How much is a copper penny worth melted down?

10, 2019, was $2.75 a pound. 6 That meant the copper in each penny was worth about 1.7 cents. Thus, the meltdown value of a pre-1982 penny was about 70\% more than the face value. The price of zinc has also increased since 2000, though it’s down from a peak of $2.06 a pound in November 2006.

Can you melt pennies for profit?

Effective today, the U.S. Mint has implemented an interim rule that makes it illegal to melt nickels and pennies, or to export them in mass quantities. With the soaring price of copper, a melted-down penny or nickel is now worth more than it would be in its regular state at face value.

Where can I sell my copper pennies?

You may be able to “sell” them to a bank at face value, but individual banks get to decide the terms under which they’ll accept them. Your best bet may be to offer them as “unsearched copper cents” to collectors, but for post 1958 coins I’m not sure there are a lot of buyers.

Is it illegal to flatten a penny?

According to United States Code Title 18 Chapter 17 Section 331, pressing pennies is legal in the U.S., as long as you are not fraudulently trying to spend the coins. However, in some countries, such as Canada, it is illegal to deface coins. Instead, you can purchase metal blanks to use in the press machines.

Is it worth it to collect copper pennies?

You want to focus on hoarding pre-1982 U.S. pennies, which contain 95\% copper content, making the coin at least twice as valuable as its 1 cent face value. (Post-1982 pennies are not worth collecting, as they contain only 2.5\% copper content — the rest is zinc .)

How much are pre 1982 pennies worth?

So for the past 30 years, pennies have been made with an alloy comprised of 97.5\% zinc and 2.5\% copper, but pennies minted before 1982 are 95\% copper and 5\% zinc. The price of copper has more than quadrupled over the past 10 years. So a penny produced before 1982 is worth 2.2 cents based on the metal it contains.

Why is melting pennies illegal?

But that’s the idea, by taking more or less value from fiat currency than its face value you destabilize its worth, the same way as if you were printing hundred dollar bills. The prices of copper and nickel spiked a few years back, so the law was passed to ban the melting of pennies.

Is making coin rings illegal?

Is it illegal to turn a coin into a ring? No. US laws state that it is illegal to deface or alter currency ‘with the intention to defraud’. There is no intent to defraud or counterfeit by creating the ring.

What are pre 1983 pennies worth?

Are copper pennies worth anything?

Copper Pennies Are Worth More Than Face Value In general, all pennies made before 1982 have a composition of 95\% copper and 5\% tin and zinc – with the exception that during some of those years, there was no tin in the alloy. Also, there was the steel 1943 Lincoln cent (and 1944 steel pennies, which were made in error).

What is the melt value of a copper penny?

Currently, pennies are 97.5\% zinc and 2.5\% copper, and at current prices of those metals, each new penny has a theoretical “melt value” — what you’d get if you melted down pennies and sold the zinc and copper — of about half a cent.

How much is a copper penny worth?

But it’s not just any and all pennies, Henry is only interested in those that are dated from 1982 and earlier because those are the coins made with 95 percent copper. A copper penny is worth more than other pennies — now mostly made of zinc — currently priced at $0.024. “The copper has such a different sound than zinc pennies do,” Henry said.