Coin/Round Stacking copper

[SilverSurfer]

Anyone stacking copper?
I had been really into finding pre 1982 copper US pennies in pocket change and bank rolls. But I got pulled in other directions until the recent Trump request to stop minting pennies got me thinking about it again. The 95% copper type were starting to become more rare when i stopped being as active in it years ago, so that probably picked up even more since then.

What about copper ingots?
I had a couple Jetco bars awhile back before swapping them for PM's. They do make nice ingots but storage was becoming an issue.

 

[Aureo]

I still have my sack of pre-1982 pennies from the mid 2000s when a lot of people were talking about it. I still save them when I can but I don't use cash much so it's rare to see any change.

I can't believe this site is still around https://www.coinflation.com/

 

[SilverSurfer]

Yeah i went thru similar. Even with the 1982 transition year coins and sorting out the copper ping, from the zinc thud sound tests.
Crazy to see those zinc pennies almost worth face value now on Coinflation

 

[ozcopper]

The other issue with stacking copper is it actually stinks on your hands when you touch it. I used to make copper bars and I had them all coated so they wouldn't tarnish or smell.

 

[SilverSurfer]

The other issue with stacking copper is it actually stinks on your hands when you touch it. I used to make copper bars and I had them all coated so they wouldn't tarnish or smell.

Good point, Oz. For the copper pennies, I used to store them about a 5" diameter PVC pipe that I would buy at Home Depot and cut them to about 3-4ft lengths and cap one side and then have a twist cap (Cleanout plug) at the other end. All standard plumbing supplies but they worked great for storage or moving them with a hand truck if needed. It really helped with eliminating any copper smell.. and having it mostly air tight also seemed to help reduce the tarnish and corrosion.

 

[Aureo]

Yeah i went thru similar. Even with the 1982 transition year coins and sorting out the copper ping, from the zinc thud sound tests.
Crazy to see those zinc pennies almost worth face value now on Coinflation

Oh is that how I tell the difference? I have a pill bottle with my 1982 coins that I'm not sure if they're copper or not. It wasn't enough to worry about so I never looked into how to separate them.

 

[Otto]

Heres a couple of my Cu samples. native Cu from Broken Hill, Australia and a high purity ingot. sorry the lighting does not do them justice

 

[SilverSurfer]

Heres a couple of my Cu samples. native Cu from Broken Hill, Australia and a high purity ingot. sorry the lighting does not do them justice

Really nice samples Otto! I especially like the raw Cu found in nature. They used to find them in Arizona too and were always interesting to see.

 

[SilverSurfer]

Oh is that how I tell the difference? I have a pill bottle with my 1982 coins that I'm not sure if they're copper or not. It wasn't enough to worry about so I never looked into how to separate them.

Yeah that was the fastest way for me. It can take some time getting used to the sound difference but the copper should have a distinct bell ringing sound when dropped on a flat hard surface. I used some of the pre 82 known copper pennies to get used to the sound difference for awhile first.
There's also a weight difference for the copper variety (3.11g) compared to zinc (2.5g) but it seemed more time consuming for how many samples there can be.

 

[Otto]

thx. it is hard to get bullion at 9995. i have powder at 9999 but its a closed sample in bottle so not very interesting to look at. i love native Cu. have native Au, Ag, Sb, S and couple others. show your Cu native

 

[SilverSurfer]

thx. it is hard to get bullion at 9995. i have powder at 9999 but its a closed sample in bottle so not very interesting to look at. i love native Cu. have native Au, Ag, Sb, S and couple others. show your Cu native

I dont have any native copper currently but i would see them sometimes when the field techs that i worked with would find them out in the desert and sometimes thru the local auction house i went to. Most of what ive seen are more of the flat type that are encrusted with other minerals etc. They didnt have as much eye appeal but still interesting.

 

[Otto]

the location makes all the difference. i have have a number of samples, and yes some are flat and look like they have been beaten with a meat tenderiser. other minerals add interest, so i dont mind that either. i also have some native osmiridium from west coast of tasmania which is VERY dense

 

[montanabill]

Copper was king at one time in my area.....

"The battles between Clark, Daly, Murray and Heinze, and later between just Heinze and industrialist financiers William Rockefeller and Henry H. Rogers are a large chapter in Montana history. Eventually, Daly's original company, known as Anaconda Copper emerged as a monopoly, expanding into the fourth largest company in the world by the late 1920s."

 

[greenrockhound]

Seen you talking about copper so I'll show a picture of some

 

[M.A. Buth]

Hey everyone,

I've been a longtime copper enthusiast, and the numbers over the past five years are pretty telling. Copper’s price has surged by roughly 30%—climbing from about $3.50 per pound in 2020 to around $4.55 per pound today. In contrast, gold’s increase has been much more modest, rising only about 10–15% (roughly from $1,800 per ounce to $2,000 per ounce).

What makes copper even more appealing is its liquidity: you can easily sell scrap copper at virtually any scrap yard. And with recent headlines from Bloomberg pointing out a global copper shortage—driven by soaring demand from electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure—it seems that the trend may continue upward in the coming years.

Looking back, those who stacked copper instead of just relying on traditional precious metals might have enjoyed significantly better returns.
And still you can find copper for FREE if you search around a bit.....
Happy investing!

 

[SilverSurfer]

Hey MA, I like following the economics of copper too. I remember always hearing that copper is a leading indicator of economic activity, because of its uses in industry. Lets hope it continues

Lots of the old landline phone companies here in the USA have been running projects to pull the old copper based facilities out of the network and recycle it for additional revenue. There must be a lot of demand for it, given the risks/time/resources associated with extracting the old cables.