Copper pennies

Los Angeles, California
September 7, 2013 5:41am CST
I have about $50 in pre-1982 pennies. Is it possible for me to melt them and sell the metal value?
3 responses
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Sep 13
There's a fairly useful summary here (bearing in mind that it is dated 2004) in response to a question about the value of pre-1982 cents:
Coin Collecting: Value of pre-1982 pennies, philadelphia mint, wheat cents
en.allexperts.com
philadelphia mint, wheat cents, mint marks: Hello Doug, Thank you for selecting me for this question. The Copper Cent weighs 3.11 grams. And this is 95% copper prior to 1982 except for the war years. These if circulated sell in bulk (by the pound) to deale
1 person likes this
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Sep 13
You might also find this article interesting (if somewhat academic - investment in copper per se is not a lot of good if it's illegal to sell it as copper bullion!)
Investing In 25 Dollar Boxes of Copper Pennies
www.goldwhy.com
Pre-1982 copper pennies are worth over two cents each. Buying these pennies for face value guarantees a risk free 100 percent appreciation in your investment. Learn how to buy 25 dollar boxes of copper pennies.
1 person likes this
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Sep 13
@topffer I know! Read it with a mock German accent and a completely straight face and it becomes even funnier (I don't know if that works for a French speaker, though).
1 person likes this
topffer
@topffer (42156)
• France
7 Sep 13
The author says : "I recommend either storing them away for the future or selling them on Ebay for their metal value. " First time I see a long term speculator on pennies . This article is a little gem. Thank you, owl.
Just an Ordinary Owl?
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
7 Sep 13
No. It is illegal to deface coinage. You can sell it as it is for more than its face value (if you can find a buyer) but you would be liable for serious penalties if you melted it down.
topffer
@topffer (42156)
• France
7 Sep 13
It depends of the country. It is legal in France to melt coins withdrawn from circulation -- it is the case for the pre-2001 coinage in francs, by example --. For what I know, there is not a global rule for USA, but specific rules for each category of coin, and some coins can be melted. For pennies, the United States Mint has forbidden the melting of 1 and 5 cents coins in December 2006. Here is the official press release :
The United States Mint Pressroom
www.usmint.gov
skip navigation Customer Service 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) Connecting America through Coins Track Order | Sign In | Register FAQs | Glossary | Site Map Search Newsroom Print Friendly Press Releases December 14, 2006 Back to my search Tweet United States Mi
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Uncle Jay, Finding More Value in Your Machine
@mythociate (21432)
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
9 Sep 13
If you have someone offering to buy the metal from you, I don't see why not