I’m new to copper sorting. It has been about two weeks or so now of sorting, dealing with less than helpful bank tellers, hitting more local banks, learning about collectible coins, and having my friends look at me funny. But I see there are several benefits of this hobby/investment. I was wondering if you guys agree with the reasons I came up with or if you have anything to add.
Pennywise/Thrift Mindset
Many people are thriftier nowadays. Sorting cents and considering your gain after a sort promotes thinking about where else you may be losing small amounts of money over time. What are you really getting charged on your cable bill? Do you really need ALL those channels? Do I really need to eat out so often? For some reason handling this many pennies gets me thinking this way.
Recognition of inflation / numismatic value of coins
Many people do not ever think about inflation or how our money system works in general. Most people do not even count their change on a transaction let alone look at the dates/conditions/or mintmarks on the coins.
Fun!
The reason it’s so addictive is due to unpredictable payouts and the variability of what you can find (Copper-Sweet!-Wheat/NICE!-1909 VDB/!!!!). This has been pointed out by B. F. Skinner in his studies of Operant conditioning. Conditioned or not the fun is defiantly in the search.
Money!
We are making money with every copper we find. Then there is the potential for future gains due to inflation, rising copper use, and possible new penny composition or removal from circulation.