brian0918 Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 I've been interested in coin collecting for a long time, and have recently come across folks hoarding large caches of pre-1982 cents (95% copper) - literally TONS of pennies - as well as silver nickels, dimes, and half dollars. According to Coinflation, the copper cents are worth 1.48x face value, while the 90% silver dimes and half dollars are at 10x face value right now. So, what are your options if you want to start hoarding these? What takes the most work, but may arguably be the most fun, is going to the bank and taking out large quantities (in boxes) of rolled coins, and sorting through them by hand. In pennies you'll find the occasional wheat cent and the rare Indian head - set these aside as they're worth at least 5x face value. You can also check out auctions and estate sales, and get lucky, but you'll probably have to pay more for those. A better option, at least for copper coins, is to buy a sorter that will automatically sort out the copper cents. From the Real Cent forums, they recommend the Ryedale coin sorter. It can sort about 18,000 coins an hour. The cheapest one is $500. Depending on how many you sort, it could pay for itself in very little time (a week or two). There is even a trick to get this machine to sort out older wheat cents for you (pre 1940), because they had some tin mixed into their composition. If you do go to banks, they recommend seeking out small-town banks for the highest probability of success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott_Connery Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Don't hold your breath looking for silver. It was all sorted out decades ago. (Silver's last year was 1964.) The only hope you have of finding it is if someone unwittingly spent part of someone else's collection recently. Nickels are worth almost 4 cents right now. I predict we will see them go over face value shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve D'Ippolito Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Supposedly half of the 1982 cents were made out of copper as well. It seems that well over half of tehm out there today are copper, rather than zinc core. Drop them on a hard surface, the copper ones have a "ring" to them that the plastic, I mean zinc, ones don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Steve: really, half of them are copper? I'll start keeping any I find, maybe in a special 1982 container. As for silver, they say you're most likely to find them among half dollars, and in small town banks where nobody's taken anything out of their vault in decades. I'm going back home this weekend, and am going to check out our small local bank for halves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ers Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 I think nickels would be the easier coin to collect en masse, as I believe ALL nickels are 75% copper and 25% nickel (no need to bother sorting them). True, their melt value as of right now is roughly four cents, but if we have massive inflation their value will necessarily jump. Pennies, on the other hand, require sorting- as a post 1982 penny is mostly zinc. As for silver, as someone else said, good luck finding it. You're probably better off just going to www.apmex.com and buying some silver bars/rounds for a small price over spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Yeah, that site (Real Cent) has a lot of discussion about saving all nickels as well: http://realcent.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~6965.asp What people generally do is save all nickels they get in change, but they don't go to the bank and buy nickels like they do pennies. If you're going to get silver, I've seen several argue against getting them in bars. If SHTF you will need some sort of small currency to buy goods with, and silver nickels/dimes/quarters/halves are perfect for that - assuming that everyone realizes that those coins were actually made of silver once. I don't think many people realize exactly how much our currency has been devalued through inflation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ers Posted June 18, 2009 Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 Well, the old "junk silver" is only 90% pure, I think. Plus you mentioned that a lot of people don't even realize that our own dimes/quarters etc used to be made out of silver. That's why I suggest .999 fine silver in easily recognized weights. Going with American Eagles for legitimacy is an option, as they are easily recognized, but you'll pay a higher spot price for them. Bars are better for storing larger amounts of wealth, but probably the best idea is to get a large quantity of 1oz rounds minted by a reputable source. Easily traded and recognized as real money. Of course, in a true, SHTF scenario I have a feeling that common calibers of ammunition might become the means of exchange. If you're going to get silver, I've seen several argue against getting them in bars. If SHTF you will need some sort of small currency to buy goods with, and silver nickels/dimes/quarters/halves are perfect for that - assuming that everyone realizes that those coins were actually made of silver once. I don't think many people realize exactly how much our currency has been devalued through inflation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2009 (edited) Yeah, obviously it's only 90% pure, but people take that into consideration. They're trading based on the silver content, not on the idea that "this is pure silver!" Even gold Krugerrands are not pure gold. They add other metal to make it more rigid so that it can hold up better in circulation. Obviously if SHTF and silver prices skyrocket, there won't be any stopping people melting down their hoards. So I think in any case you've got your bases covered. You're right about the best choice probably being the small denomination coins that say right on there ".999 fine silver". Edited June 18, 2009 by brian0918 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve D'Ippolito Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Personally, I think "junk" silver is a perfectly valid option--readily recognizable, known weight, made by a (then) trustworthy entity. A dollar's worth is 25 grams of 90 percent silver; pretty easy to do the math on. Besides they are common enough that they could become a de facto standard in an inflationary environment. Imagine a hamburger selling for 1 million dollars or one silver quarter. BTW half dollars from 1965-1970 had 40% silver content, so they are worth holding onto as well. I would not buy any in today's market, they are thinly traded. No need to store all 1982 cents. Ring test them. Drop one on a countertop. It'll either go clack! or have a ring to it. Try pre and post 1982 cents for comparison. It's a clearly audible difference, and I am part deaf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ers Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 Oh, no doubt. I just think it's going to be extremely difficult to find pre-1964 silver in circulation or in banks (even smaller banks). There are of course dealers and vendors that can supply you with junk silver, but again, you'll pay a premium- which is why I suggested instead just going for .999 fine 1 oz. coins minted by someone reputable. But if you can find the junk silver, all the better! As far as pennies, I'm not sure if their nominal value is worth the sorting and storage you'd have to go through. Sure, you can probably go to any bank and request 10,000 pennies, but then you'd have to either sort them by hand (tedious) or buy that machine that was mentioned upthread. Then after the sorting you face the challenge of storing them; and as I said, their value is probably not worth the space they take up compared to silver or even nickels (which you don't have to sort at all). Personally, I think "junk" silver is a perfectly valid option--readily recognizable, known weight, made by a (then) trustworthy entity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve D'Ippolito Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Oh, you would have to buy junk silver these days. Finding a silver dime in my change is a once a decade experience now. As for cents, I sort them as I get them--spend the zinkies and keep the bronze ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott_Connery Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 Check out coinflation.com, they give the metal content values for most all coins in the past century. It is also a neat measure of inflation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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