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So, I've been trying to stack a little silver the past year or so. I just love the Silver American Eagles and some .999 Silver 1 oz bars, but have been noticing people are collecting/stacking copper bars & rounds more. Anyone here stacking copper in that form? Just plain curious.

Buying copper rounds at $1 each = $16 / pound = about 5X melt value...a high cost to stack for me. I do buy assorted rounds as a collector, just for something different, but copper Lincolns are the cheapest way to stack copper. I have never considered copper bars, not sure what they sell for as a multiple of melt value, but they would also be more expensive per pound than cents.

Good to see you asking questions and getting involved on RC!

Last fall I picked up a 1 Kilo Bar (2.2 lbs) just to try something different. Its nice to look at, has the Liberty Bell with the weight and .999 copper stamped on it. I've been sitting on it wondering what will happen with copper. Just trying some cheaper (than silver & gold) and seeing what happens.

I have some copper rounds and bars myself. They are more like conversation pieces, but if copper does well in the future, then good for me!

It's not the core part of my stack though, but rather a means of further diversification in the metals market. From what I've read, copper does have some
potential to go up some years from now.

The only economical copper bullion is one cent coins, full stop. In a deflationary environment many will discount their premiums over spot as they liquidate so you can't build the premiums into your calculation of worth. With that in mind, why would you pay $1.00 for $0.33 in melt and call it an investment? I'd much rather pay $0.01 for something with $0.025 of intrinsic value.

TwoPenniesEarned wrote:The only economical copper bullion is one cent coins, full stop. In a deflationary environment many will discount their premiums over spot as they liquidate so you can't build the premiums into your calculation of worth. With that in mind, why would you pay $1.00 for $0.33 in melt and call it an investment? I'd much rather pay $0.01 for something with $0.025 of intrinsic value.

I really agree with what you are saying... only thing to consider... copper rounds/bars are PURE copper and pennies are 95% copper, and from what I understand copper is really tough to work with so it makes it harder for even backyard metal-smiths to make copper bullion. That is one big reason copper rounds bear a large premium, due to being hard to smelt.

That being said.... I have both copper bullion as well as bags of copper pennies..... nothing wrong with either

-The Great

When I place an order for silver at Provident metals I always tie it together with a 1 pound bar of copper that they sell for $5.86. Still a 70+% mark up, but cheap in real dollar terms. Nice looking. That shiny orange-red is attractive. Now, what I will do with 1 pound bars of copper - I have no idea. Still, interesting to hold in your hand.

Keep stacking (no matter what it is - except for paper FRNs...well have some on hand).

Well, I just ordered several 1 0z bars from Provident Metals, they were $1 each. I hope they are as nice as their web site made them look, I'll just put them away in my box and see what happens to copper. Just additional metal to put away, with high hopes, like Silver too.

I stack copper pipe and wire. Generally 99.99 pure and easily recognizable. That's my bullion and can generally be had for less than spot

slvrbck wrote:I stack copper pipe and wire. Generally 99.99 pure and easily recognizable. That's my bullion and can generally be had for less than spot

Plus, it's already in a usable form. I'd much rather have a roll of Romex than an equal weight of copper rounds.

Ricky wrote:Well, I just ordered several 1 0z bars from Provident Metals, they were $1 each. I hope they are as nice as their web site made them look, I'll just put them away in my box and see what happens to copper. Just additional metal to put away, with high hopes, like Silver too.

I think you will be pleased. THe copper rounds are very attractive looking.. I sometimes wish they were worth $10 a piece because of how nice they look!!!

-The Great

TwoPenniesEarned wrote:The only economical copper bullion is one cent coins, full stop. In a deflationary environment many will discount their premiums over spot as they liquidate so you can't build the premiums into your calculation of worth. With that in mind, why would you pay $1.00 for $0.33 in melt and call it an investment? I'd much rather pay $0.01 for something with $0.025 of intrinsic value.

+1

CLINT-THE-GREAT wrote:

TwoPenniesEarned wrote:The only economical copper bullion is one cent coins, full stop. In a deflationary environment many will discount their premiums over spot as they liquidate so you can't build the premiums into your calculation of worth. With that in mind, why would you pay $1.00 for $0.33 in melt and call it an investment? I'd much rather pay $0.01 for something with $0.025 of intrinsic value.

