hold nickles and copper pennies or use to buy silver?

[letsbuildasnowman]

Hold nickles and copper pennies or use them to purchase silver?

[<SLV>]

Depends on how much storage room you have. Silver can legally be melted, but not pennies or nickels. The purpose for holding pennies and nickels would be in the eventuality that our currency completely fails and is replaced by the "Amero" or something similar. At that point all of those coins could be melted down... but they actually might be "recalled" by the Mint/Fed.

I would definitely say "no" to the pennies because the pain of sorting them doesn't pay off. If you can get Canadian nickels a good percentage of them are PURE nickel (worth many times face) and some are tombac which has a high nickel content. Otherwise, it is a lot easier to store more value in a smaller space with boxes of nickel rolls.

[letsbuildasnowman]

Appreciate the advice!

[HairHopper]

They still sell copper by the ton. Buy the silver instead.

[charlie1023]

Hold nickles and copper pennies or use them to purchase silver?

Why not both? I'm a silver whore who has the occasional fling with bits of gold however I do the copper penny thing with the kids in the evenings. Its peaceful, teaches my oldest about our nations coinage and we sort out the wheaties in one bin and the copper's in another. Doesn't cost anything really and you will come across some cool coins on occasion like Indian heads and older wheat's....still looking for that 1914D though.......:hmpf:

[Nickelless]

Why not both? I'm a silver whore who has the occasional fling with bits of gold however I do the copper penny thing with the kids in the evenings. Its peaceful, teaches my oldest about our nations coinage and we sort out the wheaties in one bin and the copper's in another. Doesn't cost anything really and you will come across some cool coins on occasion like Indian heads and older wheat's....still looking for that 1914D though.......:hmpf:

+1. Holding silver and gold but no copper is like only having $50 and $100 FRNs but no $1 FRNs to make change. You probably don't want to use up all your silver or gold on small-ticket items.

Stocking up on nickels is the most efficient way to stockpile copper, unless you have a Ryedale penny sorter. Or you can buy bags of copper cents on eBay or other sites.

[smooth]

can you still buy copper gutters?

[Oz Waver]

Copper is common, silver is rare.

Really if you face a collapse you can always find copper, just because it's worth more in fiat currency now but it means a lot less in a post collapse context.

It's a no brainer for me.

[glockngold]

Hold nickles and copper pennies or use them to purchase silver?

Your answer depends on how much you consider your time to be worth, and how much space you have.
or how much you just like to do something like "mess with coins"

For some, that can generate , say, $100K a year, holding copper or nickle is just silly.
And the idea of sorting pennies (at least without the help of a Ryedale sorter) is a foolish use of their time.
All they have to do is live on $75.K & then they can buy Gold with the balance.

So if you are just holding for wealth preservation, buy gold, & yes silver as well.

Now if you are "po folk" like me, hoard what you can & then trade up.

I do have a 5 gallon bucket of pennies that I sorted at work while on break. I wouldn't spend any other time doing it, because there are other things I can do that "pay more".
That bucket is "free copper"
But I would never buy copper it to hoard it.

[minimus]

For the first time in several years the Cu/Ni nickle melt value is worth less than its face value.

This is an example of the effects of global recession/depression on base metal demand.

[oldgaranddad]

I look at copper cents and nickels as poor man's silver. Easily obtainable on the smallest of budgets and with QE3, QE4, ad infinitum the coins will become scrap metal anyway when $20 bill will buy you a Coke out of the machine. Just look to Italy and its Lira coinage. What was the price of a small loaf of bread before the Euro conversion? 20,000 Lira? Coins were being drilled and used a fishing net weights in Italian seaside communities. History is going to repeat itself.

[Fatboy]

For the first time in several years the Cu/Ni nickle melt value is worth less than its face value.


Maybe the folks that have "hoarded" nickles should trade them for folding money.

[Fiat Metaler]

the right answer depends on what you acquire the copper for, how long you can hold for, and how much your time and storage costs you.

search the archives for similar threads about hoarding copper pennies and nickels.

personally i can get sorted copper cents for 1.3 each but i would rather hold silver at current prices mostly due to better upside prospects but better liquidity and less storage room is also a consideration.

[Silver Buck]

Meh, I'm holding Nickels and pre'82 pennies just to pass down to family when I die along with my 'other metals' (they do NOT know this).

20 years plus and we can't go wrong with our 'base copper and nickel'.

[ccjoe]

Meh, I'm holding Nickels and pre'82 pennies just to pass down to family when I die along with my 'other metals' (they do NOT know this).

20 years plus and we can't go wrong with our 'base copper and nickel'.

I think 5 yrs as provident and Gainesville among others have been selling cu for over a year now.

[Gcubed]

I think 5 yrs as provident and Gainesville among others have been selling cu for over a year now.

What's the spread? Will they even buy it back?

[Garyw]

Gold is down 33% from 2008 and silver is down 80% from 2008 you decide.

[RUSH2112]

Gold is down 33% from 2008 and silver is down 80% from 2008 you decide.

Don't you mean silver is up 80% from 2008?

Silver was as low as $9.00 and high as $21.00 in 2008.

Thus, silver is trading 80 - 300% higher depending on which 2008 high or low you use.

