Copper Lincolns

Outhaul

Does anyone here save common copper lincolns just because they're copper? I find myself tossing them into a can for no other reason than they are copper and not zinc.

Just curious.

Cheers,

Bob

Shamika

I knew a teacher of mine back in college that was doing this very same thing. He was convinced he'd "cash in" when copper prices went through the roof. Oh well.

Shamika

Outhaul,

Now that I think about it, he sort of looked like your icon.

coppercoins

Being the one person on this board with probably far more Lincolns than anyone else (well over 80 bags at this point), I can say with assurance that I don't keep them just because of their metal content. When I run out of use for them they all go to the bank or out for sale as BU rolls just the same.

MikeJessie1

I keep em for fun and sharing, not copper content.

CoinOnTheCob

I do. I always pull out 1981 and older cents and put them in a bag in my safe. I figure that they will be worth more in 30 years or so.

BECOKA

I used to have a garbage can full but it was taking too much space. I cashed in for a few thousand dollars and invested it. In the last few years it has quadrupled. Doubt the price of copper will do that in my life or my sons or even his kids if he ever gets old enough to have any.

DrPete

I have been saving all the 1981 and before cents for a couple of years and may have about $5 face. I doubt they will ever be worth much. It reminds me of my early collecting days in 1968 when I pulled some silver coins from circulation. I also pull bicentennial quarters from circulation for a niece. I do it just to help her out; I find about 6-8 per year and just give them to her.

JBK

I save copper. Not sure why yet, but I do. I read the Mint's rules about melting or otherwise destroying copper cents, and there are a couple loopholes in case an appropriate project pops into my head.

I do find that copper cents that might be remotely collectable are not that common - most have damage or corrosion.

MrHalfDime

Yep, guilty. I can't really explain just why, in rational terms, but I do just as you say, and toss copper (pre-1982) Lincolns into a jar. It doesn't really cost me anything, and is a reversible decision, so I do it. I have absolutely no idea what I would do if the price of copper rose to the point where it would be economically feasible to melt them, provided that it was no longer illegal to do so.

Insider2

I've finally found the time on weekends to go through a thirty-eight year accumulation my father put aside from his change. If I find a 1969-S DDO I'll post it.

Treashunt

I spend them

COINS MAKE CENTS

I save them. Figure why not. You never know what may happen one day

johnny9434

i save them as well. if i need a few bucks i got them

basetsb

I also have a jar full.

Batman23

I have several of those $10 cent boxes full of copper memorials...

Do I have a problem...

ricko

I save the wheaties.... no reason other than nostalgia.... one cold winter day I will check them for 'special' ones....Other than that, all change, at the end of the day, goes into a pile on the dresser, when that gets to big, the change goes into a ziploc bag.....not sure why, just habit. Cheers, RickO

topstuf

metalmeister

I save copper cents. After a while I will separate them out Wheaties, 59, 60's, 70's and 81 in cans. Further I separate out the "S" mints. Some really nice strong strike coppers from that era. Hey, it's a hobby. :-)

COCollector

Sure, save 'em -- if you want to punish your heirs.

I inherited so many of the dang things. Mostly 1940 - 1980. My eyes hurt just thinking about the days spent sorting & examining.

Finally, gave a bunch of coins & Whitman folders to enthusiastic pre-teen relatives. Nice rainy-day project. And maybe spark an interest.

Hydrant

Yes.

Batman23

@COCollector said:
Sure, save 'em -- if you want to punish your heirs.

I inherited so many of the dang things. Mostly 1940 - 1980. My eyes hurt just thinking about the days spent sorting & examining.

Finally, gave a bunch of coins & Whitman folders to enthusiastic pre-teen relatives. Nice rainy-day project. And maybe spark an interest.

If my Heirs complain because I left them money, I have NO Sympathy for them!

DCW

Anybody else notice this thread was bumped after 12 years?

BruceS

No, not until you mentioned it. A weird thread to resurrect.

ldhair

The coppercoins post made me notice. Don't think he post here any longer.

66Tbird

I keep a partial roll in the shop just for soft copper washers. It saves a dime.

JBK

@66Tbird said:
I keep a partial roll in the shop just for soft copper washers. It saves a dime.

Even though that makes perfect sense it somehow doesn't feel right.

mvs7

I admit to having a couple of doorstops in my workshop that look remarkably like medium USPS flat rate boxes and that coincidentally weigh slightly more than 5,000 copper cents.

BLUEJAYWAY

Sure do.

privatecoin

I save every penny 1981 and older. I sort out the copper 1982. I have about 400 pounds saved up so far.

privatecoin

It may be illegal for us to melt them down, but it is not illegal to sell them to china where they melt them down.

JBK

@privatecoin said:
It may be illegal for us to melt them down, but it is not illegal to sell them to china where they melt them down.

Actually, it is illegal to do that. The # you can export is something like 500 cents, and the exporting has to be for numismatic reasons or such.

Kkathyl

Like a giant Copper penny Polar bear

privatecoin

@JBK said:

@privatecoin said:
It may be illegal for us to melt them down, but it is not illegal to sell them to china where they melt them down.

Actually, it illegal to do that. The # you can export is something like 500 cents, and the exporting has to be for numismatic reasons or such.

That is news to me, I do appreciate your sharing the knowledge. Although I'm sure there could be ways around it if the price was right, just look at how well drug and gun laws have worked.

metalmeister

I think the general consensus is that Silver coins are allowed to be melted sooooo someday copper cents may be legal to melt. Didn't they have 4x F.V. at one point?

ldhair

Cents are not pure copper. You can't make money selling them to China. I don't think they would even buy them.

claychaser

Yep, I am a Cu hoarder too! I toss them into a glass quart milk bottle, and when its full, I dump them into a larger bin. For me, I note that copper cents are becoming increasingly harder to find in circulation, but that's far from a scientific observation.

If the Government ever wises up and eliminates the cent coin and the paper one dollar bill, then the change drawers still have the right number of slots for the nickel, dime, quarter and brass buck. The Fed has a lifetime supply of brass bucks that have never been issued, so no extra cost there. Allowing the cents to be melted would create a few jobs here in the USA, and eliminate the costs of minting more new Zincolns out of the new inferior zinc alloy, and eliminate manufacturing paper one dollar bills that only last about 18 months.

Canada did the same thing I suggest, and it seems to work out well for them. They also did NOT demonetize the cent or dollar bill, they just do not issue any new ones. Cash transactions are just rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents. For the cents that come into the banks, they are melted and the metal recycled.

Just my 2 cents worth!

Jcld

I keep every wheat cent I come across. A habit from when I first started collecting.

BobSav

Guilty, my Grandkids like sorting through " PaPa's" stash when the come to visit.
Last check there were around 25,000 1960-1982 rolled and put away that have been accumulated over the years.
Wheats are another story

1630Boston

I quit a year or so ago and cashed in 10's of thousands [cents not dollars] and bought ASE's with the proceeds.
PS Cashed them in for exactly one cent apiece

Outhaul

Wow! Thread resurrected after 12-years?

TwoSides2aCoin

Zinc rhymes with drink and I think I could use one.