I really agree with what you are saying... only thing to consider... copper rounds/bars are PURE copper and pennies are 95% copper, and from what I understand copper is really tough to work with so it makes it harder for even backyard metal-smiths to make copper bullion. That is one big reason copper rounds bear a large premium, due to being hard to smelt.

That being said.... I have both copper bullion as well as bags of copper pennies..... nothing wrong with either

-The Great

The refinement process is a big part of why pure copper is nowhere near melt. The cost involved ensures you will never get it for spot so I don't worry about it since the resale value should always be there as long as you find a decent deal. If I can get 1 oz copper rounds for 60-80 cents I will jump on it because $1 is the cheapest retail price you can look to match.

I agree with Clint, and have a couple nice big bags of Canadian copper pennies as well. I figure since they are discontinued it's a potential collector play and a guaranteed metal play. Plus they are 98% instead of 95% like the US coppers.

I also save older us pennies (before 1982) to just put away for now. 95% copper is good too but having got into stacking silver .999 bars, I am also trying the 1 oz pure copper just for the variety of it. I haven't got my order from Provident yet but if I can I'll post a picture of them.

I'm just to trying to add a picture, here is my recent silver bars from Silvertowne. Does this work?

Engineer wrote:

slvrbck wrote:I stack copper pipe and wire. Generally 99.99 pure and easily recognizable. That's my bullion and can generally be had for less than spot

Plus, it's already in a usable form. I'd much rather have a roll of Romex than an equal weight of copper rounds.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both sides. I certainly don't know everything there is to know about cabling, but one of the problems with cabling as opposed to copper bars or even pennies is that it would take up a LOT more space. For someone who has a ranch with 50 or more acres, not a big deal. Most of us probably don't have enough space to store something like a large quantity of cable on a heavy duty spool.

InfleXion wrote:

CLINT-THE-GREAT wrote:

TwoPenniesEarned wrote:The only economical copper bullion is one cent coins, full stop. In a deflationary environment many will discount their premiums over spot as they liquidate so you can't build the premiums into your calculation of worth. With that in mind, why would you pay $1.00 for $0.33 in melt and call it an investment? I'd much rather pay $0.01 for something with $0.025 of intrinsic value.

I really agree with what you are saying... only thing to consider... copper rounds/bars are PURE copper and pennies are 95% copper, and from what I understand copper is really tough to work with so it makes it harder for even backyard metal-smiths to make copper bullion. That is one big reason copper rounds bear a large premium, due to being hard to smelt.

That being said.... I have both copper bullion as well as bags of copper pennies..... nothing wrong with either

-The Great

The refinement process is a big part of why pure copper is nowhere near melt. The cost involved ensures you will never get it for spot so I don't worry about it since the resale value should always be there as long as you find a decent deal. If I can get 1 oz copper rounds for 60-80 cents I will jump on it because $1 is the cheapest retail price you can look to match.

I agree with Clint, and have a couple nice big bags of Canadian copper pennies as well. I figure since they are discontinued it's a potential collector play and a guaranteed metal play. Plus they are 98% instead of 95% like the US coppers.

Excellent points! I like knowing that I have a fairly good size amount of Canadian coppers too!

Ricky wrote:I also save older us pennies (before 1982) to just put away for now. 95% copper is good too but having got into stacking silver .999 bars, I am also trying the 1 oz pure copper just for the variety of it. I haven't got my order from Provident yet but if I can I'll post a picture of them.

Provident is a decent company. I've placed several orders with them without any issues.

APMEX isn't bad either.

I got the order from Provident yesterday. Very nice copper bars! I really like the Saint Gaudens ones, super to look at. So I put them away and to see what happens with copper, along with my older pennies and some silver. Keep stacking!

Ricky wrote:I got the order from Provident yesterday. Very nice copper bars! I really like the Saint Gaudens ones, super to look at. So I put them away and to see what happens with copper, along with my older pennies and some silver. Keep stacking!

I have some of those ones too! I like the Bears/Bull copper rounds.