Round Copper Bar from Welding Machine

I don't have a photo, but the scrap yard would only give us Copper #2 for some copper bars we had from an old welding machine.
They said it's "machine copper" , definitely not #1. Any ideas what type of copper was used on old commercial welding machines that were built with copper and brass?
We had a few bare chunks of copper, about 25lbs each..
For the brass they identified it as C-Metal brass which was the top paid.

Heavy copper solids go for big bucks.

Originally Posted by CJBlackburn

Was there anything on the copper such as paint or solder? I've bought and sold tons of copper for years, never heard of machine copper grading.

If it's clean it doesn't matter the usage, at least not in any market I've entertained. Really need to see it to be sure, but sounds like a gimmick to me.

Completely clean.
He said it's not pure copper because it's machine copper... No difference in look that round copper bars.. if you google 'round copper bar', it was a bar like that, about 2 inches wide, solid..

$16/pound?? Really? They gave us $2.80.

Google Image for '110 Round Copper bar', there is one with a blue background, looks exactly same, but we had bigger.
They said they have a special machine to analyze and they know it's not pure copper so they can't even give the $3.20 for the best copper.

As long as it was clean and not tinned it should be #1. I always ask about grading and pricing before I unload anything. If I don't agree, I'll take it to another yard.

Originally Posted by CJBlackburn

I would have them show me the machine and the test results. They should be talking about a test gun, they can do it right in front of you instantly. If they neglect to do so, I would do business elsewhere.

No respectable yard should have a problem showing you what type of metal you have. I always prove grading to my customers so they can be further educated. It makes life easier for both parties and eliminates any thoughts of foul play.

If they don't want to show you, chances are they're buying your #1 for #2 price. Yards that have to lie to their customers to make a profit don't deserve your patronage.

Well, their copper #1 price was better than everybody, but now it's obvious why... they probably don't give it often.
Those bars were about 80lbs of copper in total.. Oh well..