Realcent.org

Hey all,

New member to the forum and recently got into penny sorting and hopefully halves soon. My wife is still on the fence about the whole process and won't let me get a Ryedale.... yet. I've been dropping them in a comparator I bought off eBay (better then eyeballing the dates at least).

Question is, What is a realistic amount of pennies to keep in ones garage/storage space at home? 1k-100k FV?

I'm thinking of storing the pennies in the $25 boxes and stacking them up, or maybe investing in some steel drums. I'm really into the idea and want to store up as many as possible but I think my amount is going to be limited by the space I have available. I saw a picture on some Copper Bullion website of 5k pennies in a crate but I didn't get the actual size/weight it takes up as they store the pennies for you in their warehouse.

Cheers,
Henchman

Very subjective question.

50+ some odd coffee cans full? (little bitty house)

If that's nuts, then put me away.

I don't like the steel drum option only because one day you will want to move them and it'll be a little tough to budge 1000+ lbs. The cent boxes are ok in a climate controlled, or otherwise very dry location...but cardboard deteriorates rapidly in damp or humid environments.

Some have used gallon paint cans, which can be bought cheap and stack easily. I use 5 gal buckets, which also can be scrounged, though I paid home center prices for mine (nothing's too good for my Abes). They stack great, are stable, and easily hold 100lbs. Inside, they contain $25 fv ziplock bags, so I can pull out whatever I need for selling/trading or just to make it easier to muscle them around without having to recount or reweigh.

So a row of 5 stacked 4 high will store a ton easily. It's not the MOST compact you can do, but the convenience is hard to beat.

How much to hoard? Good question! I don't know, but every time I get some money ahead... I add to it!

P.S. Welcome to the madness!

Just a few more pounds. That is the answer you should tell yourself every time you think you have enough.

5 gallon buckets are probably the best. Easy to move with a small handtruck, stacks easy, and can fit a few in just about any closet or small space.

Seriously, you need to look at your goals in savings. What percentage of your income is dedicated to savings? How much of your savings do you want to dedicate to physical, hard assets? How much risk are you willing to take. Saving metals is a very low risk investment and is a terrific hedge against other, more risky investments. They are very liquid in case of an emergency.

My old man lived through the Great Depression. In fact, in 1936, he was richer at 16 yrs. old than most men twice his age. He trapped for furs in his spare time when he wasn't doing chores on his dad's farm. Ran a 7.5 mile trap line twice a day during fur season. Tough kid. He passed on some of that savings mentality on to me.

Here is some of it. Never trust anyone else to hold all your money. Diversify. Cold, hard cash in your possession is a good way to keep it safe. Keeping metals that appreciate with time is a wise choice.

Once you have decided on a budget for savings, set your plan into action. If you want to dedicate, say 2% of your income to brass pennies, that is a good start. Stick with it.

Same thing with other metals, too. First decide how much of your income to spend on them and then stick with the plan until you are comfortable with how much you have accumulated. As time goes by, you can dollar cost average the expenses and see your wealth really add up.

Good luck!

.

order the ryedale - it is easier to get forgiveness than permission!
seriously, i use 5 gallon buckets for storage also -
i know that someday i will have to scoop out half a bucket so i can move them (will worry about that someday).
keep sorting - once you reach your target goal, you will keep sorting and set another goal as to how much to hold.

I place $15 fv of rolled/loose pennies in some heavy plastic bags I found somewhere and store them in some large coolers I have. I can get $500 in each cooler. When I sell or trade , I can just reach in and grab the # of bags I need and ship them. Right now I'm working on filling my 3rd cooler.

How much is enough?

I like John D Rockefellers quote: "Just a little bit more"

I store them in ice cream buckets.....they stack perfectly!

And I will hoard forever. The bank pays you no interest anyway. If you have 10,000 dollars in copper, that's always 10 grand. I look at it as insurance.

