copper bullion for prepper currency?

[cal7.62x39]

As I type the subject I already start doupting it... But people out there are starting to make and stockpile copper bullion as trade currency, its currently 1-5$ per ounce depending on where and quantity you buy, and people think in a few years it will be valued higher than silver... Your thoughts? Mine is put the same money into ammo for currency. But that's just me.

 

[Belthos]

I'd say you are right. Copper, brass, lead. They are most valuable when converted into ammunition.

If the economy breaks down you won't find a lot of people saying "I wish I had bars of copper",
you will find people saying "I wish to hell I had bullets, even one right now would do."


In before someone points out bullets aren't ammunition. It's still what people call them.

 

[Brandi]

Maybe I'll keep all these pennies.

 

[ratski]

Maybe I'll keep all these pennies.

Talk about timing.

I have wondered about all the pennies and the copper content.

Did a little research.

Turns out that the government cut out the copper in out pennies in 1982.
Some 82s are copper, some are zinc.
All of them after 82 are zinc

According to some, the pre-82 penny is worth about .02 cents in copper melt.
The trick there is you can't melt U.S. Currency.

I decided to investigate a little on the availability of the pre-82 penny.
Figured that if I was getting "bank rolls" with NO pre-82s then I would know that someone was hoarding them or pulling them out of circulation.

Went to three different banks and got about 25 dollars worth of rolled pennies.
Sorted them and kept all of the pre-82s.
If it was dated 1982 or later, they went in the "back to the bank" pile.
Only real way to tell if an 82 coin is copper or zinc is by weighing it and it just isn't worth the time so I didn't bother.

Here is what I found.
Your results may vary.

Out of 25 dollars worth of pennies, I came up with just over 4 dollars worth of pre-82 pennies.
Approximately 15% of the circulating pennies were pre-82.

Even found a few wheaties. Three I think.

I did notice that the age patina on the pre-82 is pretty distinctive. Sort of a chocolate brown.
New age patina is not a deal breaker as many of the coins that I got that were pre-82 were in "shiny shape".

Overall, the post-82 pennies do not seem to stand up to the test of time as well as the pre-82s.
The post-82s damage easily it seems.

Oh, and one other thing. I used to do this when I was a kid back in the 70s looking for wheats.
I think that they are printing the dates on the pennies much smaller than they were back then.

They are much harder to read.
Maybe is is the lighting.

Dave

 

[yukonjack]

I think I've got about 80 pounds of pre-82 copper pennies. Gosh, I hope the prices really soars, soon!!!

 

[CrossJ]

They are much harder to read.
Maybe is is the lighting.

Dave

I blame the humidity!

 

[cal7.62x39]

A pre 82 penny is still only worth a penny if its a federal offence to "deface" or melt down currency. I'm sorry but making a few bucks isnt worth the risk... Aside from that if it were worth the risk, the cost of a kelm or what ever it is and then molds to reshape the then melted copper. I don't feel like doing the math but I am fairly sure it adds up to being a bust.

 

[Brandi]

So I've always wondered, since its illegal to melt down or deface these coins, how can all these little machines that smash pennies into shapes or with imprints be licensed by the state? The ones I'm talking about are the ones you pay a quarter to smash the penny, they have one at the OKC Western Heritage museum, the zoo...places like that.

 

[caojyn]

I watched this documentary, way back when, about this group of 5 guys that pooled their money and converted it to pennies. They separated out all the solid coppers and kept exchanging the zinc ones for all copper. Their end storage container looked like Scrooge McDuck's vault. Their plan is to wait until the fed drops the penny and then they'll melt them down.

 

[cal7.62x39]

The gov will drop the nickel before it drops the penny. I've read (or watched history channel maybe?) where it takes the US government more in metal cost to make the nickel than its face value, and is the least used coin in the US market.