Stacking Copper
Copper usually isn’t considered a Precious Metal like Gold or Silver but it still has value and for those who are just starting out with an interest in metals Copper can be cheap way to get your stack going. Stackers here on STEEM like to talk about the Gold to Silver ratio, but the Silver to Copper ratio is worth keeping an eye on too. There are some genuine Copper stackers around the place and all those things we like to do with Gold and Silver can also be done with Copper. Don’t believe me? Keep reading.
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A number of countries use Copper in their coinage. In Australia we had the 1 cent and 2 cent coins until they were taken out of circulation. Now we could just blame inflation and say we don’t need those small denominations but have a look at the math with me. The 1 cent and 2 cent coins of Australia are made of 97% copper and they weigh 2.6 grams and 5.2 grams respectively. The cash rate price of Copper in AUD today is $9170.75 per Metric Tonne. That’s $9.17 per Kilogram or 0.0091707 dollars per gram. So for the 1 cent coin we can calculate the Actual Copper Value as 2.6 x 0.97 * 0.0091707 = 0.023129 or in other words over 2.31 cents. So that means the Metal Value of the Australian 1 cent piece is 2.31 times it’s Face Value. This passes the Stacker Test with flying colours and since the 2 cent coin is double the mass of the 1 cent with the same metal composition it does too.
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There have been a number of Copper Bullion Coins and Rounds produced. The coolest I have seen are the Zombucks pictured above (which are also made in Silver). You might class those Zombucks as Semi-Numismatic Copper Bullion Rounds because they make a great set, have a fixed final mintage and they carry a decent premium. In fact many of our favourite Gold and Silver Coins and Rounds have a Copper version too such as the Canadian Maple, Walking Liberty, Indian Head, Buffalo plus many of those Silver Shield designs have a Copper Shield counterpart. If you are into collecting sets and learning about different coins and mints but have a limited budget then Copper might be an excellent choice for you to start collecting.
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A few places mint Copper bars though they also seem to carry a decent premium even for stock standard types. If you’re interested in Semi-Numismatic Minted Bars then perhaps there is something in this category for you but typically for a stacker interested in bars they are after Metal at close to Spot and this does not seem to be happening with Copper unfortunately.
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Copper is everywhere. If you’re interested in salvage there is a lot of Copper scrap to be found and if you’re interested in doing Hand Pours then Copper can be a very cheap and easy way to get started. Forage some scrap, melt it down and practice your Hand Pours comfortable in the knowledge that if you make a mistake it won’t be too costly. The melting point for Copper is 1085 degrees Celsius compared to Silver at 962 and Gold at 1064 so there is not a big difference. Copper is the most recycled metal and Pure Copper scrap is not too hard to find so you also don't really need to worry about refining your metal before pouring either.
All up there is a decent case to be made for stacking Copper if you’re just starting out and want to learn about metals or if you have a limited budget but want to start stacking. Copper has been used as currency for centuries just like Gold and Silver. It is in the same metal group on the Periodic Table as Gold and Silver so it might not be a stretch to at least call it a Semi-Precious Metal that many stackers (in the Western world at least) seem to have overlooked.
https://www.youtube.com
https://www.ramint.gov.au
https://silvergoldbull.com.au
https://www.apmex.com
https://www.amazon.co.uk
https://www.scrapmonster.com
https://www.tctmagazine.com
If anyone in the UK wants to buy any copper for steem (or cash) I have 40kg of pre decimal copper coins.
Some of your commenters might enjoy this link.
I ran across it when @glenalbrethsen were discussing becoming millionaires by stacking pennies over on my stacking copper post...
but they would weigh 31.3 tons.
but you could never move if you stacked millionaire proportions... haha
That is a LOT of pennies. Still, If I had a million dollars in pennies I am sure I could find the space for them :)
I am mostly a silver man but, out of curiosity, I bought some copper rounds a few weeks ago and I liked the experience. The difference is that 1oz in copper is 28.3g(avoirdupois). The troy ounce (31.1g) is only used in precious metals.
