Copper pushes up melt values
You can’t get rich hoarding pre-1982 copper cents, but melt value has been rising in recent weeks. At $2.45 a pound, copper is up 29 cents from Aug. 17, pushing…
You can’t get rich hoarding pre-1982 copper cents, but melt value has been rising in recent weeks.
At $2.45 a pound, copper is up 29 cents from Aug. 17, pushing up the melt value of the familiar copper to 1.63 cents.
This, of course, is purely notional. It has been illegal to melt cents in the United States since 2006. There is no sign the Treasury will lift the ban.
Nickel prices are also rising in the same period, going from $4.62 to $5.25 a pound. However the notional melt value for the five-cent piece is a long way from profitable. Even at the higher price of the two metals, melt value is 3.47 cents.
This article was originally printed in Numismatic News. >> Subscribe today.
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