It's Legal To Sell US Pennies In Canada As Scrap ?

I was thinking - is it legal to take my hoard of copper pennies up to Canada and sell them as scrap ?
I do not think US monetary laws apply to Canadian recycling firms that are located in Canada.

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

I thought there was a Canadian here that went by several diff names hopefully he will chime on but I would think it would be losing proposition due to exchange rates

Mike, all 3 are taking a vacation. Not sure for how long though.

You need to consider crossing the border first. I've read in the past that it is illegal to take more than $5.00 in U.S. Coins (not currency but coins) across the border into Canada. I can't seem to find the info now, but am pretty sure the Border Patrol site has it somewhere. Also, it is illegal to melt down U.S. pennies and nickels- the exception is the war nickels made from 1942 (a transition year where some coins contained silver and others didn't) to 1945.

The last two times I drove across the border to go to Canada (both by car- 2016 and 2017), I had no problem going north. But coming home the questions were much more pointed. And they'd ask the same thing multiple times while wording the question slightly differently. Good luck in your travels.

If you have Canadian pennies you want to take with you, I don't believe there is a limit on how much you can bring INTO the country. It is more a matter of the government trying to control what is LEAVING the country. Canadian pennies should be very easy to either sell to collectors (since they were discontinued in 2012) or to a bank such as RBC that has a commercial teller window. On a recent trip north I took about $800 in Canadian quarters and had no issue turning them all in at a single bank branch. I did have to roll them up, which was a pain. You might be able to get away with rolling up Canadian coins before you leave, but be prepared for someone to break open a few rolls to do their inspections.

Another tip, if you have time. You can go to many U.S. coin dealers and buy Canadian coins at a discount to their real value. So, while the U.S. dollar is more valuable than the Canadian dollar, you can get the Canadian coins even cheaper- not at a bank that handles foreign currencies (but not coins), but a coin dealer who has actual coins. Generally, if you buy quarters, dimes, nickels and/or pennies, you will get more of a discount than if you insist on buying $1 coins (loonies) or $2 coins (toonies). I have bought coins for trips to Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and had no issues whatsoever spending all of the coins that I got. It can make your luggage heavier, so you need to check in advance to make sure any airline won't charge you more for the heavier luggage.

I think you guys are misunderstanding his question. Copper pennies (pre 1982) are worth more as copper than as a penny. 145 copper pennies to make one pound. #1 copper is $2.10 at my local yard currently. So the copper is worth more than the pennies.

If anyone finds a good answer to the question of the legality I am interested because I might have to take my copper pennies to mexico to scrap them. Maybe even make one of those machines that sorts the copper pennies from the zinc pennies.

Originally Posted by 520

I think you guys are misunderstanding his question. Copper pennies (pre 1982) are worth more as copper than as a penny. 145 copper pennies to make one pound. #1 copper is $2.10 at my local yard currently. So the copper is worth more than the pennies.
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It's relatively easy to acquire a lot of pennies, the question is, can I take it across the boarder to sell as scrap ?

Think about it this way. You are at a border crossing or going through customs. You have a bunch of U.S. pennies that you are carrying with you. They ask what you are doing with so many pennies. You tell them you intend to sell them for melt in Canada. Even though you may then be on foreign turf, you are admitting to a crime. I personally wouldn't chance it. I've never been a good liar, so my non-verbal cues would give me away if I even tried.

Also, if you are going alone it might be different than going with someone else. If you are going alone and get in trouble, you have only ruined part of your trip. But if you are with someone else (like a spouse) the nagging you may hear later may be relentless.

Originally Posted by RLS0812

It's relatively easy to acquire a lot of pennies, the question is, can I take it across the boarder to sell as scrap ?

No you cannot.

For more information try google. It took me about 5 minutes.

Along the lines of taking U.S. money outside the country- let me relate something from way, way back. The price of gold was fixed by the U.S. government at about $35/oz. until at least 1967. However, at the same time it was allowed to float normally in other parts of the world. So, in Europe, for instance, it was $100+, that is about triple the price that we had. This encouraged people to buy gold here and fly it out of the country to make a quick buck. This was even mentioned in the James Bond movie Goldfinger from 1964.

Originally Posted by recyclersteve

You need to consider crossing the border first. I've read in the past that it is illegal to take more than $5.00 in U.S. Coins (not currency but coins) across the border into Canada. I can't seem to find the info now, but am pretty sure the Border Patrol site has it somewhere. Also, it is illegal to melt down U.S. pennies and nickels- the exception is the war nickels made from 1942 (a transition year where some coins contained silver and others didn't) to 1945.

The last two times I drove across the border to go to Canada (both by car- 2016 and 2017), I had no problem going north. But coming home the questions were much more pointed. And they'd ask the same thing multiple times while wording the question slightly differently. Good luck in your travels.

https://www.google.com/search?q=regu...nt=firefox-b-1

But as you said >> when going from the US to Canada there are few if any questions