question for the copper hoarders

[RVA]

I know its pretty easy to tell the difference between zinc and copper, and there are the sorting machines..... but, for those rushing and just doing quick date checks, considering there are 8 different types of the 1982 cent and only 4 are copper, do you skip 1982? save them all and worry about it later? or do you really sit there and do a noise test on another one or something. just curious.... ive got a zinc and a copper small date sitting here in front of me and from 6 inches away, they look almost identical, and after copious amounts of change pass through your hands, I imagine the sensation of something slightly lighter in your hand starts to fade.


also, anyone keep copper outside of cents? Im in the auto industry and Im saving used battery lines and terminals, crush washers, starter contacts, etc...

 

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[rfishoutofwater]

I do 4 boxes of cents a week and save all the 82 cents. I weight them. 31 and over is copper and under is zinc. I get about 2-3$ worth of 82 that are copper. More than zinc.

 

[hokiemojo]

4 boxes a week? that's a lot for hand sorting. impressive.

 

[Hunter612]

I search mostly cents. I don't have a scale, but I am hoping to get one soon. I usually just cash 82's in and just keep 81's and before. I don't see very many 82's anyway so I don't think I am missing much. I have a few other scrap copper pieces that I found metal detecting but I usually just hoard pennies.

Happy Hunting!

 

[jrf30]

I would think doing it by hand would yield only a few 1982s per week. So I'd not hassle with them. I have a ryedale, so that doesn't matter to me now, as I don't see the dates. But when I did them by hand, I figured the time it took to weigh and keep some of the 1982s was the same time I could have gone through a new roll and gotten copper anyway. SO no real gain for doing it.

 

[rfishoutofwater]

I average 4-5 per roll so it adds up quickly. Sometimes i will wait and weight mine after i get 2-3 cups full then weight them. But i get that much after 6-8 boxes.

 

[slinnils]

Flip the coin...if it rings it is copper

 

[baddbluff]

I have an old fashioned balance scale - put a known zincoln on one side & it's really easy to separate them.

The hard part for me is selling them for a worthwhile profit. I sold $100 face for $150 w/ free shipping on eBay - will only make about $20. How do y'all make $ on them?

 

[Henry2]

Unless you have a machine I don't think it is worth the time and effort weighing or testing them, as said the profit right now is so low and those waiting for the government to allow them to be scrapped will be very disappointed. I'll admit I used to save them and sort through boxes but after going through the numbers it wasn't worth it, in fact those holding on to them will probably lose money, consider it like this, you will always have face value but inflation is killing the purchasing power of them every year. If the government doesn't allow them to be scrapped your only hope is their will be a market for them still in the future, most people won't pay over 3 cents for wheat pennies so how do you think memorials will hold up. If you can turn a profit now I would suggest doing so.

 

[Coppercrazy]

I hand sort 10-15 boxes a week and i just skip right over the 82's. I can tell by sight which one's are copper with 90% accuracy, but I don't take any chances. As Jrf said the time you spend weighing them, you could have gone through more rolls.

 

[jamesandsons]

I skip the 82's also, except for 1 out of about every 20 or so, where I just know it is a copper. Not sure how to explain that. Most of the time I can tell a copper from a zinc (in general, not 82's) by tossing it from my left hand onto the fingers of my right hand, and just feeling the impact. I can do this with like 90% accuracy when I'm in the zone. But 82's sometimes just psych me out... so I usually don't bother with 'em.

I am getting ready to start selling some coppers on ebay - I'd be happy with a 20% profit after fees & shipping costs. I'm not looking to make a huge profit, and I don't care about the time I've spent sorting them. Just looking to replenish some of my bank roll that has been depleted by other coins I've kept.

 

[Rushfan]

I'm with Coppercrazy and Jamesandsons on this one... I skip them completely.

 

[usandthem]

When I was selling copper pennies for two cents a piece I would weigh the '82s. Then I lost my buyer and still held on to the '82s. Once I had about $80 in '82s I said to heck with it and deposited them in one of my savings accounts. Now I just throw them in with the zincolns. If my buyer starts buying again I may start weighing them.

 

[DaytonaRacer]

I always skip the '82s. Not worth my time and hassle.