Selling Copper Pennies
Selling copper pennies is an issue that is quite controversial right now in the US Government. For many, copper pennies are not worth the machines they are printed on; for others, copper pennies are worth more if they are melted down—and the copper put to good use. If you are thinking of selling your copper currency, you must first buy copper currency before you can sell it. Once you buy copper pennies, you must collect them for some time and stay afloat with the current copper prices on the market before you pick a good time to sell them. Lastly, you will have to find a trustworthy coin dealer or bidder on an Internet auction site to sell them to.
Buying copper pennies is a valuable thing to do—particularly if you intend to sell them one day to make a huge profit. You can buy copper pennies from at least four places:
- Yard sales
- General auctions
- Local coin stores
- Online auction sites
Yard sales are a great place to go because lots of things are given away at a yard sale for profit. Perhaps you can find copper pennies in small containers or boxes where buttons, badges, and other small items are. General auctions tend to put copper pennies on sale. You may have to bid on the pre-1982 copper pennies, but it will be worthwhile if you can land the bid and sell them in a few years. Local coin stores are an obvious place where you can find pre-1982 coins.
Local coin dealers can be a great source to turn to for advice about coin purchases and sales. After all, they do sell coins—so they should know something about how the business operates. Online auction sites are where coins (even pennies) are most likely to be in numerous count.
Online auction sites not only allow you to buy various coin collections, you can also sell your coins through an online auction site later on. Be sure to shop for the best deals online. Online auction sites allow coin collectors to set their prices at their own level; while this may work wonders for you later on, it may be to your disadvantage if you are on the buying side. Aim for sellers that are desperate to get rid of their coin collections. If they want to make a sale, they may be willing to give you a coin collection for a lot less than most.
Some turn to melting pennies copper as a money-making method. Copper has been melted in the past in four ways: industrial grade blowtorch, stove top, and furnace. These methods have all been suggested as ways to melt copper pennies. The problem with this idea is that such an act will have serious financial and legal consequences. Copper pennies were melted in the 1960s and 1970s; as a result, the US Mint passed laws that forbade the meltdown of copper pennies. Melting copper pennies will not only land you with jail time of five years and fines up to $10,000, but also cost taxpayers an increase in tax funds—since the US Mint would need to spend more money to make more pennies (due to a penny shortage from penny meltdowns).
The copper prices of pennies is the price used to measure how much your copper pennies (per pound) are worth. As of January 9, 2012, the copper penny price is $3.3914 per pound. As of this moment, copper prices have risen in the market to the price of $3.50 per pound, while the price of copper in the pennies has risen to $2.22.
Selling silver dimes is another way to make a huge profit. You must first buy silver dimes. The silver dimes to buy are those that are made after 1796 but before 1964. Dimes made after 1964 have no real silver in them, while dimes minted prior to 1964 have 90% silver in them. Next, you need to know something about how much coin output in the United States is related to silver dimes. Learning about coin print and distribution will impact the financial worth of your silver dimes.
You will then need to learn silver dime prices. If you are planning to sell your silver dimes, you need to know what you can sell them for and the price range you can use when selling your silver dimes in face-to-face transactions with local coin dealers, coin auctions, or online at Internet auction sites such as EBay and Craigslist. Once you do, either go to a coin dealer and purchase silver dimes according to current prices or research a specific coin you may have an interest in buying. If you do not want to buy silver coins online or with a local dealer, you can seek out other coin dealers at auctions, coin shows, estate sales, or flea markets.
Selling copper pennies is an undertaking that anyone can do. However, like selling gold and silver jewelry and coins, it takes some shrewdness, patience, and skill. While copper pennies may not have great financial value, the copper within them does.