[cpthnsolo]

Everyone should have 10 boxes of nickels ($100 fv/box) stored somewhere IMO. I save all my Cu pennies as well, but my time is worth money so I no longer sort pennies. Just pick up a box of nickels at the bank when you're already there for something else and they become an overhead free way to invest in metal with zero downside risk. The unfortunate thing about pennies and nickels is the fact they take up so much space. There's simply no easy way to invest large sums of money in pennies or nickels without major storage problems. That's what silver and gold are for though ;)

[tesskansas]

Everyone should have 10 boxes of nickels ($100 fv/box) stored somewhere IMO. I save all my Cu pennies as well, but my time is worth money so I no longer sort pennies. Just pick up a box of nickels at the bank when you're already there for something else and they become an overhead free way to invest in metal with zero downside risk. The unfortunate thing about pennies and nickels is the fact they take up so much space. There's simply no easy way to invest large sums of money in pennies or nickels without major storage problems. That's what silver and gold is for though ;)

Major storage problem is what they use to say about silver too. I recall hearing a few call at 1000 oz bar a door stop. For now pennies and nickels may be a storage problem. In 30 years, I doubt it.

I like the number recommendation of getting 10 boxes of nickels. That is good advice. I do not have that much, but I really am not sure anymore. I think I have that in cents (25$ face boxes). I have two or three bags ($200 face) of nickels. I like the bags a lot.

Longterm, I vote for silver and gold too. Zinc pennies are still ok for me. I don't sort. I think zinc will go up someday too.

[Agavegirl1]

Total Newbie...I have a bunch of foreign coins I keep in a jewelry box so...PM content of European coins would be nice to know. Anyone? Have been travelling for 14 years and still keep the change.

[latemetal]

Coinflation.com has American and Canadian coins, World Coins is a book to look for, and google is your friend too...:party30:

[CopperSilverGold]

I do hold nickels and copper cents. I actively buy Canadian 1981 and earlier nickels (0.999 nickel base) and 1996 and before Canadian copper cents (varied compositions but generally 95% copper or higher). As long as I can get these at face value, I will pick them up from the local coin shop. With US Nickels and copper cents (1982 and ealier), I occasionally buy rolls here and there from the bank, also put aside any of these that I get in change. Yeah this takes up quite a bit more room compared to silver, but it's part of diversifying my holdings. Worst case scenario is that these become a burden, and I cash them at face value.

[CopperSilverGold]

Total Newbie...I have a bunch of foreign coins I keep in a jewelry box so...PM content of European coins would be nice to know. Anyone? Have been travelling for 14 years and still keep the change.

Haven't used this site in awhile but maybe try www.worldcoingallery.com to see if it gives the info you are looking for.

[Mr Paradise]

If you have a job (like me) where you have alot of "downtime" at work you can grab your pick and shovel and prospect penny boxes. At the end of the day your guaranteed some 95% copper and as a bonus you can sell any numismatic you find for silver. Oh, and keep an eye out for Indians. ;)

Eureka!

[Agavegirl1]

Woo Hoo! I have years worth of pennies in two fabric bags I've saving for no particular reason and now have a reason to go through them!:party30:

[CopperSilverGold]

I mentioned it a few weeks ago that my LCS had a bag on their desk with copper cents marked something like "pre-1982 copper pennies", and presumably was a 5000 count bag. I didn't get a chance to ask them about it but that was the first time I had seen that at any LCS. Is it a sign of things to come?

[cpthnsolo]

I mentioned it a few weeks ago that my LCS had a bag on their desk with copper cents marked something like "pre-1982 copper pennies", and presumably was a 5000 count bag. I didn't get a chance to ask them about it but that was the first time I had seen that at any LCS. Is it a sign of things to come?


In a word, YES.

:cheerful:

[Fiat Metaler]

What's the spread? Will they even buy it back?

Portland Mint (copper pennies) is buying at 1.3X. I believe they sell at 1.6X, but delivery and storage are extra.

I do think you can go wrong buying at 1.3, let alone 1.6. There is no guarantee the meltban will ever be lifted, and even if it is it may be some time and even then there is a limit to your profits. If it were lifted today, melt is 2.4X but you would be lucky to get 85% of that from a refiner since the cents are only 95% pure. so you would get about 2.0 cents per coin. That is a 25% gain if you acquired them for 1.6 cents each. But if your holding period is 2 years, then that is only 12.5% per year. Beyond 2 years, you likely would come out better holding gold, not to mention silver. Now, if you buy at 1.3X there is a potential 54% gain, which would justify a longer holding period. It does include an embedded option on the price of copper, but that is a two way street and copper is tied to industrial production and growth in the general economy more so than monetary inflation so i would not assume substantial increases in copper prices.

the above analysis is for copper cents, which are 95% pure. The numbers are less good for nickels, which are only 75% copper and which really don't have a premium over face value at current copper prices.

If you are getting them at face value, yes its pretty wise to save them. but even getting them at face requires work to sort and store, and your return depend on how highly you value your time.

[Fiat Metaler]

The unfortunate thing about pennies and nickels is the fact they take up so much space.

Portland Mint will sell you huge quantities of copper cents at 1.6X and store them for you at $5/mo.