The Truth About Hoarding Lincoln Cents: My 6-Month Deep Dive Into Melt Value & Collectability

My Lincoln Penny Hoarding Experiment: 6 Months of Dust, Disappointment, and Dollar Signs

When headlines screamed about Lincoln cents disappearing, I pictured early retirement funded by coffee cans of copper. Today? I’m knee-deep in zinc-coated reality. Let me walk you through what $3,000 and countless hours of penny sorting actually taught me about these pocket-change “investments.”

Copper Fever: When Math Meets Reality

The Day My Calculator Lied

My initial excitement had spreadsheet potential: 150 old pennies = 1 pound of copper! At metal prices, that meant turning $1.50 into $4. The fantasy collapsed faster than a cardboard box of coins:

• Real copper content? Less than you’d think (it’s bronze, not pure)
• Hidden costs like refining fees sliced profits in half
• My dining room became a sorting facility for six months

Space Invaders: Pennies Edition

Here’s what nobody tells you: $1,000 in pennies needs 12 milk crates and 625 pounds of floor space. I became that guy – local banks started recognizing my car when I pulled up with yet another trunkload.

Collector Dreams vs. Coffee Can Reality

Canada’s Penny Lesson We Should Heed

After tracking Canadian pennies since their 2013 phase-out:

• Your 1965 common penny? Still worth exactly one cent
• Only pristine collector sets gained real value
• Coin shops won’t touch bulk hoards above face value

Why Your Grandkids Won’t Care

As one Philly coin dealer chuckled while rejecting my “treasure”: “Billions made means zero rarity. Come back when you’ve got a 1909-S VDB – and bring magnifier.”

The Melting Myth: More Than Just Illegal

Yes, destroying coins breaks federal law. But even if regulations changed:

• EPA requirements make small-scale melting impractical
• Energy costs now eat potential profits
• Government contracts would go to big players first

What My $3,000 Could’ve Done Instead

While my pennies gathered dust:

• A basic savings account would’ve grown my money
• Stock market returns averaged five times better
• My garage could’ve stored, well, anything else

Better Ways to Chase Copper (and Profit)

For Metal Investors

• Copper ETFs (no storage needed!)
• Junk silver coins with actual resale demand
• Fractional gold for real inflation hedging

For True Lincoln Collectors

• Hunt key dates like the 1955 doubled die
• Seek certified errors, not bulk wheat backs
• Complete albums – they actually display nicely

The Numb Fingers Verdict

After sorting enough pennies to circle my block:

1. Common Lincolns won’t beat inflation in our lifetime
2. Actual profits vanish in storage/logistics costs
3. The psychological weight outweighs potential gain

I’m trading my last 5,000 pennies for grocery money tomorrow. My back thanks me, my spouse thanks me, and my garage? It’s having a liberation party.

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