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

Please see the warning at the beginning of this video! For educational purposes only. Is it worth it to melt down your copper pennies? Let's find out!
Products used in this video:
Devil Forge (or similar like this one):
amzn.to/2WX0SKA
#4 - 8kg crucible:
amzn.to/3gjFwyM
Crucible tongs:
amzn.to/2XoCII0
Crucible carrier:
amzn.to/2TA6sjI
Loaf Molds:
amzn.to/3gilX9S

Пікірлер: 1 200

  • @waylonmccrae3546
    @waylonmccrae35463 жыл бұрын

    After watching this video & doing the math , I'm realizing that this really makes cents !! 🤣👍

  • @darththunderstorm6331

    @darththunderstorm6331

    3 жыл бұрын

    This needs more likes

  • @sauljimmytakavic4286

    @sauljimmytakavic4286

    3 жыл бұрын

    It makes dollars...lol

  • @jbennett3691

    @jbennett3691

    3 жыл бұрын

    Da da da da da da, ding!

  • @calummcguire8773

    @calummcguire8773

    2 жыл бұрын

    Golden

  • @robertkustos2931

    @robertkustos2931

    2 жыл бұрын

    You can bet your bottom dollar

  • @prophez23
    @prophez232 жыл бұрын

    There's far more economical ways of smelting and even getting a better yield than what is represented here and copper has doubled in price since this video so I think it's a great idea to save all your pre 82 pennies. I have been saving them for years now.

  • @noname-dz7ed

    @noname-dz7ed

    2 жыл бұрын

    I have 3 big ammo cans full of them and probably 10 or more filled with quarters dimes and nickels

  • @TB-sw1tf

    @TB-sw1tf

    2 жыл бұрын

    Cant sell smelted copper anyway.

  • @edwardstevenlahaye3991

    @edwardstevenlahaye3991

    2 жыл бұрын

    Cooper is up to $4.73 per pound today 03/20/2022, Go figure!

  • @ModernGentleman

    @ModernGentleman

    2 жыл бұрын

    @T B yes, you can. I live in mid Michigan, and there are 5 places within a 50-mile radius where I can sell smelted copper as #1 scrap copper for 4+ dollars per lb.

  • @edwardstevenlahaye3991

    @edwardstevenlahaye3991

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@TB-sw1tf well even at $4.73 per pound it only comes to $35.00. And adding in the cost of equipment, time, and gas, I don’t think it’s worth it.

  • @SurvivalHunterNM
    @SurvivalHunterNM Жыл бұрын

    I bought 110,000 pre-1977 memorials at an auction two years ago for 70% of face value. I still have 90,000 left after removing the occasional wheat and Indian head pennies and turning some into the bank and selling some for 3 cents each. What I sold for me about $800, leaving me with a $25 profit and still 90,000 pennies. What's left is now worth about $2,355 in copper based on the 16 lbs. per $25 ratio used in the video. Not bad for a $775 investment. I think I'll stick with pennies. Of course, that's over 600 lbs of pennies that I don't move that often... lol.

  • @jacobjoseph3636

    @jacobjoseph3636

    5 ай бұрын

    Why would anyone sell you pennies for less then face value when they can take them to a bank and get 100% of the value? That doesn't make any sense

  • @SurvivalHunterNM

    @SurvivalHunterNM

    5 ай бұрын

    ​@@jacobjoseph3636It was an estate auction. The auctioneer took the highest bidder... me. I guess no one else wanted to deal with the hassle of that many coins.

  • @bronxbomber0079
    @bronxbomber0079 Жыл бұрын

    Iv learned something today, don’t leave comments until viewing the entire video. Great video 👍

  • @MrJimgillnm
    @MrJimgillnm2 жыл бұрын

    Hey there Mr Scott Man, If you simply drill a hole in a penny, it then becomes a "washer" :) A washer that size, costs 12 Cents. That is a Much better return on energy, and labor. I had a situation, whereby I sent a guy to get some lag screws. The guy forgot to get washers :/ The hardware store (remember them ;) was 2 hours (round trip) away :/ Fortunately, I had 20-30 quarters in my truck. There is a deck in Eldorado, NM that has quarters as washers. Yours truly, James MacGyver Gill

  • @Richard-zc1cj

    @Richard-zc1cj

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks, that's a good idea for an emergency

  • @TEXAS-SMITH

    @TEXAS-SMITH

    Жыл бұрын

    That's a great story.