Thanks for clarifying that. The differences between the ounces is an important one to keep in mind. Apologies for the omission!
This is the second post I've read about stacking copper this week. I guess prices for copper are somewhere above 2 cents USD, too, so it makes sense to stack coins dating before 1982.
Which is interesting, since Copper has consistently considered to be the red headed step child, despite it's relative abundance and ease to procure. People not wanting to sweat the small stuff, apparently, until now.
You guys are making me want to go through my wife's penny jar to see what might be there, though I think she just turned in a bunch of pennies here about six or seven months ago.
Can you do me a favour and link the first post you read? I didn't see it and actually hate doing duplicate posts but maybe they have a good angle on stacking copper and we should cross-link.
I think 30 of us could write duplicate posts and there's a good chance the rest of Steemit wouldn't see more than two or three of them, so no worries there. We can all try to be the first with a specific topic or provide different information, which I think is what you accomplished by coming from what's happening in Australia with regards to copper.
The post is by @wizardave and here's the link: Guaranteed way to double your investment
Thanks for the heads up @glenalbrethsen.
Glad to be helpful. It was interesting that the two of you had a similar post topic within days of each other, with different angles. Anyway, I was glad I could point your posts out to each other. :)
That's why you are top of the engagement ladder. Thanks again :)
He's everywhere! He's everywhere! haha
Is that a chickenman reference?! I know I've heard it, but when I looked it up, it only gave me chickenman, which is strange, since I didn't even know about chickenman. So, it's got to be some other character.
No cloning allowed. Not a fan. I'm not a fan of time travel, either, so no remnant mes are running around. However, I do like the idea of different planes of existence, all spinning at their own rates, allowing me to enter a faster moving one so I can accomplish more things while here it's only been a few minutes.
Thanks, I appreciate the link. He's done a good post on the Copper in US pennies. Seems a few of my other commenters here are already on the case with collecting those!
Yeah here in the UK we still have 1p and 2p and some are still copper the older ones. 2p is worth about 4p and they stick to my cct slide so I know which are which. Those that not go to the bank.
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I do have some lokota copper rounds, bought a few a while ago .
WE Stack Copper and pour Copper!!! We use copper to make our patterns for the molds! we spend hours searching penny rolls for old pennies! Copper Rocks! Thanks for the read! Here are a few pics of some of our copper!
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Very cool! I particularly like the dragon. Thanks for sharing some of your copper pours!
Very nice. Do you have any wizards?
not yet but we would love to do one! We recently did do a harry potter wand and pendent and could do others styles . Do you have something special in mind?
The markups on copper rounds and bars have kept me disinterested...maybe I need to revisit this for myself though...I do put all of my pre-1981 pennies in a jar though so I have a small stack started :-)
You're a very sensible guy. I actually don't have any copper rounds because of the same reasons, but I did want to get some of the zombucks. It is my recent interest in scrap and hand pours which inspired the post.
I have a cousin that works construction as a pipefitter, mainly on industrial projects. He hauls out 20-40 lbs of copper scrap ends off the site a day in his backpack. I'm pretty sure the clients don't know and its not something I would do, but his basement is a copper empire. He sells it off in chunks to a scrapyard...he paid off his house in cash in short order doing this.
Maybe not 100% ethical but who is to judge. It sounds like you have a good supplier there. I'm sure he is getting far less than spot for his scrap.
85-95% of spot depending on market forces
I have some copper.... wouldn't mind having more. But I'd need more space if I was gonna get serious about it.
That is one of my reservations too. My secure storage space is quite limited and if I start stacking copper it will fill up in a heartbeat
I buy copper rounds occasionally. Older pennies (pre 1982) in the U.S. are also made of copper and can still be found in circulation fairly frequently. I save those when I run across them.
I keep copper pennies from my change when in in the US. I kept a few rolls of Canadian copper pennies before they removed them from circulation. And buy little coper souvenier tokens sometimes on holidays. But don't really say that I "stack" copper.