Copper Coins

Copper was once used extensively for coins, especially in Great Britain as well as the US and other countries. Indeed the phrase "copper coin" or a "copper" comes from the fact that pennies were once made from copper.

Pennies manufactured prior to 1982 were made mostly from copper. After 1982 copper coins were only copper coated. This means that all copper coins prior to 1982 are worth almost three times their face value. Its no wonder people are collecting hundreds of these.

If you search around in your attic, or in old shoes boxes and junk, you might be amazed how many old copper coins you have stacked away in boxes forgotten about and not thrown away. One can sort out the pre 1982 coins and keep those and throw away the post 1982 coins. this can make a productive and useful hobby as wello as interesting. Who knows you might find the odd 1930 Uk penny* said to be worth around 30,000 dollars or so.

In financial circles Gresham's law, which states that bad money drives good money out of existence is well known and this applies very well to copper coins. The old pre-1982 pennies are "good" money and the post-1982 pennies are "bad" money in this case.

This also means that not only is it worth while keeping your own copper coins but also can be worth while looking at buying copper coins. Copper coins can be bought from dealers and auction sites, such as eBay. Of course you pay extra but with the rising price of copper to new heights, this is not really a problem.

Also available these days are mint one ounce copper coins containing .999 fine copper and offering investors a way to preserve and grow their wealth. These can be found in the following forms:

Buffalo Design
Walking Liberty Design
Morgan Design
Indian Design
Statue of Liberty Design

To name but a few. These coins are marked 1 AVDP Oz .999 Fine and produced by www.providentmetals.com.

By the way, it has been noted that even some of the post 1982 pennies, consisting largely of zinc plated with copper, can have a higher metal value than the face value due to the price of zinc also.

Inflation plays a large part in all this. The value of metals such as copper and zinc remain inherently the same when as the value of the dollar decreases. This means it takes more dollars to by the same goods as it did previously, say a few years ago. Yet the value of the metal in these coins remains the same.

This is good for collectors of copper coins as well as other metals of course. It means they get more bucks for their bang to turn a phrase. One should keep in mind that as more and more people start to collect copper coins the sources will dry up and there will be less available. As the demand increases so will the value of your copper coins increase.

Many dealers sell copper coins. Usually in large lots or bags. Also I have seen lots of 500 copper coins on eBay for sale for around 630 US dollars. These are usually one ounce copper coins.

*According to the Australian Stamp & Coin Company, "Although not the rarest Australian numsimatic item, the 1930 penny is the key coin to obtaining a full date set of Australian pre-decimal issues. The level of publicity associated with this popular coin has resulted in a demand which is continually pushing up the price. In many respects, the 1930 penny is a numismatic phenomenon - on the surface, the value of the coin appears to be well in excess of values which would normally be associated with a coin with over 1,500 known examples.

Officially, the 1930 penny was not minted. It is known from a long-serving employee who worked at the mint during the depression years that a small number of 1930 penny dies (possibly two) were produced, even though the decision not to mint the coin for circulation had been taken in late 1929. These dies were apparently set up in a coining press from time to time to demonstrate the coining process to visiting dignitaries. The visitors were offered one or two of the brand new coins in exchange for pennies from their pockets.