How much does it cost to melt a penny?

We've seen that a penny melter can get 2.3860¢ for each investment of 1.00056¢ (the cost of a penny and natural gas to melt the penny). Therefore, it is technically profitable to melt pennies. Again, melting pennies for a profit is currently illegal under US law.

How much does it cost to melt pennies?

The cheapest common method of heating using natural gas. With natural gas, the cost to energy to melt a penny is 0.00056¢⁹ ¹⁰ ¹¹. Note that these calculations assume 100% efficiency in heating, meaning that all of the energy in the natural gas goes into heating the pennies and none is wasted heating other things.

Can you melt pennies for money?

It is not illegal to melt, form, destroy, or otherwise modify US coins, including pennies, unless the objective is fraudulent or with the intent of selling the raw materials of the coins for profit. Projects that use coins as materials are entirely legal in the United States.

How much is 10 lbs of copper pennies worth?

One modern US penny weighs 0.088 ounces. That means it would take approximately 1,818 pennies to weigh 10 pounds, which would be worth 18 dollars and 18 cents.

Is it legal to squish pennies?

YES, IT'S LEGAL!

According to United States Code Title18 Chapter17 Section331, pressing pennies is legal in the U.S., as long as you are not fraudulently trying to spend the coins.

Melting down your copper pennies - total process and cost involved - Is it worth it? Let's find out!

How much is the metal in a penny worth?

Pennies are more than 90% zinc and their metal value is now around one cent.

Why is a 1982 penny worth $10000?

So for the past 30 years, pennies have been made with an alloy comprised of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, but pennies minted before 1982 are 95% copper and 5% zinc. The price of copper has more than quadrupled over the past 10 years.

Is it illegal to melt pennies for copper?

Share this info! Many online debates have popped up over the legality of melting down U.S. coins. It is not illegal to melt, destroy, or modify any U.S. coins in the United States.

Are any pennies 100% copper?

Pennies are made of zinc coated with copper. Only nickels are one solid material—that same 75% copper/25% nickel alloy.

Is it worth saving copper pennies?

It turns out all pennies with a date of 1981 or earlier were made from nearly pure copper, which means they are actually worth three times their face value - three cents.

Are coins worth melting?

Although there have been times when the metal value of the currency has exceeded its face value, melting coinage is illegal. Regardless of the current value of the metal coins, you cannot melt coins to obtain their metal value.

Are coins worth more melted?

Generally, coins are worth more in numismatic value than they are when melted down. This is especially true when it comes to the costs of the melting process itself. However, it all depends on the current price of the metal and whether it is high enough to warrant the melting.

How many melted pennies make a pound?

There are approximately 145 copper pennies in a pound. There are approximately 181 copper plated zinc pennies in a pound.

What coin is illegal to own?

Of all the coins ever made by the U.S. Mint and its various branches between 1792 and today, there is only one coin that is illegal to own: the 1933 $20 gold piece. In 1933, the United States Mint manufactured the last gold coins ever made for circulation at face value.

Is it worth it to melt copper?

There is no need to melt down copper scrap into ingots. Doing so is expensive and may end up causing you to get less for the metal than you would in it's original form. This is because many copper products are not pure copper, but some alloy of copper. Pure copper is more valuable.

What year penny is worth $1000000?

Here's a rare 1943 Lincoln penny: The coin was mistakenly struck in bronze rather than zinc-coated steel, one has just sold for $1 million.

What penny is worth 2300 dollars?

The coin is a 1999 Lincoln penny and if you flip it over to the backside, look at the AMERICA in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. More specifically, the A and the M letters. If they are not touching, it's called a wide AM and this error could be worth some major money as one sold for $2,300.

How much is a 1943 wheat penny worth?

In reference to the current NGC price guide, a 1943 wheat penny in a circulated condition is valued at $0.05 to $1.25. A mint state-certified steel wheat penny could fetch up to $10 at an auction.

How much is a 5 gallon bucket full of pennies worth?

A US gallon volume would be 231 cubic inches. A penny is about 0.02696 inches. Since they are not going to be neatly stacked you are getting about 16 pennies in a cubic inch, so that is 3,696 pennies, or $36.96.

How many 1943 pennies are left?

While there is no known mintage figure for the 1943-D/D Lincoln cent, it's estimated that perhaps 3,000 to 5,000 examples may exist across all grades. Otherwise, non-error steel cents are not in themselves rare. Their value lies in their novelty.

What metal makes up 98% of a penny?

However, since 1982, pennies have been made up of 98% zinc (Zn) metal with a thin layer of copper coating.

Is drilling a hole in a coin illegal?

According to federal laws, it's illegal to deface or tamper with any United States or foreign currency used in the United States. If the coin will never be used as currency again, then no fraudulent charges will be pressed and the coin will become worthless. For this reason, do not punch a hole through valuable coins.