Pre 1993 copper 2p coins for investment?

smeagold

check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSGLdOTgmLs

I just been through a 2 kilo jar of 1s and 2s with a magnet about 15% of the 2s and 20% of the 1s were 97% copper. metallic value double face value.

Lokolo

1. How can you get the copper out? (it's illegal to melt UK tender)
2. How can you get the copper out cost effective?

Pointless video, pointless thread.

bendix

Does your wife still find you interesting smeagold?

smeagold

bendix wrote: »

Does your wife still find you interesting smeagold?

yes and far sighted, Quite soon, over next few years 1s and 2s will be withdrawn from circulation. as even the cost of the steel won't cover face value, after that just melt them down, same process as scrap silver smelting. Copper is a finite resource also and will appreciate in value, people that put their future/trust in paper are crazy. Own a physical asset even if all you can afford is copper

Some yanks are at it too as its the same with their pennies(except up to 1983)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5N44WIyCXk

think I'll have to look at the cupronickel value of 5ps too

afwone

Thank you smeagold, for bringing back some memories.

In my youth I collected pre-1919 silver coins (92.5% silver) then pre-1946 silver coins (50% silver) when the silver in them exceeded face value. There used to be companies that would buy these for a certain percentage over face value. The same thing happened when the value of copper in pre-decimal era pennies became worth more than their face value.

Illegal to melt them down in the UK, but I imagine that the coins would have been exported quite legally to countries not subject to our laws, and the melting down probably occurred there.

A grubby practice, yes, and it is sad that our coinage gets depleted of coins less than 20 years old. But I am sorry to say that there is something of the barrow boy mentality in me that finds the idea attractive. Probably that is why I visit this site!

Incidentally I never did sell on any of my little cache of old pennies, sixpences, shillings and florins. I must have them somewhere, not sure where…

DavidHayton

Lokolo wrote: »

1. How can you get the copper out? (it's illegal to melt UK tender)
2. How can you get the copper out cost effective?

Pointless video, pointless thread.

The scrap value of copper is about £5 per kilo. Pennies contain over 3 grams of copper so their metallic value easily exceeds their face value. This isn't new: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_one_penny_coin and it amazes me that there are so many still around. If the local scrappy isn't melting them down then the royal mint should be as the coins flow round the system. They are easy enough to separate from the newer steel coins.

As Lokolo pointed out, it is illegal to melt down british coins: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4766897.stm, but it isn't illegal to export them, and I can't see the Chinese extraditing many copper merchants to the UK.

David

smeagold

DavidHayton wrote: »

The scrap value of copper is about £5 per kilo. Pennies contain over 3 grams of copper so their metallic value easily exceeds their face value. This isn't new: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_one_penny_coin and it amazes me that there are so many still around. If the local scrappy isn't melting them down then the royal mint should be as the coins flow round the system. They are easy enough to separate from the newer steel coins.

As Lokolo pointed out, it is illegal to melt down british coins: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4766897.stm, but it isn't illegal to export them, and I can't see the Chinese extraditing many copper merchants to the UK.

David

Yeah I'm fairly surprised they havn't withdrawn all the copper coins and melted them down yet as well. Won't be long tho I wouldn't imagine. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more 'dodgy' types wernt doing this already, buying 2ps for 2p each melting them down and selling the ingots for double, 145 2ps for a kilo apparently:)

downs523

Just gone through my 1p and 2p jar and about 30% are copper ones not too bad! Saw on the YouTube video comments about just going to your bank and get £10 of 1p and 2ps

smeagold

downs523 wrote: »

Just gone through my 1p and 2p jar and about 30% are copper ones not too bad! Saw on the YouTube video comments about just going to your bank and get £10 of 1p and 2ps

I normally check in on kitco forum on a daily basis and just noticed a thread on there about the exact same thing:

https://www.kitcomm.com/showthread.php?t=74681

reckon i'll start collecting them, they're double face now so in a year or 2 with sterling debasement and copper demand they will be worth alot more. It'll help feed my 'collecting things addiction' I'm sure I'll get alot of satisfaction once a week by buying maybe £20 worth of 2p coins removing the 30% of copper ones(theoretically turning £6 into £12) and returning the rest. Who knows that £12 in copper might be worth £25 in year while the 2p face will be worth a penny face.(£6 into £3)

downs523

Yeah me too I now have two saving jars lol one for copper coins and other for the rest!

sabretoothtigger

In my youth I collected pre-1919 silver coins

In USA they still circulate some silver coins. I'd be tempted to collect those but not two pennies maybe if I was someone who emptied coin boxes and that kind of thing but otherwise its not really worth the effort

There used to be companies that would buy these for a certain percentage over face value.

I have read that happening with copper coins also I think