My realistic goal is one ton but I would really like to have two ton. If I had two ton I would sell one whenever the melt ban is lifted and copper is above 5.00 a pound and keep the other ton to try and wait for sky high prices. I just started a few weeks ago and only have about 120 pounds so I have a long way to go

My goal was 1-ton when I started. But I don't think I will be able to stop once I reach that goal! I will almost certainly be doing this as long as the percentages hold up or the banks make it impossible. So I guess the real question is, how much can I realistically get before it is too late?

I also think that if you are not going to sort AT LEAST a half a ton, then you are better off doing hand sorting and/or buying CTU's rather than buying a Ryedale. I have one and I love it, but you have to factor the cost into your bottom line cost per pound.

I'm nearly to half a ton, but now I'm a little concerned. After sorting, I've been re-rolling copper pennies and stacking $25 boxes. I buy new boxes to store the rolls in, but I do store them in my basement. I don't have a particularly damp basement, but do I have to be concerned about mold or decomposition of the $25 cardboard boxes? It is a basement and there is some level of humidity I guess. I am thinking a 5 to 10 year storage timespan at minimum. If the melt ban lifts, I likely would start selling some if I could achieve close to spot value and prices were relatively strong.

Just check on them every couple of months. I store them the same way and 2 years going strong, no issues.

When I first joined I thought all these hoarders were bonkers and I was gonna make a mint selling to them, now after thinking about it for a bit, I put $15-$20 FV away every week as part of my retirement portfolio. Diversification is the name of the game in retirement planning and a little tangible asset with no chance to lose what I invested (except for inflation) is a good way to go. Got 30+ yrs til that day anyways.

ed_vantage17 wrote:When I first joined I thought all these hoarders were bonkers and I was gonna make a mint selling to them, now after thinking about it for a bit, I put $15-$20 FV away every week as part of my retirement portfolio. Diversification is the name of the game in retirement planning and a little tangible asset with no chance to lose what I invested (except for inflation) is a good way to go. Got 30+ yrs til that day anyways.

30 years from now you will be very happy at how much your coins are worth.

Thanks for all the replies. The 5 gallon paint buckets seems like the way to go for me. I picked out a spot in my garage and I think I can get a 5x5 bucket space going. Funny, I went to an estate sale last weekend to check out some Sterling Silver I was too late to get and they had about 40 paint buckets I was thinking of getting some at the time. Wish I did now , but it's something to keep an eye out for next time around.

Cheers!
Henchman

If you find you have too many coppers to store, youcould convert the excess to silver/gold to compress space.

I don't think you can have to much really.

Try to get buckets from a Bakery as 3 1/2 Gal is a good size an many have a all plastic handle.
Bakery is an simpler clean than paint unless you get them with paint still damp Go to new Subdivision for them Talk to the paint crew. I built a shelf above a Garage window to store the empty's.
I cut half the tabs off with table saw makes it easy to reopen.

Check local restaurants. I work at one and we go through a lot of 5 and, even better, 2 1/2 gallon buckets. We get pickles, sauerkraut, hard boiled eggs and some other stuff in them and we go through a lot. I'm sure if you offered a couple bucks you could score some easily. Possibly even for free! Worth looking into.
I'd say a realistic amount is as many as possible. I'm really small time but I stash as much as I can and it all adds up! Good luck growing your hoard

Not sure the 5 gal buckets are really the best way to go. I had change in one for about 10 yrs until the plastic got brittle and broke.

Trash cans. Cheap, sturdy, and they have a lid. They can also hold almost a half ton of copper.

Hoard until you don't have space.

I like the boxes. I dump 2500 in each, seal them up and stack em.

goldteam wrote:I store them in ice cream buckets.....they stack perfectly!

And I will hoard forever. The bank pays you no interest anyway. If you have 10,000 dollars in copper, that's always 10 grand. I look at it as insurance.

Gotta give it to goldteam. Hoard forever.