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Wondering where everyone sits on the copper hoarding/selling debate. Also why...


Mine are long term.

Why: I see no risk at all, if it gains to 50 times face like silver has I will be sitting pretty for retirement. If it tanks I still have my initial investment.

With diverging world economies and shortages, I expect good things.
Not to mention the pre inflationary upside to the copper cent.

I agree! hoard, store, hoard more, and hang on. I have no intent on selling anytime soon.

when you reach a certain point (several tons) sometimes you have to start selling because you can't afford to sit on more, or don't care for the lost opportunity cost (money that is "sitting" in copper could be "moving" in silver).

beauanderos wrote:when you reach a certain point (several tons) sometimes you have to start selling because you can't afford to sit on more, or don't care for the lost opportunity cost (money that is "sitting" in copper could be "moving" in silver).

is it a storage issue?

Not really a storage issue.. more of a diversification issue. You like to spread your hoarding around a bit and not have everything tied up in one metal. I have converted a few tons of copper into silver and gold in the past and can certainly see doing it again. I can replace the few tons of copper with a bit of serious sorting.. not so easy with silver and gold.

I'm diversified, but I see tons of oppertunity with minimal risk in copper.


There is higher risk associated with the silver/gold play, especially at 30 year highs. I've actually gone the other way for the most part. I've literally sold some of my silver/gold to go into the copper play.

I'll trade into silver and gold after all the dust settles a bit. I still hold some positions, but am reluctant to buy at such a high rate.

John_doe wrote:I'm diversified, but I see tons of oppertunity with minimal risk in copper.


There is higher risk associated with the silver/gold play, especially at 30 year highs. I've actually gone the other way for the most part. I've literally sold some of my silver/gold to go into the copper play.

I'll trade into silver and gold after all the dust settles a bit. I still hold some positions, but am reluctant to buy at such a high rate.

When it's going up, it is always "high". Thus people without conviction never get in. They sit on the side, watching it go up, kicking themselves all along, thinking I should have bought back when it was "cheap" at 50, "cheap" at 60, "cheap" at "70", etc. Eventually, yes, there is a point to stop buying and divert resources to other better opportunities (which you should be looking for all along).

It was hardly any time ago at all that I thought silver was a bit high at 20, and then 25, etc. I was buying, but not at quantities that I could have. Despite conviction that it would go up, it still takes a bit of a gut-check and a hard swallow to put a high percent of assets into something that is at an all-time high. I bought, but in hindsight, I underbought when it was cheaper. I still bought in over time, and am still cost-averaged well below current prices, but I could have done better. (As could most of us.) However, I'm not greedy, and I'm happy where I am. Mostly all in now. But if I was starting new in this I would stll be buying.

I look at my copper as a rainy day fund. If I ever got in trouble and needed some cash there it is.

If i ever sell silver or gold it is always hard. I have the feeling I should wait.

If I ever need to sell copper I never get that same feeling. I can just easily replace it.

While you can replace your COPPER today, a few years from now or when an announcement is made by the Treasury that all pennies are being wthdrawn from circulation, the COPPER penny will become a real store of value. Build your COPPER stash now, while you can. How much should you keep now, just in case? If you don't have a ton or two, I'd say keep them all and keep stacking until you do. Beyond that, it can become a storage issue. COPPER pennies sorted from circulation will protect you from inflation, and they will not loose any value (unlike PMs) if we go the other way into a serious depression. They are just good to have around.

Country wrote:While you can replace your COPPER today, a few years from now or when an announcement is made by the Treasury that all pennies are being wthdrawn from circulation, the COPPER penny will become a real store of value. Build your COPPER stash now, while you can. How much should you keep now, just in case? If you don't have a ton or two, I'd say keep them all and keep stacking until you do. Beyond that, it can become a storage issue. COPPER pennies sorted from circulation will protect you from inflation, and they will not loose any value (unlike PMs) if we go the other way into a serious depression. They are just good to have around.

Agree. If they are taken out of circulation, they will begin to sell at melt. IMHO.

Pennies are kind of a unique situation, because their copper content has already been debased for about 30 years, yet the pre-debasing coins are still widely available in circulation. Imagine if your dimes and quarters still yielded 25% silver in 1994, 30 years after those coins were debased. The main reason has been the relevant stagnation of the copper price. For years it lingered around a buck a pound, before it shot up to the four dollar range in recent years. It's only recently that it made economic sense to sort the coppers out from the zinc. I believe the window that has been open for 30 years is destined to close quickly over the next few years. As the fiat currency crisis spreads around the globe, hard assets will only go up in monetary terms. And a metal that is quintessential to the electronic fixtures that permeate our lives will be especially valued against a declining currency.

Trust in Gresham's law. Hold onto your pennies a you'll be handsomely rewarded for acquiring them while the window was still open. The status quo for the penny will not last. They will either be phased out altogether, or they will be debased again to steel sometime in the next few years. That will greatly accelerate the depletion of copper cents in circulation. The other factor that will speed up the window's closing will be the banks. I can guarantee that as more and more people start to sort pennies, banks will begin to become increasingly intolerant of the practice. That process has already started, and will continue to become more onerous.

It's both short term and long term for me. I sell a hundred worth here and there to allow myself to put more away. I will agree with what common cents said we are lucky there are still is a lot of copper in circulation. I agree it has to do with the fact copper was stagnent for years plus reletivly low inflation over the last 20 years atleast compared to the same time period when silver was pulled out of circulation.

