Maybe it is just as well

[JerrySpringer]

So far, the US population has had 30+ years to hoard copper cents and the only recognition that has been given to it is a ban on melting the coins. I read other forums, mostly investment ones, and whenever the topic of investing in gold comes up, it is beaten down swiftly but without much fanfare. Most people who ignored gold the past 10 years can not really make a case against anyone who bought back in the early 2000's. The fact that gold, and silver also, has done much better than a buy and hold strategy with indexed stock funds the past decade can not be refuted. OK, I am not going to tell anyone to buy gold or silver but the glaring fact that copper has been sitting ignored while it sits in copper pennies quietly is incredulous to me. People should be out hoarding pennies instead of gold or silver because you are virtually guaranteed a permanent hedge of your money without any effort or any principal loss. Yet they do not see that and they ask instead about getting into gold at this point. I guess I should be glad that much attention is not paid to it because there is still a good amount of copper still circulating, making it worth the trouble to sort. I got my brother interested in sorting cents now. I think he understands that interest rates are pitiful and tying up cash into copper cents is probably going to prove worthwhile, even if it takes a few more years for the melt ban to go away. Even if it takes a decade still, thinking that copper prices rise gingerly also during that time, the cash tied up in pennies will have a better rate of return than many other investments. Will that realized gain in copper value be taxed as income outright or as a collectible though?

[DoctorMetal]

I joined a year ago to the day, and have been hand sorting copper pennies since. Do it casual while the TV is on or during those rare sleepless hours. It's been rewarding. Preserves sanity. Would estimate I've been able to sock away over a thousand dollars in the course of a year. In my area, I know there is one Ryedale machine and two hand sorters, besides myself. Not bad for a town the size of 60,000. We don't collaborate regularly, but know each other and have agreed to avoid each other's source and dump banks. I've found it best not to tell too many people about my penny sorting. They kind of look at you like you're crazy or make comments like how ya gonna move that stuff when you move? It is just as well.

[avidbrandy]

Yea you're absolutely right.

On the other hand I mentioned that I do this off-hand to my coworkers and it gets a good chuckle and then the subject is generally dropped.

I think as far as copper vs silver and gold, The reason isn't so much that's it's not a better deal possibly so much as the size. copper starts taking up a lot of room, especially since it's $4 a pound, vs $40 or $1500 an ounce. makes a huge difference in terms of space.

Me, I do all 3.

[HoardCopperByTheTon]

I do all 3 also. You would be surprised how small the footprint of a ton is.. but nobody is gonna grab a few tons and run off with it.