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n/a
deleted
1 Posts |
 Posted - 01/23/2008 : 02:00:57
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I have been recently hoarding lincoln's 1981 and below by going to bank and buying many rolls at a time. It is interesting the oddballs I find in rolls. Ex: Good lincoln error coins: double dates, filled dies, etc.,even proof cents. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone knew if it would be worth while to hoard other copper currency from foreign countries due to conversion ratio of the USD to that particular countries currency. Or even other foreign currency no longer in use that is made out high percent copper. Does anyone do this? If so please reply. Plus, I use a digital scale to measure a pennies weight to look for experimental planchets? Any responds welcomed, trying to help out the other man as I hope someone would do the same to me..
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2008 : 08:02:28
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Shipping cost kills a lot of possibilities when it comes to hedging with foreign copper coins. Also consider that if you buy a foreign copper coin that is worth more in copper than its faces value, likely it will always be worth more as copper than at face. If the dollar collapses against the foreign currency, the copper price in dollars will in most cases rise an equal amount. So I don't think you gain much more protection with foreign copper coins versus domestic.
That being said, there are at least a couple of people that hoard both US and Canadian pennies. The big advantage of the Canadian pennies is that the percentage of copper pennies to zinc pennies in circulation in Canada is much higer than here in the US. But that only works if you live close to Canada.
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Edited by - horgad on 01/23/2008 08:03:25 |
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fiatboy
Administrator
912 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2008 : 11:21:15
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Welcome to the forum, Tragemann83.
Horgad already hit on all the big points, but I'll add my 2 cents.
I really like foreign copper, but finding sufficient quantities is the hard part. Theoretically, one could melt foreign copper or transport it outside the U.S. (unlike U.S. copper pennies).
In terms of exchange rates, it's pretty much not worth it, at least if you want to make a decent profit. To wit, I have sold Canadian coins online, but only at an extremely small profit (a few dollars) and with no other goal than to get at least something comparable to the real exchange rate. Cause the problem with exchanging currency at banks or airports or wherever, is that they only take cash, not coins. They may give you coins, but they sure as heck won't take them. I've tried many times!
Copper coins of obsolete currencies vary greatly. Do you have a particular coin or coins in mind?
I hope this helps some. |
"Bart, it's not about how many stocks you have, it's about how much copper wire you can get out of the building." --- Homer Simpson |
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pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2008 : 16:14:51
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Sometimes coin dealers have junk boxes of odd foreign coins which contain large copper coins, though the problem is the cost of odd coins exceeds the going rate of copper.
Turn the question on its head,
is there a way to get foreign copper coins for low cost?
Suppose you find a bracelet made from foreign copper coins (Mexican, old large pennies from New Zealand, Australia, Great Britian, etc.)
I once had an ashtray made form large copper centavos (sadly I lost it some time ago)
If such a bracelet can be had for 25¢ it might be worth it.
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Edited by - pencilvanian on 01/23/2008 16:16:19 |
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 01/23/2008 : 17:08:11
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| I have several different foreign copper coins in my hoard. I have british 2 pence pieces, mexican coins and even a pretty good sized bag of Australian pennies.. Those Australian pennies are what I term "real copper cents." I love them! I try to pick up foreign copper when I can buy bulk lots reasonably. But obviously it is much easier to get US copper. |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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horgad
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1641 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2008 : 08:08:17
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quote:
Originally posted by pencilvanian
Sometimes coin dealers have junk boxes of odd foreign coins..
Good point. I've heard that US coin dealers sometimes get "stuck" with boxes of uncirculated Canadian pennies or nickels that they can't unload because collecting them is not popular. These can turn out to be great bargains for a hoarder. If you are lucky enough to find a box of 100% Canadian nickels in the states, I bet you could get them for 2x face if the person was selling them based on their numismatic value and didn't know about their hoarding value.
I made a half-hearted attempt at trying to scare up some 100% nickel nickels here in Indianapolis, but I gave up after only a couple of phone calls. |
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Frugi
Administrator
USA
627 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2008 : 08:26:18
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| For about two years now I have had great luck in finding about $1000 face worth of Canadian nickels and pennies and paid no more than face value, simply because these dealers aren't "fully" educated. |
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Frugi
Administrator
USA
627 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2008 : 08:32:14
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| Any foreign coin larger than a Susan B. Anthony is worth at least $5.00 a /lb., if you can find coins the same size and weight as Susan B. Anthony's or the President dollars then you would really have something. If the dollar ever crashes, dump the entire lot into a machine at your local bank. You might get lucky. They most often sort by weight and density, not compostion or even size of the coin. |
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n/a
deleted
8 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2008 : 15:58:34
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There is a market on eBay for bulk foreign coinage, typically sold as scrap by the Bundesbank (German federal bank). I bought a 5 kilo bag from the seller named equitycoins to kick-start my world coin collection last fall--not as a copper play. These bags currently go for $200 (and rising!), so you're not likely to make a quick buck unless you're really lucky on the numismatic side.
The majority of the coins in the bag are defunct European currencies with a smattering of other countries. Still, you get a fair amount of copper from Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and U.K. pre-decimal pennies and half-pennies. I also scored three or four silver coins in my bag, including a badly worn 18th century Austria 10 Kreuzer.
Another downside comes with the identification of what you have--especially with East-Asian and Middle-Eastern coins. If you're serious, you probably have to invest in the phone-book sized Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000.
I think there is an easier way to play metal prices with world coins. Few American dealers know world coins all that well, for example: I often find under-priced silver coins in my local coin shop. Older Canadian Quarters and Dimes are easy to learn as a starting point. Then you can learn the U.K. silver, and before you'll know it you will be snagging Austrian, Panamanian and Russian silver. |
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Hoarding Copper US Currency and Foreign Currency
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