Moonshadow
Silver Member
Hey gang..........It's cold...I'm bored! I'm cleaning a ton of pennies and looking through them for mis-strikes and just to add to my collection. I wanted to know how to tell the difference between zinc and copper. This article was pretty interesting....so I thought I'd share it.
A case for hoarding pre-1982 US copper cents...
The pennies, or more accurately, 'cents' being produced today by the US government are not made of copper anymore, but of mostly zinc. This change was made in 1982 in order to save money for penny production. As of this writing, a pre-1982 US cent contains about 2.5 cents worth of copper. Those produced after 1982 contain mostly zinc
The only* money currently circulating with any real metal value are the pre-1982 Lincoln cents.*Update: US nickels are now also 'honest' money. They currently contain more than five cents in metal value!
For simplicity's sake, lets break US pennies down into 4 categories:
1. Everything up until 1959: These are wheat pennies, Indian head pennies, flying eagles, and earlier large cents, and all have a collector value above their metal content. (common wheat pennies have a collector value of about 2 cents right now) All pennies in this category should be stored separately, and possibly traded in for cash at a coinshop, sold to a collector, or saved as collectibles.
2. Pennies dated 1959-1981: These are the copper cents that you should be hoarding. They can be acquired for one cent each from change and from your local bank, yet currently hold a metal value of about 2.5 cents each because of their copper content. The actual composition of the cents from 1959-1981 is 95% copper and 5% zinc.
3. Pennies dated 1982: The year 1982 was the US Mint's change over year from a copper penny, to the new zinc pennies. Some from that year are copper, some are zinc. It is possible to tell the difference between the two with weight testing, or by appearance and sound, but at this point is not worth the effort. I recommend all 1982 cents be cashed, just save the 1981 and earlier.
4. Pennies dated 1983-present: These pennies do not contain valuable metal, are made mostly of zinc, and should be cashed in and traded for more pennies to sort through. The actual composition of the pennies from 1983-present is 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper.
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Here are two scenarios where the hoarding of pre-1982 copper pennies may prove profitable:
1. The price of copper rises. This is very likely, the precious metals market has been going up. Copper has many different uses in industry and the price of copper has already been steadily rising over the years. (that is why it is no longer used to make pennies) Currently, even though a pre-1982 US cent contains 2.5 cents worth of copper, it would not be economically worthwhile to sort out the copper cents and melt them. Rest assured at some point in the future the price of copper will rise enough to make it very worthwhile. At that point it will be too late to start hoarding the copper pennies, because they will quickly disappear from circulation.
There are two basic methods for hoarding pre-1982 US copper pennies.
1. Look through all the pennies you get in change. Just remember, if it is 1981 or earlier, save it. If it is 1982 or later, spend it. Get yourself a cleaned out coffee can or some other container, and throw copper cents in. Slowly, they will add up. This takes a while, but is better than nothing.
2. Go to your local branch bank and ask for some rolled pennies. You can start out small, just a few dollars worth here and there. Pennies come 50 cents per roll. I find it is simpler to simply request a box of pennies whenever I make a trip to the bank. Banks have pennies in $25.00 boxes of pennies (50 rolls), and this makes it easier to carry. You can go through them at your leisure. It really is kind of fun and relaxing to sit and sort through them while you watch tv or whatever when you have nothing better to do. You should check around for a bank that has a free coin counting service. There a plenty that do, and that way you won't have to roll the newer zinc pennies up to trade them in. Some banks require you to have an account with them to use the free coin counting service...if so, open a savings account and just keep the minimum balance in there. Whatever you do, do NOT use those coinstar machines that charge you to count your coins. They rip you off and will eat up money you could be using to get more copper pennies!
-------------------
Storing the copper pennies isn't much of a problem. You can use cleaned out coffee cans, jars, buckets or pretty much any container you have lying around that will keep your pennies dry. Glass jars are good, just don't let them break. Those 5 gallon water bottles are excellent. I don't suggest using anything with PVC in it, it will turn the copper cents green eventually.
No one has yet to make (that I know of) a coin sorter that can separate the copper pennies from the zinc, but I am sure once copper prices rise enough that will happen. Once it does, expect to see copper cents gone from circulation.
Historical example: Prior to 1965, the US dime, quarter, and half dollar were made made of 90% silver. Silver was phased of our change because the metal became worth more than the face value of the coins. For a few years after 1964 you could still find silver coins in change easily, every day. Even though the silver was worth more than face value many people thought it was a waste of time to hoard the silver coins and only spend the new clad coinage. Eventually the price of silver went up enough, and the silver coins quickly dropped out of circulation. Now it is extremely rare to find a silver coin in change, no matter how long and hard you look. One could have hoarded silver coins right after the changeover, and have made a very, very nice profit.