  • @rustybritches6747

    @rustybritches6747

    3 ай бұрын

    The 3rd member on my mustang had a few foreign copper coins with holes drilled in them used as crush washers to seal in the differential fluid, was pretty cool to see. I heard about people way back in the day doing the same thing when building ships, I think they were using large cents from the 1800s.

  • @GotoHere
    @GotoHere2 жыл бұрын

    Costs = Materials, labor and overhead. Copper, gas, scrap, your time, depreciation of the smelter, clean up material, depreciation of the molds, electricity, and storage costs of the copper material.

  • @jamesrobinson3490
    @jamesrobinson3490 Жыл бұрын

    It’s absolutely worth it as long as you also make a KZread video for “educational” purposes.

  • @Rocknranchman
    @Rocknranchman2 жыл бұрын

    The value of copper seems more stable in the long term (to me) than the unstable stock market. Like Silver it’s bound to continue its increase in value over the yrs. Enjoyed the demonstration - Thanks for sharing it! 👍

  • @dtrainw

    @dtrainw

    Жыл бұрын

    Stable long term stocks are really hard to beat. 10% return, historically. Just deal with the ups and downs and don't sell until you have to

  • @timscoviac
    @timscoviac3 жыл бұрын

    Copper is now 4.50 a pound or .28 cents a ounce. Meaning one penny is worth 3 cents. It’s getting to be more and more closer to worth scrapping them. If you had a bunch of them say $100 In pennies it could pay for the gas and materials. Would be about 300 in copper. Also remember to weigh out the 1982 pennies because some are not copper. The copper ones weigh 3.1, zinc ones weigh 2.5. Canadian pennies copper up until 1996. If the price goes up further it could get even better. But it’s possible it could be better to not spend the money melting them and just waiting for them to legalize it to sell them as is. Like they did with silver coins. Who knows when

  • @scottlancaster4503

    @scottlancaster4503

    2 жыл бұрын

    Tell me where I can sell copper for 4.50

  • @SmEiF-

    @SmEiF-

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@scottlancaster4503 clean pure not scrap stuff man. in some places its up to 6 to 10 on a clean ingot on the pound

  • @gotsteem

    @gotsteem

    2 жыл бұрын

    If Scott gets a few 1982 zinc pennies in the melt, won't that just skim off with the rest of the zinc in the 95%ers?

  • @matthewtomes9396

    @matthewtomes9396

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@gotsteem I believe that the zinc would mix into the copper. Altering the color a little. If you get zinc in a lead smelt it makes it all clumpy though and it won't pour

  • @gotsteem

    @gotsteem

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@matthewtomes9396 You know Matthew, after thinking about it, yes, you are right, duh.. All the pennies before 1982 were a 95/5% mix of copper and zinc.. Man, I sure goofed up on that one! LOL. Thanks.

  • @meanboycoins6250
    @meanboycoins62503 жыл бұрын

    👍🏻 nice job. The time you spent with your daughter ... priceless 😃

  • @chaicharin
    @chaicharin2 жыл бұрын

    $75 with todays prices with $25 worth of pennies plus all your time involved. Very cool video and that looked very heavy so you must be strong and brave.

  • @perrydegonia5755
    @perrydegonia5755 Жыл бұрын

    Well I’m 72 years old and I never quit learn thank you for showing me something new

  • @jayduffy7615
    @jayduffy76152 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the video and the sacrifices that it took to make it. It answered several of my questions and because of that, has earned my subscription & 👍. Thanks again

  • @tahoma6889

    @tahoma6889

    2 жыл бұрын

    “According to Title 18, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code, which sets out crimes related to coins and currency, anyone who “alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens” coins can face fines or prison time.

  • @pewpew9193

    @pewpew9193

    17 сағат бұрын

    ​@tahoma6889 This law is only applicable if you're trying to comit fraud. Destroying stolen money, trying to wash small bills to make larger denominations, trying to change dates & mint marks to a rarer date, things like that. Otherwise, those machines that turn pennies into souvenirs would be illegal, as would the large refineries that melt down silver coins.

  • @AmericaVoice
    @AmericaVoice2 жыл бұрын

    The fact of including your child in this is absolutely ridiculously important and fantastic! I applaud you and her I'm assuming! 👏 I love your work! Much respect 🙏!

