The random political thoughts thread (Part Deux)

Alex · 04-09-2008, 05:34 PM

Actually it will hurt. It costs the Mint more to make a penny (and a nickel) than they are worth. So if copper goes up, that just gets worse (though not necessarily much, pennies are only copper plated, most of their weight is zinc. It is actually the other nickel plated coins that are mostly copper.

I wish I could remember it correctly but I recently read about a guy who was doing a decent profit in melting down pre-1982 pennies for their copper but was blocked by some new regulation or law.

Maybe it is time to turn our backs on ol' William Jennings Bryan and return to the gold, silver (and copper) standard.

04-09-2008, 05:34 PM	#11
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Actually it will hurt. It costs the Mint more to make a penny (and a nickel) than they are worth. So if copper goes up, that just gets worse (though not necessarily much, pennies are only copper plated, most of their weight is zinc. It is actually the other nickel plated coins that are mostly copper. I wish I could remember it correctly but I recently read about a guy who was doing a decent profit in melting down pre-1982 pennies for their copper but was blocked by some new regulation or law. Maybe it is time to turn our backs on ol' William Jennings Bryan and return to the gold, silver (and copper) standard.
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