Happy Hoarding!!
Moon
A case for hoarding pre-1982 US copper cents...
The pennies, or more accurately, 'cents' being produced today by the US government are not made of copper anymore, but of mostly zinc. This change was made in 1982 in order to save money for penny production. As of this writing, a pre-1982 US cent contains about 2.5 cents worth of copper. Those produced after 1982 contain mostly zinc
The only* money currently circulating with any real metal value are the pre-1982 Lincoln cents.*Update: US nickels are now also 'honest' money. They currently contain more than five cents in metal value!
For simplicity's sake, lets break US pennies down into 4 categories:
1. Everything up until 1959: These are wheat pennies, Indian head pennies, flying eagles, and earlier large cents, and all have a collector value above their metal content. (common wheat pennies have a collector value of about 2 cents right now) All pennies in this category should be stored separately, and possibly traded in for cash at a coinshop, sold to a collector, or saved as collectibles.
2. Pennies dated 1959-1981: These are the copper cents that you should be hoarding. They can be acquired for one cent each from change and from your local bank, yet currently hold a metal value of about 2.5 cents each because of their copper content. The actual composition of the cents from 1959-1981 is 95% copper and 5% zinc.
3. Pennies dated 1982: The year 1982 was the US Mint's change over year from a copper penny, to the new zinc pennies. Some from that year are copper, some are zinc. It is possible to tell the difference between the two with weight testing, or by appearance and sound, but at this point is not worth the effort. I recommend all 1982 cents be cashed, just save the 1981 and earlier.
4. Pennies dated 1983-present: These pennies do not contain valuable metal, are made mostly of zinc, and should be cashed in and traded for more pennies to sort through. The actual composition of the pennies from 1983-present is 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper.
-------------------
Here are two scenarios where the hoarding of pre-1982 copper pennies may prove profitable:
1. The price of copper rises. This is very likely, the precious metals market has been going up. Copper has many different uses in industry and the price of copper has already been steadily rising over the years. (that is why it is no longer used to make pennies) Currently, even though a pre-1982 US cent contains 2.5 cents worth of copper, it would not be economically worthwhile to sort out the copper cents and melt them. Rest assured at some point in the future the price of copper will rise enough to make it very worthwhile. At that point it will be too late to start hoarding the copper pennies, because they will quickly disappear from circulation.
There are two basic methods for hoarding pre-1982 US copper pennies.
1. Look through all the pennies you get in change. Just remember, if it is 1981 or earlier, save it. If it is 1982 or later, spend it. Get yourself a cleaned out coffee can or some other container, and throw copper cents in. Slowly, they will add up. This takes a while, but is better than nothing.
2. Go to your local branch bank and ask for some rolled pennies. You can start out small, just a few dollars worth here and there. Pennies come 50 cents per roll. I find it is simpler to simply request a box of pennies whenever I make a trip to the bank. Banks have pennies in $25.00 boxes of pennies (50 rolls), and this makes it easier to carry. You can go through them at your leisure. It really is kind of fun and relaxing to sit and sort through them while you watch tv or whatever when you have nothing better to do. You should check around for a bank that has a free coin counting service. There a plenty that do, and that way you won't have to roll the newer zinc pennies up to trade them in. Some banks require you to have an account with them to use the free coin counting service...if so, open a savings account and just keep the minimum balance in there. Whatever you do, do NOT use those coinstar machines that charge you to count your coins. They rip you off and will eat up money you could be using to get more copper pennies!
-------------------
Storing the copper pennies isn't much of a problem. You can use cleaned out coffee cans, jars, buckets or pretty much any container you have lying around that will keep your pennies dry. Glass jars are good, just don't let them break. Those 5 gallon water bottles are excellent. I don't suggest using anything with PVC in it, it will turn the copper cents green eventually.
No one has yet to make (that I know of) a coin sorter that can separate the copper pennies from the zinc, but I am sure once copper prices rise enough that will happen. Once it does, expect to see copper cents gone from circulation.
Historical example: Prior to 1965, the US dime, quarter, and half dollar were made made of 90% silver. Silver was phased of our change because the metal became worth more than the face value of the coins. For a few years after 1964 you could still find silver coins in change easily, every day. Even though the silver was worth more than face value many people thought it was a waste of time to hoard the silver coins and only spend the new clad coinage. Eventually the price of silver went up enough, and the silver coins quickly dropped out of circulation. Now it is extremely rare to find a silver coin in change, no matter how long and hard you look. One could have hoarded silver coins right after the changeover, and have made a very, very nice profit.
Happy Hoarding!!
Moon