  • @smarterthanyou9090

    @smarterthanyou9090

    2 жыл бұрын

    What do you mean you’re assuming? You can see in the video that she did in fact have a little bit. That’s a very odd placement of the word “assuming”.

  • @robertwesaidcarl.7845

    @robertwesaidcarl.7845

    2 жыл бұрын

    Good for you, bagface for being woke to the fact that our children are no longer boys or girls and should all be dressed in little skirts so we don’t influence their decision to identify as male or female or trans or whatever.

  • @CM-iz5ny

    @CM-iz5ny

    Жыл бұрын

    What?

  • @LinkRocks

    @LinkRocks

    Жыл бұрын

    @@smarterthanyou9090 Calm down.

  • @smarterthanyou9090

    @smarterthanyou9090

    Жыл бұрын

    @@LinkRocks Based on what did you come to the conclusion that I was excited somehow and needed to "calm down"?

  • @laurenopferman7278
    @laurenopferman72782 жыл бұрын

    I just enjoy listening to the parrot in the background. I am a servant to my own parrot master.

  • @TomokosEnterprize
    @TomokosEnterprize2 жыл бұрын

    Oh how I love the sound of metals in the quench. Esp silver as that is my main pouring medium.

  • @Sharptooth100
    @Sharptooth1003 жыл бұрын

    Melting useless arcade game tokens is the option I choose is that when arcades no longer use tokens, they must melt down for real.

  • @Dgafsranger

    @Dgafsranger

    3 жыл бұрын

    Alot of those are brass to at least the ones I have come across

  • @majorpayne5289
    @majorpayne52892 жыл бұрын

    👍 I’ve been curious about this Penny melt process. My questions have been answered. Thank you. (SUBd)

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the sub!

  • @beausinclair4605
    @beausinclair46053 жыл бұрын

    Nice work, Scott.

  • @danielpatterson3932
    @danielpatterson39322 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for time patience and days of looking for those pennies and the process

  • @lilmike2710
    @lilmike27102 жыл бұрын

    However, gas and tank cost can be offset with elbow grease. Scrap wood, lumber, discarded pallets etc. Can be made into charcoal. A charcoal fired forge with bellows costs $0 🔨 🔥

  • @jacobpeters5458

    @jacobpeters5458

    Жыл бұрын

    you still need borax

  • @TechnoW1zard
    @TechnoW1zard2 жыл бұрын

    Ok here's why melting coins is a bad idea. Coins in their original form are recognizable. You know what you're getting and what it's worth. When it's melted down like that, it's not easily exchangeable in a SHTF economy. For example, gold bars - some can make the weight come out right for the size by putting tungsten inside the bars. For your copper here someone else would want to x-ray or cut open your bar to make sure there's nothing hiding in there even if they weigh it' and thats a lot of work.

  • @georgep2389
    @georgep23896 күн бұрын

    That was informative and fun to watch,thank you.

  • @americasfavoritehoarder
    @americasfavoritehoarder3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks. I've been wondering about this very thing.

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad to help!

  • @Jim-ow4ne
    @Jim-ow4ne2 жыл бұрын

    That's why i build a wood and coal fire and I use a real efficient hand crank blower motor from an old coal forge. It takes a bit of work but I dont have to buy gas.

  • @happyhippo4664
    @happyhippo46642 жыл бұрын

    First, as he says, it is illegal to melt down pennies. Right now, copper is about $4.5/lb. You need 153 pennies to make a pound of copper (pennies are 95% copper). So there is a $3/lb spread. So it should be economical to melt them. But I would just save them as pennies, for now.

  • @edwardneuman6061

    @edwardneuman6061

    2 жыл бұрын

    Pennies WHERE 95% copper they mostly made from zinc or aluminium nowadays and plated with copper.

  • @happyhippo4664

    @happyhippo4664

    2 жыл бұрын

    Definitely illegal. Citation: CFR 82.1

  • @stefanramjag1761
    @stefanramjag17616 ай бұрын

    Hi! Would you be open to melting for others if they would pay you to do it?

  • @brandonlink6568
    @brandonlink65682 жыл бұрын

    I'm glad you pulled out the wheat backs, I used to see them all the time 20 years ago with the occasional Indian head, now I haven't seen an Indian head in years and I hardly come across wheat backs in the wild anymore.