Right right after 9-11 gold peaked then dipped, and started up again. I recall thinking that gold was not going up very far, never expecting to see it passing $1000.

What was that? About $450/oz Troy?

I guess I'm in the minority here. I sort to sell and that's it. I don't subscribe to the "sky is falling" attitude about our current economy. I'm not looking to get into a debate about the subject, just posting my opinion. For any investment to work there have to be two parties with opposite thoughts about if it is good to buy or sell. I happen to be firmly rooted in the "sell" camp. I'm gonna sell what I got, take that cash and sort more, and sell those too. When/if it is no longer profitable to do so due to copper supply drying up, I'll move on to something else. I'll take a 20%-40% ROI on a two week investment over a potential 500%-5000% on a ten year flip any day.

I got lucky with finding out about copper so young. I've got a decent hoard at 19, and I hope to continue to grow it as long as I possibly can, and then sit on it. If I hold it for 40 years, who knows what I'll get for it. I'm damn sure it'll be more than 1.7x, and for that, I'm willing to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

ed_vantage17 wrote:I'll take a 20%-40% ROI on a two week investment over a potential 500%-5000% on a ten year flip any day.

Yup, me, too. I was watching three gold 2.5 peso coins on Ebay that just sold for about a hundred bucks each. Man, I'm tempted to sock away some of those. Lotsa guys here know that I'm fond of junk silver dimes, too. For the price of one 2.5 peso coin I could buy about three dozen dimes. MAYBE those dimes or gold coins will be worth 1/3 more by the end of summer--maybe not.

But I can take that same hundred bucks to the bank and sell the coins I buy for a third more than I paid, after expenses. And like Ed says, with a two-week turnover. Fortunately, I can sort more than I sell, so excess inventory just lays around at nearly three times its face value (and purchase price). I wish my junk silver or little gold Mexican coins would behave like that.

Corsair wrote:I got lucky with finding out about copper so young. I've got a decent hoard at 19, and I hope to continue to grow it as long as I possibly can, and then sit on it. If I hold it for 40 years, who knows what I'll get for it. I'm damn sure it'll be more than 1.7x, and for that, I'm willing to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

I'm 24 myself, I'm looking into my retirement years also. I've been hoarding for a few years, and have a good stockpile. Hopefully it grows larger though. I'm betting in 10-15 years the clad coins and zincolns are gone too.

I am in it for both long and short term. Right now, money is pretty tight. I just acquired a ryedale in a trade for some silver bars I have. I think gold and silver I will hold the longest (until it is evident that it they have peaked I'm thinking at least another 5-10 years... this bull market has a lot of room left to run). When it comes to the copper pennies, right now I am just sorting enough to sell to make back the value of the ryedale trade, I will hoard a little along the way, after I have my wife convinced that I made the money back for the ryedale I can start to sort more for myself, and sell a little along the way to keep fresh unsorted pennies coming in to sort. I think I will have to sort about $2300 fv to recoup the ryedale investment, then its all gravy.

So I guess I am in the sort to sell, then sort to hoard and to sell camp. Haha.

HoldingAg

I still feel young and want to hold but I found that holding copper or Ni is not practical when you dont have a long term storage area. Im not saying Im not doing that.. Im just saying its not pratical in my opinion. Its alot of work to pack and discreatly haul your stash to a new location.

i was hoarding looking at the "long term" but an offer to buy my hoard came up and i have quickly became a "short term" person. knowing you have the option to sell when ever you want at a set price seemed to help me out in making my choice. i have no shipping fees or dump fees. would only be better if i didnt have to crack open every roll. the initial investment is reinvested and the rest becomes my "play" money.

im stacking alittle of all of it copper,silver,gold, nickle,plat,plad

I am firmly in the sort and hoard camp until I have $10,000FV in coppers, then all the additional that I sort, sell, sell, sell.
I want one day, in 10-20,25 years to sell all this time and copper for much more than I put into it.
"Don't work for your money, make your money work for you." With a "little" work and time, $10,000FV in coppers is possible but isn't worth a lot, but one day, $10,000FV in coppers will be worth a lot.
After all, we're in this to make money right? 1.7x just isn't enough for me right now, unless I was sorting enough for $1000Fv coppers/week, which I am not.

"I got lucky with finding out about copper so young. I've got a decent hoard at 19, and I hope to continue to grow it as long as I possibly can, and then sit on it. If I hold it for 40 years, who knows what I'll get for it. I'm damn sure it'll be more than 1.7x, and for that, I'm willing to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

I moved about 10 times over the last 35 years. I can't imagine lugging several hundred pounds of copper with me every time I moved. I'm sure when I got divorced I'd have left it at the house just like everything else I owned. Saving it for 40 years is a great idea but it will be a challenge to keep it all together for that long.

I've been reading some older threads today.

This 11 year old one is very interesting & I'm wondering how everyone feels now in comparison to then. Some of these members are no longer with us unfortunately. Others just no longer post. I'm guilty of not taking the time to post like I used to.
Up until a couple of months ago I was still sorting for copper & older nickels. I've never tried to sell any of it but wondering now if its time because of getting older & more health issues.
Anyway, just some random thoughts after reading this super old post.