKI is closer than I would like, a second copper age may begin in my neck of the woods.

The copper bull is a couple of years away, or so they say, and we might have to go through a mild recession too, part of the problem is no yield, and storage which isn't a problem for some of us. I finally hit about $1000 in brass pennies (again), so I'm kind of getting out of the sorting game, I feel like I have enough. I may sort some more this winter though. I would rather trade them for au/ag. Copper is so plentiful.

Another possibility with copper is to have a copper collection that is outside, not in the form of coins but bare bright copper wire (wire that is stripped of the outside plastic to reveal the shiny reddish pliable copper inside). This is in essence like having copper that has been melted down to an extent. Although safe outdoors in many locations, I'd keep it covered if possible.

This is yet just another type of diversification. This could be especially good for someone with a small house and a big yard or a shed outdoors. Another alternative is copper tubing, but since the tube is hollow it will take a lot more space and you won't be able to bend and shape it. But in a SHTF situation (or even after a hurricane or tornado), perhaps having some of this type of copper around (safely stored in a basement if you have natural disasters like this) might be a good idea- especially for a handyman type needing to make quick repairs without going out on the streets which may not be so safe with the (ironically enough) copper wires down all over the streets.

There are still wholesale buyers if you have quantity enough to justify freight shipping (4+ tons or so). That's the problem for little sorters though; the retail 'peer to peer' market is dead at the moment.

Met a guy at the bank while dumping the other day. "Those look like coppers" yes they are. " I sell them for 1.3" I offered to sell him mine, by weight, to flip. He didn't seem interested and then he dumped a few boxes of nickels.
Our market here is dead for the most part. I'm converting copper to silver. Dollar cost averaging as I dump. The tellers are already dreading my visits. I hate to dump them but the opportunities lost are too great right now.
Besides I should be able to buy back in later if I decide too when silver pops and copper drops.

Changechecker wrote:. Besides I should be able to buy back in later if I decide too when silver pops and copper drops.

That is exactly what has happened. Silver popped over the past couple of months or so. And copper, due at least partially to the U.S./China tariff disagreement is around a 3-year low.

Sadly the market for retail (selling) has been soft for quite a while using online platforms. Local sales are non existent in terms of ROI. I'm holding onto the return of investment (face value) theory and redirecting my principal to other investment choices. I have been downsizing my other tangible investments as well as demand for most hard goods is waning as well.

Recyclersteve wrote:Pennies may still have their day at some point, but I’m not expecting anything soon.

Pennies, copper, are the bottom of the metals. They will never be the get rich route. They are the meanest form of holding wealth.

The more I watch the stock market, the better I feel about a few boxes of copper cents.

Last month while utilizing the bank coin counter, I was approached by a teller. She shared with that the machines were being "relocated" to behind the tellers counter. Last week "Official " notification was posted. Nov 7, 2019 the policy is to bring in your bagged coin and leave it with them for counting and deposit. A form must be completed each time. Knowing this I have stepped up my dumping. The tellers are not liking me as I have been dumping heavily and they are being tasked with changing the bag multiple times each visit. Treats don't seem to make a difference. Last week the head teller got snarky with me. I sensed her frustration after her fourth trip to the machine cut my visit short. More changes appear ahead. Hurrying to downsize before the final day.

Doesn't look like you have time to do this but as I've posted before, several years ago I downsized about two-thirds. I did it by manual sorting through my bags for the clean high quality VF to MS coin, keeping them while dumping the rest. (At the same I pulled out the random wheats that had escaped, and also filled out a couple of modern coin books with the best MS coins.) That still left me with a sizable set of $50 bags of super clean coin - I'm keeping those.

One more trip to the machine and I will have dumped all my loose cents. Sadly today I dumped a few bags I bought from members here. The manager approached me and invited me to her office. She wanted to help me invest all my newfound wealth. I was surprised it wasn't going to be a lecture about abusing the machine and her staff.