  • @ddreuss
    @ddreuss3 жыл бұрын

    I get what you're saying to a point. But, do you know when the markets going to crash again. When all that money you invested into stocks disappears. The great thing about metals is they hold their value. The stock market has been around for not long at all. But metals have been traded since the dawn of time. Yes they might go up and down a little. But when the stock market crashes again, because it will, your metal is still worth something

  • @seangoggans7091

    @seangoggans7091

    3 жыл бұрын

    Unless the market stays crashed below your investment value for 5+ years then it's not the same. Markets recover most of their pre crash value within a few years of a crash. Also if it is during a crash the value of the propane is going to go up. You would have to stock that too.

  • @fakename1870

    @fakename1870

    2 жыл бұрын

    The next "crash" will be the last. The technocrats are ready for their complete takeover. Many lives will be lost. Your stocks will not feed you or anyone else.

  • @liammclaughlin2881
    @liammclaughlin28812 жыл бұрын

    current copper price is #3.39 / pound. $54.24 less $10 for LP gas leaves you with $44.24. $44.24 less the $25.00 in pennies leave you with $19.24. $19.24 / $25.00 = 77% profit. Not bad - beats the stock market!

  • @tmo4330
    @tmo43302 жыл бұрын

    I think the future of copper looks brighter than gold

  • @milsgarage
    @milsgarage2 жыл бұрын

    Smart conclusion sir. Subbed. 👍

  • @Rockin_Ross
    @Rockin_Ross2 жыл бұрын

    You should make a lift ring for your crucible. Lifting by the edge like that could be risky if it comes apart and all the molten contents spill out.

  • @donaldhoot7741

    @donaldhoot7741

    2 жыл бұрын

    Spare me! Not another "safety dance" person! Leave us alone safety people! Do it!

  • @bigbirdmusic8199

    @bigbirdmusic8199

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@donaldhoot7741 ok boomer

  • @Rieksfier

    @Rieksfier

    2 жыл бұрын

    Especially in shorts and Crocs. 😂

  • @deusvult6920

    @deusvult6920

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@donaldhoot7741 you're free to do what you want. You're the one that is gonna get molten metal on you

  • @vincedibona4687

    @vincedibona4687

    2 жыл бұрын

    Donald, I hope you never have a molten metal accident.

  • @davidcouch6514
    @davidcouch65142 жыл бұрын

    My Dad worked the Cash & Carry Counter at a Metals Supply in Atlanta, Georgia. Every few months a man in the same overalls stopped by and purchased about 6 rolls of coiled copper tubing. Once my Dad asked what he did with them. He said he chopped it up in various odd lengths and scattered about his Salvage Yard, making a handsome profit.

  • @samboheena

    @samboheena

    Жыл бұрын

    not sure what he was doing. the buyer was scattering chopped up tubing in his salvage yard?

  • @patricksexton4792

    @patricksexton4792

    7 ай бұрын

    @samboheena When he finds it again, the price will have increased in value

  • @robertgedritis5790
    @robertgedritis57902 жыл бұрын

    You just proved what I've tried to tell others

  • @robertherrera6852
    @robertherrera68523 жыл бұрын

    I always wanted to see this!

  • @stevelundt6498
    @stevelundt64982 жыл бұрын

    Amen!! Thank you for explaining this. These videos drive me crazy !! Especially the people who derive gold from computers. It takes so much time and money. And people forget to consider their personal time, there is a price to put on that also.

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    Exactly. Have to put some sort of hourly rate on what your time is worth!

  • @davidrn2473
    @davidrn24732 жыл бұрын

    Instead of a gas forge, would a wood/coal based fire (with air blower) work to reach melting temp? ( I have no idea if a blacksmiths fire reaches melting temps, just seems like it would be cheaper).

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's possible I would think!

  • @chjarvis85

    @chjarvis85

    2 жыл бұрын

    Are you SURE that you don’t know if humanity was able to smelt before the invention of a gas fueled forge? ARE YOU SURE you’re not just being an idiot?

  • @theobscurity9392

    @theobscurity9392

    2 жыл бұрын

    If you can make one that works decently, a waste oil furnace will melt just about everything. Used motor oil and cooking oil, old diesel or kerosene will burn extremely hot and much cleaner than coal or charcoal. The main problem with building a WMO/WVO furnace is most designs want a pressurized feed, and at higher burn rates you'd need a large air compressor running almost constantly.

