Collecting U.S. pennies dated 1909 – 1981 may be one of the safest and easiest investments one can make. The reason for this is the ratio of face value to melt value. Pennies manufactured during the above dates yield 95% copper of their overall contents. When considering their melt value, a ratio of nearly 3 times their face value can be calculated.

While it is currently illegal to melt U.S. coin within the United States, it is plausible America may do away with this outdated currency. Many other countries have done away with the use of pennies, with Canada being the most recent.

It is possible to increase the amount of pennies one can scan for the above dates by requesting large amounts of them from banks. Boxes worth $25, or 50 rolls of pennies containing 50 pennies each, can be picked up at almost any bank. It is important to note if one decides to sift through currency on a larger scale such as this, the time consumed can be enormous.

Luckily there exists penny sorters. Some cheap penny sorters can be purchased via eBay for as little as $25, and maybe even cheaper if one can find the manufacturer in China. It appears these cheap penny sorters the coin acceptor units put into arcade machines.These machines can expedite the process of sifting through thousands if not hundreds of thousands of pennies.

Currently it appears there is somewhere around twenty percent content of 1909 – 1981 pennies in most $25 penny boxes obtained from banks. That’s close to $5 in copper pennies per box. Close to $1.47 in copper pennies equals 1 lb. Don’t get discouraged if you find a few boxes with no copper pennies in them. It is likely someone in your area is trying to do the same thing you are. Picking another bank may be the best workaround.

At the time of writing this article, copper was at a price of nearly $3.70 per pound. Imagine receiving $300 for $100 dollars worth of pennies. And, if copper prices continue to rise as can be shown on a large scale timeline, the profits realized could be even larger.

So the next time you go to use your change to pay for something that doesn’t end in an increment of a nickel, make sure to check your dates and save save save!