Copper pennies just aint

[daviscfad]

Selling anymore. I see people listing them for 142.00 shipped and less and they just dont seem to move anymore. When i first came here in 2008 It seems they sold all the time. Copper was on a downward sprial right after i joined and now its more than it was then but still noone is buying. What gives? 90% Silver on the other hand wouldnt hardly move at spot and it was also around 10-12 an ounce. now people getting money on 90% over spot. Is everyone thinking they are going to make a quicker buck on silver? Seems like silver would have been better to buy in large quantities then than now but that dont seem to be the case

[68Camaro]

Can't speak for others, only myself. When I started on the cent train I early on realized that to reach the basic level I wanted to be at, it was easlier to supplement some personal sorting with buying. So I bought a fair amount. I'm now at a reasonable level of copper (well into my second ton) so I don't feel that same pressure that I felt a year ago. Plus I have developed a steady modest local supply as well acquired a Ryedale and coin-scan. Plus my copper standards changed over time, so that I'm now doing a third hand sort (past the double Ryedale machine sort) to separate into clean coin and dirty coin - and this is the most time consuming part. If I could buy coin that was clean to that same standard, I would probably buy it rather than sort it myself. But if I buy now I would still have to do the clean/dirty sort myself. That has been the single largest change for me personally. (On top of that, we've been building a major addition and my time has been at a premium for the past 3-4 months).

[SoFa]

Silver's just hot right now. The bullion pumpers have put a lot of money into marketing it.
Next year it might be palladium, or platinum, or nickel, or who knows what.
If they decide to do away with the US cent, the hot item might even be copper soon.

[wagsthadog]

Hi there-

also consider your audience- If you're talking about them not selling here, I agree but it's probably because most of the members sort on their own. Have you tried listing on BS or another forum?

Also, ebay for all its faults does have a tremendous market- they will sell there, but you have to tinker with getting the price you want..

JMO
wags

[My2Cents]

I can't say that it's the price that's wrong... but rather, your creative ways to sell it for what you want to get for it. Try listing on Craigslist in smaller batches or do like Wagsthadog said and put it on Ebay that's pretty competitive with other sellers. You can't argue with Ebay when it comes to an audience.
Join other forums as well... that are similar (but unrelated) to RC.... like a numismatic website. Maybe you can get more sales from there too... and they might be for a larger $ amount as well. Or you could sell em for a slight discount to everyone else and move the volume.

[slvrbck]

Seems like a contrarian type thing to me. When I was hoarding silver years ago everyone thought I was nuts. Now everyone I talk to wants to own silver. I can't even tell people I hoard pennies and wire because they think I'm insane. I think I'm just ahead of the game. I remember thinking there is no way these coin books are right this silver quarter has to be worth more than 50 cents. I feel the same about pennies now

[BCD11]

Seems like a contrarian type thing to me. When I was hoarding silver years ago everyone thought I was nuts. Now everyone I talk to wants to own silver. I can't even tell people I hoard pennies and wire because they think I'm insane. I think I'm just ahead of the game. I remember thinking there is no way these coin books are right this silver quarter has to be worth more than 50 cents. I feel the same about pennies now

And you slvrbck have nailed the Holy Grail of investing...buy when nobody else wants it and sell when everybody else wants it. Obviously, this relates to things that should be around more than one fanciful swing (fanciful swings like "pet rocks"). If you can be the contrarian and lean against the prevailing wisdom, more times than not, you will come out looking good.

[adagirl]

Seems like a contrarian type thing to me. When I was hoarding silver years ago everyone thought I was nuts. Now everyone I talk to wants to own silver. I can't even tell people I hoard pennies and wire because they think I'm insane. I think I'm just ahead of the game. I remember thinking there is no way these coin books are right this silver quarter has to be worth more than 50 cents. I feel the same about pennies now

You are right on! I have some folks around me, including my wife, that think I am crazy. I probably am crazy, but hoarding silver, pennies, wire, etc....not so crazy, makes cents to me.

[everything]

Back in 2008, China was using warehouses full of copper as investment grade collateral, maybe they moved onto silver.

[daviscfad]

well i sold 6 boxes last night so

[penny pretty]

this might be an interesting topic for a post. percentage of forum members sorting for profit now, profit when a benchmark hits, or just holding. I am just holding(hoarding) for a few reasons. I dont need quick cash. I only handsort a box or two a week. I think of it as a hobby, and research what cents to hold. I think the monetary system is in trouble, and the rolls of copper will be a nice addition to my silver( not to mention ammunition)

[BCD11]

Combination profit and hoarding.

[Numis Pam]

Just sorting and hoarding for now.... I would be tempted to sell at 2x face tho.... but not at 1.4 or 1.5 at this point...