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  1. #21
    DevinThaScrapper started this thread.
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    If you did some research you would realize saying it's pointless is a very uneducated comment because I stated its a long term investment and it will be worth it to sell them for copper value as soon as they discontinue making pennies and take them out of being a legal currency you can sell them off to be melted. And if that doesn't happen ever and you want your money back they will still be worth 1 penny each, so this is probably one of the safer investments out there rather than banking your $ on an invaluable stock that is volitile.


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  3. #22
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    Considering Total melt value of 1.00 in pennies is $1.66. during a low for copper - shows copper is not dead yet
    if you have room true copper pennies are not a bad investment
    BTW $500,000 worth of copper pennies Total melt value is $828,807.34
    but you know you can't melt them
    If you really had them you could sell them at a nice profit as coins

    A nickel has Total melt value of $0.79. for $1.00
    It seems pennies have more value .

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  5. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by DevinThaScrapper View Post
    If you did some research you would realize saying it's pointless is a very uneducated comment because I stated its a long term investment and it will be worth it to sell them for copper value as soon as they discontinue making pennies and take them out of being a legal currency you can sell them off to be melted. And if that doesn't happen ever and you want your money back they will still be worth 1 penny each, so this is probably one of the safer investments out there rather than banking your $ on an invaluable stock that is volitile.
    It's pointless to melt them down now. I the long term, yes. I save copper pennies but why melt them down when one day you could sell them for copper scrap as is? Yards don't like to buy ingots now, why would they want to in the future?

  6. #24
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    Here is a breakdown of the melt value of coins vs. face value.
    I made it a few years ago.

    http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/misc-...et-change.html

  7. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by DevinThaScrapper View Post
    If you did some research you would realize saying it's pointless is a very uneducated comment because I stated its a long term investment and it will be worth it to sell them for copper value as soon as they discontinue making pennies and take them out of being a legal currency you can sell them off to be melted. And if that doesn't happen ever and you want your money back they will still be worth 1 penny each, so this is probably one of the safer investments out there rather than banking your $ on an invaluable stock that is volitile.
    Like i said it is pointless as i bet the government never quit making them.They may but i bet they dont.Also it is pointless because they will never change the law to make it where you can melt the down.So it is a waste of time and money really.

  8. #26
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    I don't know about that (the law will never be changed). When there is almost no 95% Cu pennies in circulation such as it is now with silver percent coins, what point would it be to keep the law besides just being di**s?? They passed the law when a lot more 95%s were still rolling around and people were hording them and the gov thought they would run out of pennies. Now that most are the 97.5% zinc-ers, I think things will loosen up somewhere down the road. We'll see...

  9. #27
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    Yea it's pointless..don't do it.

    I mean after all..they said we'd never fly. The world was flat. Pot would never be legal. You can't run a vehicle on grease, or electricity. We'll never reach the moon, or place a man on it. We'll never have a black President, or a Woman run for it. Gas will never drop below 3 bucks a gallon again. The $2 dollar bill will never stop being produced.

    The funny thing about saying something won't happen is...strange things happen all the time. Canada gave up the penny, New Zealand did also.

    To say a law will never change(Pot legal at the state level, fed's backing off on the federal level, decriminalization, etc etc) is just silly. Cause..they have. All those things I listed above people said would never happen.

    1. We've put a man on the moon(Save your conspiracy theories).
    2. Cars run on grease.
    3. Cars run on electric.
    4. We have a black President.
    5. We've had several women run for President, eventually they'll win it.
    6. They stopped producing new $2 bills a long time ago.
    7. Gas is well below 3.00 a gallon.
    8. Pot is legal in two states, an being made a misdemeanor in more an more states an cities.
    9. We fly everywhere. An soon to space via private carriers.
    10. The world isn't flat.

    Point is..things change all the time. Laws do to. ALL THE TIME.

    I get it. Collecting pennies is pointless an worthless to some. Same with scrapping tv's. Guess what though? If it aint' for you..then don't do it. No need to slam someone else for thinking long term an outside of the box. Being as Devin is younger then all of us with the exception of H&S I applaud him for even thinking so far into the future.

