UrbanMan reply: Henry, you wrote me over three weeks ago and to be frank I did not think I would reply, until I saw a recent article on the internet talking about potential legislation in Congress that may result in the abolishment of the penny as currency. Until then, and only then can pennies be legally melted down for their copper value.
But not all pennies are made of copper. Pennies made in 1982 or earlier have 95% copper. Pennies since then are made mostly from zinc. The current value of a copper penny is around 2 1/2 cents.
Copper has a lot of scrap value, otherwise you would not be seeing copper related thefts of copper wiring, construction sites, phone facilities, etc. As I write this copper scrap is valued at $3.57 per pound.
Going back to the value of a copper penny, 150% of it's face value, is substantial, however you would need a truck load of it to make any substantial money once or if the legislation is passed to abolish the penny. Plus it is just so heavy as to not be practical. I even know gents who have taken very substantial amounts of silver and converted it to Gold to reduce the weight to value ratio.
I think you would do okay just to save what you normally get in pocket change. I do this and routinely fill a jar which I take once a year to the bank to convert to dollars. My average yearly conversion is just shy of $200. A little mini- windfall which contributes to my survival stockage as ammunition, or helps buy a new gun or long stay food.
You could collect copper pennies, again 1982 or before, and sell on e-Bay as some people do. I would recommend however that you put your precious metal collection efforts into Silver and/or Gold. My efforts are concentrated mostly around the buying of silver coins for their silver melt value, one or two ounce silver rounds, or, five ounce bars.
Post 1982 pennies are also of value. Take a handful and Scrub the copper off half of them. Then make a voltaic stack. Copper penny/Cotton/Zinc/Cotton/Copper/Cotton/Zinc... keep going up. Saturate this stack with fruit juice or urine, and you have a crude battery. If you're crafty and take your time, you can trickle charge some of your smaller electronics!
ReplyDeleteThe oxidized copper can be melted back into near virgin material to be used again, or to make some bullets. The True value of a mans copper!
I would save a few of those pennies in order to jacket the lead rounds that could be made. Reloading stuff - for survival - is a very good idea. Guns and Ammo should be one of the most imprtant things. The only thing more important is water. There is lots of stuff to eat, if you know how to foirage. Work on those skills.
ReplyDeleteI know this is a very old post, but I feel it should be mentioned that copper has antimicrobial properties, too. Granted, you could just buy a bunch of copper pots/pans/cups/utensils, etc. But - IF a serious SHTF scenario were to arise (particularly a sudden and expedient economic collapse that results in a massive depression - which is becoming increasingly likely by the month, given China's currency ventures) - it would most likely become extremely expensive, and/or difficult, to acquire solid copper dishware/cookware/utensils.
ReplyDeleteBronze (which is what, by definition, pennies are: 95% copper + other alloys, in this case, zinc) and copper shavings used to be added to bandages in ancient times due to their apparent effectiveness in fighting infections. Not only that, but solid copper - or bronze - can be used to contain water to keep microbes from growing out of control. So, perhaps pre-1982 pennies would be useful for reasons other than just currency exchange.
Silver is of course another anti-microbial metal, which more people know about; but most people don't know that copper's antimicrobial properties are most certainly comparable to silver's and at are available at a fraction of the cost. Brass can be added to the list as well, but takes a couple days to kill off a colony of E. Coli (for example), whereas copper and sterling silver can knock those suckers out within a matter of hours. Very, very useful stuff when one considers the likelihood of scarce fresh water supplies, not to mention the likely scarcity of dishsoap.
One more thing to add: Given the notes above, pure silver, rather than gold, might actually turn out to be a more sound investment. First of all, it's much cheaper, so you can acquire more with less resources; secondly, the amount of pure silver (vs. sterling) that exists above ground is currently only a fraction of the amount of pure gold circulating.
More importantly, due to silver's antimicrobial properties (which gold also has, but is not nearly as effective as silver), pure silver is now starting to be used in bandages, and medical dressings, to help fight infections. Higher-purity "sterling" silver is being used for surgical instruments; and pure silver coins can be added to water and milk to significantly reduce bacterial growth with much more effectiveness than even sterling silver. In fact, many people who have been purchasing gold for years are now setting their sights on silver with these insights in mind.
Alright, rant completed. Happy prepping.
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