Stacking #1 Copper as a Precious Metal Investment - Page 2

dont forget about 1942-1945 silver nickels as a possibility to find
you can tell the differance between 42 cupro-nickel and the silver 42 by the large mintmark above monticelo on the reverse

I thought I'd add my two cents. First, copper ISN'T a precious metal- it is a base metal as are nickel, aluminum and zinc.

One thing I like about copper pennies is actually something that others might consider a negative. A full coffee can might have, say, 3,000 to 3,500 copper cents in it. At around 2.5 cents each, let's just say the can is currently worth about $80 or so. I purposely keep some in my house as a decoy. If I was a victim of a home invasion, I'd show the very heavy cans with just pennies to the armed invader and tell him he can take them. Chances are that he'd want something lighter that didn't take up so much space.

I personally like nickel even better than copper, and my favorite type of nickel is Canadian .999 nickels, which were made thru 1981 (with the exception of a few years such as war years). There are other countries such as France and South Africa which have had nickel coins as well. I don't care for U.S. nickels, regardless of melt value, because they are only 25% nickel. I once had something like $1,800 in U.S. nickels that I just cashed in at the bank as I lost patience with them as a decent investment, even over the long-term.

As electric vehicles are purchased in larger and larger quantities, the need for nickel should go up sharply. Even Elon Musk of Tesla has openly said he needs a LOT MORE NICKEL!

Regarding silver and gold, I personally like silver better as there is a lot of counterfeit gold out there, even in fake slabs, which is really disappointing. How do you test a coin in a slab without cracking open the slab? With silver I can do the drop test and hear the sound of silver. I can even hear the difference between 40% and 90% silver halves. By the way, of all types of silver, I like halves the best. Dimes can get bent fairly easily and are just too small to deal with IMHO. Also, it is a bit difficult to hear a dime when you drop it, unless it is very quiet and you have really good hearing. Another thing about halves- there are fewer coins to count for when you are selling, say, several thousand dollars of silver to someone. If I had dimes and quarters of any real quantity, I'd trade them for halves in a heartbeat. Silver dollars are nice, but I don't want to pay a big premium over melt value for something because it is popular (like Morgan dollars).

So there is my two cents about base and precious metals.

Oh yeah, I scrap copper wire a decent amount and don't mind having some of it in buckets in my back yard. Again, this can be used as a decoy in case someone who thinks I am rich tries to rob me. I'd just show them all the scraps in my backyard and watch them quietly say "Next" as they walk off.

Just noticed that this particular discussion thread has OVER 10,000 VIEWS and only 26 comments. Time for a few more people to step up and say something!

About 10-1/2 months since my last post on this thread with over 1,000 views. Still, NOBODY has said a peep since then. Ouch!

I meant to say 10,000 views, not 1,000.

Originally Posted by recyclersteve

About 10-1/2 months since my last post on this thread with over 1,000 views. Still, NOBODY has said a peep since then. Ouch!

The forum has mostly gone quiet over the years Steve. Most of the regulars either died or moved on to something else.

I see it in real life every day too. Scrapping is a trade just like any other trade. It's quite a bit of work to do it right and at the end of the day ... most individuals doing the scrapping don't make much. It's a volume business. You have to scale up to make any real money at it.

We're a dying breed. Not all that different from the tradesman who repaired shoes and made a living at it back in the 1960's. There used to be a man who went around from street to street with his cart that sharpened kitchen knives and scissors back in the day as well. Times change.

If you've noticed ... most of the posts that do appear these days ... aren't even relevant to the scrap metal trade anymore.

I'm perhaps the only scrap metal forum member who is able to declare himself a true rag and bone man. By this I see value in most waste be it of an organic or metals origin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rag-and-bone_man

A rag and bone man is an opportunist taking advance of locally available waste, over the years if being a SMF member those who have followed my threads have noted a transition form scrap vehicles to my current occupation - processing organic waste, into tallow.

From a $20.00 dry rot RV trailer by extending the axles, using the frame from a mobile home a car trailer evolved, soon after from the proceeds earned purchased a diesel powered crane truck to which scrap vehicles could be double decked.

The main reason for the investment I was after the real value in the catalytic converters, I no longer pick up the scrap vehicles, just purchase the cats on a where is as is basis. After getting burnt on a major transaction by a refinery no longer ship my cats, I now remove the precious metals.

I currently have a sample of mixed PGM's sent out for assay, based on that assay the powers will be sold by the gram on my favourite global auction.

For my tallow project, purchased this 40 gallon Groen steam kettle and the meat grinder. I have a good supply of beef fat from a local abattoir. Tallow by the pound is worth more than copper, made into soap that value doubles.

This is the life of a true rag and bone man.