    There has been plenty of talk over the years of getting rid of the penny, an one day it will happen. Did you know it costs 1.7 cents to make a penny as of 2014? An that rate won't go any lower. Did you know it costs 8 cents to make a nickle? That's a loss. Did you know out of the four coins, only a dime an a quarter cost less to manufacture then what their worth? We could save just shy of 53 million dollars if they stopped making the penny.

    link to WSJ article discussing the cost of making a penny. Just How Much Does It Cost to Make a Penny? - Real Time Economics - WSJ At the bottom of the article are more links to follow if one would like to do more reading.

    An another link with some interesting reading..Penny debate in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    One last thing...one said it was a waste of money. How so? A penny is worth a penny unless you melt it or sell it to a collector. As Devin said in multiple posts...he's not losing money on the deal unless he suddenly starts paying more then 1 cent for a penny. You go to the bank an you hand them 25.00 they'll hand you 2500 pennies. You decide you don't want to wait..you take the pennies back an get your 25 in cash back. There is no loss of money! All he loses is the space he's using to store which is likely a bunch of 5 gallon water jugs(They hold A LOT of pennies). Worse case..he has pennies sitting around to cash out for a rainy day.

    What I'm trying to say is...if it ain't for you, why pee in someone else's Cheerios?

    Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'! - Audrey Hepburn

    It always seems impossible until its done. - Nelson Mandela

    Sirscrapalot - Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. - George Bernard Shaw
    Last edited by Sirscrapalot; 01-31-2015 at 12:18 AM.

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  11. #28
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    I collect them. I go to the bank and ask for $5 at a time. I always get a funny look. My return on the copper pennies is about 20-23%. Usually only 1-3 wheat pennies out of the 500. Twice I have found a steel penny, which is cool. I'm going to start looking for WAMs. I look at it like treasure hunting. Most people I talk to think it is stupid, I think it is fun. Today I got all 10 rolls of shiny 2014 pennies. I was kind of disappointed there would be no treasure hunting in this load.

    I will they ever change the law? Probably some day. Will they let you melt it down, probably not. I think the government will recall all the pennies and melt them down for themselves. Who knows. Bottom line is, if you like it keep doing it. It is just like scrapping. A lot of people don't think it is worth the trouble to scrap or break a certain thing down. but if you like doing it, go for it.

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  13. #29
    Sirscrapalot's Avatar
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    Double posting..my other one was to long.

    Another thing about impossible or never will happen.

    We can make water out of pee. An a cure for a health problem from Poo.

    Seriously, after that..anything is possible.

    Sirscrapalot - That'll teach you to summon me.

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  15. #30
    DevinThaScrapper started this thread.
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    Thanks sir, exactally how I think about it. And someone above said "why melt them down" when I say that i wouldn't be melting them myself, selling them off to companies that specialize in that would be more effective. Also maybe it is awaste of time, but so is so much of the stuff many others probably do in their day, so I like to think its a bit more productive than watching tv, playing video games, sitting around. It's not like I'm doing it as a job, just a hobby of sorts.

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  17. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by DevinThaScrapper View Post
    Thanks sir, exactally how I think about it. And someone above said "why melt them down" when I say that i wouldn't be melting them myself, selling them off to companies that specialize in that would be more effective. Also maybe it is awaste of time, but so is so much of the stuff many others probably do in their day, so I like to think its a bit more productive than watching tv, playing video games, sitting around. It's not like I'm doing it as a job, just a hobby of sorts.
    Hey.you leave them vidja game outta this , glad you enjoy it , like pts said you may find some rare dates and some hobby shops sell the books that you can put each year in , keep a eye out for the 1914 d or a copper 1943 in the steel year . I hope to complete my book one day but I don't actively seek dates . Some things have a way of finding you .
    Buying ewaste and video games !

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  19. #32
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    Agreed Devin.

    You could be doing worse things with your time an money.

    Now come say hello to the cooler pullers.

    Keep on keeping on, an doing what you do.

    Sirscrapalot - I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it. - Edgar Allen Poe

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  21. #33
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    Hey Devin
    Another source of pennies could be from family, friends and co-workers. I know a lot of people who have been saving them for years. They throw them in a jar or water bottle and forget about them because they consider them to be worthless. I'll bet most people don't even know what a penny is made from.

