Page 1 of 2

storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:51 am
by JobIII
Hi all,

Does anyone know how much $$ copper cents can be stored in a 5 gallon bucket so the lid can be placed on it? And also a 3 gallon bucket lid on again?

I'm looking into storing some cents and found a guy selling 5gal buckets with lids for $1 a bucket... Not sure if this is a good deal but they are clean and tightly sealing lids are included.

Also does anyone have anything to say about sealing pennies in buckets? Good or Bad stories? Like the entire collection turned green inside or anything :o


Great Thanks!

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 12:06 pm
by csb3tennessee
I've recently been taking my zincs and putting them in empty juice bottles (plastic) to give to the church during Vacation Bible School (they have a penny contest to give to Missions). Anyway, the 1 gallon bottle holds 5000 pennies- with a little room to spare at the top. So 3 gal should easily hold 15,000 ($150 FV) and the 5 gallon should easily hold 25,000 cents ($250 FV). Hope this helps!

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:23 pm
by fasteddy
yep, 250 $ in a five gallon bucket...or about 170 lbs.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:40 pm
by NDFarmer
$1.00 per bucket with lids is a great deal I wish I could find some for that price. I machine roll and box all the coppers that go into my hoard but I do keep a couple of 5 gallon pails full for selling.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:13 pm
by Morsecode
Yeah, me too. I think I've been paying $4 at Lowes.

I only put 77.50 (50 lbs copper, 4 lbs zinc) in them, though. I keep moving them around in the Batcave and the lesser load maintains their mobility. That may change if I ever decide on a permanent vault.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:15 pm
by inflationhawk
:lol: A penny vault?!!

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:25 pm
by Morsecode
Nothing fancy...maybe 50 x 50 feet, climate controlled, re-bar reinforced 36" walls & ceiling, lead lined, of course. Possibly hydraulic shelving. Paint the whole thing OD green.

What...?

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:51 pm
by slickeast
For $1 each, buy all of them. I have a few hundred.

100 buckets * $250 = $25,000

That is over 8 tons of coppers.

$100 to store 8 tons is pretty cheap.

This will also fit on 2 pallets if you stack them 2 high. 12 buckets per layer.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 3:36 pm
by Mossy
slickeast wrote: That is over 8 tons of coppers.
...
This will also fit on 2 pallets if you stack them 2 high. 12 buckets per layer.

How on earth do you move the things? Downstack and carry? The forklift I drive has trouble with one ton, and a half ton is difficult to move over even a slightly sloped surface using a pallet jack.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:30 pm
by shinnosuke
Morsecode wrote:Nothing fancy...maybe 50 x 50 feet, climate controlled, re-bar reinforced 36" walls & ceiling, lead lined, of course. Possibly hydraulic shelving. Paint the whole thing OD green.

What...?


You da man!

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 8:43 pm
by Barter-Trader
I'm sorting and selling. :)

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 12:28 am
by John_doe
inflationhawk wrote::lol: A penny vault?!!



I have a large safe I keep mine in! Ironically I bought the safe just for that reason. :D

anchored into concrete, fireproofed, protected by a 9mm security system. Lol :twisted:

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:59 pm
by JobIII
I found a couple people in my area that have unlimited supplies of 5 gal buckets with sealing lids. I am going to be picking up 100 buckets and sealing lids for seventy-five dollars some time next week.

Now all i need is the copper pennies.

:lol:

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:08 pm
by Morsecode
Forget pennies, you should sell the buckets. Triple your money easy.

:D

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 11:04 pm
by Barter-Trader
JobIII wrote:I found a couple people in my area that have unlimited supplies of 5 gal buckets with sealing lids. I am going to be picking up 100 buckets and sealing lids for seventy-five dollars some time next week.

Now all i need is the copper pennies.

:lol:


I have some for sale on Barter-Trader.com 50lb bag?

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 8:15 am
by fasteddy
maybe B-T you should post your ads in the "Market" section instead of dropping them on the threads. You may get more hits that way.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:27 am
by Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay
Morsecode wrote:Nothing fancy...maybe 50 x 50 feet, climate controlled, re-bar reinforced 36" walls & ceiling, lead lined, of course. Possibly hydraulic shelving. Paint the whole thing OD green.

What...?


50 x 50 is too wide. It cannot stand up to the overpressure from nuclear blasts from, say, 20 miles away.

Arched ceilings help to disburse the pressure. Bury it with at least 3 feet of dirt on top, that is better than lead. Use loose sandy soil on top and around all sides. The sandy soil will "give" when needed. HEPA filters on the vents. Cool man, I like it. 8-)

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:30 am
by Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay
JobIII wrote:Hi all,

Does anyone know how much $$ copper cents can be stored in a 5 gallon bucket so the lid can be placed on it? And also a 3 gallon bucket lid on again?

I'm looking into storing some cents and found a guy selling 5gal buckets with lids for $1 a bucket... Not sure if this is a good deal but they are clean and tightly sealing lids are included.

Also does anyone have anything to say about sealing pennies in buckets? Good or Bad stories? Like the entire collection turned green inside or anything :o


Great Thanks!


There are 154-155 brass pennies per pound. Fill up a bucket and weight it. Subtract out the weight of the bucket and divide by $1.55 = Dollars in the bucket.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 2:18 pm
by fasteddy
Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay wrote:154-155 brass pennies per pound
:?:

CRAP...I thought it was 146 :(

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 2:32 pm
by Corsair
It is 146, Ed. 454 grams per pound/3.11 grams per penny = 145.98 pennies per pound.

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 3:01 pm
by Lemon Thrower
buckets are nice if you want a hernia or want to give a thief a hernia.

i seal them up in tape reinforced brinks boxes. you have to shake/pound it a little to get them to settle. you end up with 17 lb "bricks" that you can sort of "stack".

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:03 pm
by fasteddy
:D college is working good for you eh David..jk ;)

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:08 pm
by Corsair
fasteddy wrote::D college is working good for you eh David..jk ;)


Thur really learning me gud!

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 12:42 am
by merchoarder
JobIII wrote:I found a couple people in my area that have unlimited supplies of 5 gal buckets with sealing lids. I am going to be picking up 100 buckets and sealing lids for seventy-five dollars some time next week.

Now all i need is the copper pennies.

:lol:

Check out local restaurants. Especially if you know someone working there. I work at one and we get pickles, eggs, sauerkraut, etc. in 5 gallon buckets with nice, good sealing lids. Also, we get a lot of stuff in 2.5 gallon buckets which are much more user friendly. Never had any requests (besides what I take home) but we go through a lot and would give them away if anyone wanted them. Could be a nice source for buckets (the pickle smell goes away eventually!!! :D )

Re: storing those coppers

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 3:33 am
by HoardCopperByTheTon
Pretty sure it's 150 per pound.. but only with the exact right amount of wear. :mrgreen: