copper @ $16 a lb

I save a little silver each week. I know some of you go strong and even save under a oz amounts of silver so if the monetary system breaks down you will have the necessary small silver amt. I see with very strong consistency on E bay copper coins @ 1 oz sell for $1 or more but consistently $1 wile to me copper is copper is there a reality to these coins for the future or is this a fad, understandably walking around with a bucket of #2 does not look as good as copper rounds.

Ben hit the nail right on the head.

I deal in very large quantities of copper and won't play the market. It is way to volatile right now and being an industrial metal its really not going to ever be worth a gold or silver.

you do not need $25k to play in the commodities markets. you only need $5k to start trading futures, but get educated. with the futures market, you are playing with highly leveraged funds. that means you can gain and lose very quickly.

Wile copper wont replace silver or gold, it should remain some thing of value . The industrial use of copper in the years before 1985 was all over the place. But the uses of - Pex - PVC - Composite roof gutters - circuit boards for MANY consumer goods has changed some of coppers future use. wile copper is superior and a Cadillac of the plastic that has been replacing it.
If inventors continue to find ways to bypass coppers use - that will be of interest cause , will curb scrappers still find the abundance of copper as we do now ? I am figuring the window to find it free is going to shut little by little , its all over the place use may go down but the third world thirst for luxury will equal out the frugal use of copper in consumer goods. The creation of a fake market will be in a better position more then ever finally . AS what Ben said does hold back some respect for copper to be treated even a little bit like gold / silver (with me). My ability to get it free is a insult to the copper bars being produced as of now .
When I find any really up to date consumer products the copper is not there even a florescent ballast is a circuit board so it's value might go up even though it is not real .
The other inventors of the world - the business men who create a market for people to invest look foward to our inability to find copper free
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Originally Posted by jghilino

bullion grade copper is worth quite a bit more than scrap, i buy kilo copper bars at $15 each about $8 per pound, but the best way to hoard copper is pre 82 pennies, they are worth about 50% more than melt because of the added coin value about $6 per pound

Is there a difference in copper wire purity opposed to bullion grade copper. I see the bullion copper or coinage as just nice to have with value. I tend to feel bad when I have to let go some #2 for needed cash . As when the day comes when copper is scarce I feel my #2 will have a good value. The real prediction many of us need to analyze is when are the classic TVs CRTs going to be out of the economy. There will be a day when all you see are the flats that have value but you want a 5 gal bucket of copper from a Flat well - Ha - Ha - have fun trying .

Originally Posted by jghilino

bullion grade copper is worth quite a bit more than scrap, i buy kilo copper bars at $15 each about $8 per pound, but the best way to hoard copper is pre 82 pennies, they are worth about 50% more than melt because of the added coin value about $6 per pound

You know, I'm going to have to call shenanigans on this. The +1 or 2 percent difference in purity you may see in a pound of this copper bullion cannot account for it having 3-4 times the value of your every day copper wire or pipe. Granted, there may be some applications that call for such purity (chemistry and maybe some electronics) which might contribute to its value, but I imagine that the demand for that would easily be covered by a handful of specialized industrial suppliers. Now, I will admit that the concept of "bullion grade" copper is new to me. Can anybody fill me in on the specifics regarding the purity of this bullion grade copper in comparison to the copper used in most electrical wiring?

Still if you can get 1 oz coins at well under .50 I guess you could then get 1.00 but if I could stack all my copper well I'd just as soon have 5 gal buckets of clean #2 . The day a gold and silver outlet store sells copper bullion AND is willing to buy it back at the same rate (or the unofficial rate from these sellers of CU) is the day there is a reality to it . The store I buy my silver from said to me I will always buy back your silver @ $2 under spot, and with a willingness to take time silver can be sold via the INTERNET also .for now selling your CU bullion at the current price can only be met by INTERNET customers. Or the yard at way less then spot

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A coin shop near me is selling many large cents I will check them out

http://www.usacoinbook.com/coin-melt-values/copper/ I was looking at this and it says
1982 to present pennies are 97% copper is that a typo

Here's the latest coin I collected...At 3" across it doesn't fit in a pocket very well and is only made of aluminum, but it's worth about 10 bucks.

Originally Posted by wayne1956

You need to look at it again, it says 97.5% Zinc and 2.5% copper.

I missed that I guess cause, it must be me not wanting to believe what has really happened to our economy.
SO 181 pennies - year 82 and above equal a pound (give a gram or two ) with a zinc value of about .90 cents .