    If you enjoy doing what you're doing then keep on doing it! It's better than laying on the couch scratching your........yourself.

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  23. #34
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    The only downside about stashing Cu pennies, and I mean gobs and gobs of them (hundred of thousands of them) is that Devin may have more money in the end if he invested them beyond a simple savings account which is paying almost nothing in interest. Say by the time Devin is 25 he has 10K in Cu pennies and would invest that amount into a decent investment option that made a solid 5% a year and he kept it going for 30 years, how much would he have??

    But the kicker is this. Pennies are real and physical but investments are on paper and in someone else's control (mostly) until a person cashes them in. I hope my wife's and my retirement funds are there in the future but who knows what the politicians will do; start taxing them ahead of withdrawal, seize them in the name of the state and dole out as they see fit, can't access them because the financial institutions have collapsed. All pretty dire stuff that may have a low probability of happening but the future is unknown.

    That's my only caution. Don't go massively overboard stashing Cu pennies or current 80% Cu nickels and don't put all your eggs in one basket. And have fun while "treasure" hunting

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  25. #35
    DevinThaScrapper started this thread.
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    Don't worry, I know its not sufficent as a savings account. Its just a hobby that hopefully could pay off someday, even if I don't make tons. As for "smarter" investments the only smart investments in this world are physical ones based on how dangerous the economy is and what has happened in the past. In the future I hope to be investing my money into some assets that pay off and are physical. Such as investing in a business or buying homes to renovate and sell, or even rent. I want to have a sustainable lifestyle and not be just working to pay for what I need to pay for now, I want to have much money set aside to do what I love for the rest of my life, and not work because I need to pay for this and that. I am all about investing and have read tons of books on it. Check out rich dads guide to investing, its a great book and really teaches a lot in a clear way.

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  27. #36
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    Well first i do sit around and play video games alot i might add lol.

    I also think they wont change the law allowing you do deface the penny.

    I also think it is a waste of time and money.How is it a waste of money because you have your money tied up in the pennies that you are hoarding is how.
    So after posting yesterday i searched on the internet some and found a guy that has 200,000 pennies ok $2000 worth.He then has a $500 dollar machine to separate the older ones.So he has 2k is pennies and 500 in the machine.So when and if they ever do quit making them or lift the defacing ban then he may have around Total melt value is $3,315.23..
    Ok thats a 815.23 profit which isnt bad but look at all of the time and investment he has to make that money.
    So this is to me why it isn't worth the time or the money to do it.

    So you could invest that $2500 into buying and selling cars,buying and selling cores,scrap metal and many other things that your return would be greater on than hoarding pennies.

  28. #37
    Sirscrapalot's Avatar
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    The rich dad/poor dad series is great for learning.

    When I worked for a bookstore, it was one of our most popular books. Had many folks say the same as Devin above about it.

    Some of you may find it beneath it you but it's a book thats helped a lot of folks make money, save money, or understand the money game better.

    Sirscrapalot - Don't get excited over all this posting. I'll be vanishing again soon.

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  30. #38
    DevinThaScrapper started this thread.
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    My money is not at all "tied up" Its just like having a bank account or money in your wallet. So that would mean everyones money is "tied up" I can cash in at any time so that statement is untrue.

    Your views on what will change are different or could be different than others, so don't tell me its not worth my time.

    $815.23 profit sounds great compared to the profit you make in your hobby: Video games, which having a little fun isn't bad but I find this fun so there is no need to criticize it.

    This has nothing to do with other investments, I am not choosing this as "MY ONE AND ONLY INVESTMENT" Its not like I spend every cent I make on this, I have plenty of money to dig into other investments If I feel I need to and could make money off of them

    I spent $30 on a sorter, and it works just fine. Big whoop if it never happens and I loose $30 plus a little time.... Its not like I am doing this instead of working.

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  32. #39
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    delete

  33. #40
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    Ok i am not going to continue to argue since you wont ever get it.

    I dont see how you are saying your money isn't tied up when you are hoarding them.Why would u just do all of that to go and cash them in lol so your money is tied up.

    But oh well who cares do whatever


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