  • @travismiller5548

    @travismiller5548

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@chjarvis85 you feeling pretty satisfied with yourself after being a total ass to a stranger?

  • @winterborn82

    @winterborn82

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@chjarvis85 Not sure about David, but I am about you. Blacksmith forges aren't for melting, they are for heating metal until its malleable. His question is a valid one, the answer to which is that it depends on the forge itself.

  • @gregr.9547
    @gregr.95472 жыл бұрын

    Often wondered about that. I’m much happier that you did it rather than me😁

  • @RICHARD-ov8nw
    @RICHARD-ov8nw2 жыл бұрын

    THANKS FOR THAT INFORMATION!

  • @jeffreypowell1396
    @jeffreypowell13963 жыл бұрын

    Clarification. 1982 was the year the U.S. Mint removed Some of the copper and replaced it with zinc. Both Copper and Zinc we're pressed for that year. Have to weigh each penny that year to separate Zinc from Coppers. They sound different when dropped as well.

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    Correct! 3.11g for 95% copper,. 2.50g for mostly zinc ones.

  • @unknownuser2737

    @unknownuser2737

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@scottsCC I thought from 1959 to 1982 pennies were 97% copper, and 3% zinc? After 1982 pennies were 3% copper and 97% zinc. A lot of people don't know this but you're early Indian Head pennies are bronze. Not copper

  • @-oiiio-3993

    @-oiiio-3993

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@unknownuser2737 'Flying Eagle' and early 'Indian" Cents were 88% copper, 12% nickel,. During 1864 the alloy was changed to bronze, in 1982 changed to copper plated zinc. Cents minted from mid 1864 through mid 1982 were bronze and weigh 3.1 grams.

  • @kingk2405
    @kingk24052 жыл бұрын

    If there were clean ,shiny and engraved ingots you can sell them for more (like 50$ per 2 pounds ingot ) as they could be nice on a desk . That is where the markup can be made .

  • @TheVTrider
    @TheVTrider3 жыл бұрын

    I really enjoyed this video!

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    3 жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @greatwally1384
    @greatwally13842 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for your Honesty.

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    Always!

  • @markcarter4504
    @markcarter45042 жыл бұрын

    Not to mention how long it takes to sort out the zinc coins. Great video....thanks☺

  • @JohnnyUrbanWoodsmen

    @JohnnyUrbanWoodsmen

    Жыл бұрын

    yeah it takes time, but if you weigh them (1982 pennies) its much faster, copper pennies weigh in at 3.1 grams while zinc pennies weigh in at 2.5 grams, you can even go buy sound by dropping them on a hard surface, copper pennies have a distinct sound compared to zinc pennies.

  • @TheSteveBoyd
    @TheSteveBoyd2 жыл бұрын

    "You made exactly nothing on this." Kind of like selling silver on eBay.

  • @OneEasyTarget
    @OneEasyTarget2 жыл бұрын

    very informative.

  • @homesteadaquarius
    @homesteadaquarius11 ай бұрын

    This was well done and i apprecaite the test you did. It makes sense to go ahead and sell the coins at a higher value. Let someone else do the melting.

  • @homesteadaquarius
    @homesteadaquarius2 жыл бұрын

    Well done Scott. I am sure you are getting paid now. This was good, I wonder if it could be done with a good old style forge with wood or coal to be cheaper? Then it might make sense but it would be so labore intensive. I dont think it would be worth it even then.

  • @DavidJones-ib3zy

    @DavidJones-ib3zy

    2 жыл бұрын

    Funny most 1982 Cents I come across are the Copper Ones & Yes I check Each one .

  • @DavidJones-ib3zy

    @DavidJones-ib3zy

    2 жыл бұрын

    meant to reply to the above "propheZ23" guy , But I wish I could melt down all the old Paper Shotgun Brass Hulls I have + other dug scrap metals . I know it can be done , I saw 'Big Stack Dude do it ' but don't know where to get a smelter and molds. That's just 1 of 100 things I want to do , add in the Bullets & fishing weights & WOW ! Mucho Metal . LOL

  • @matthewtymczyszyn8948

    @matthewtymczyszyn8948

    2 жыл бұрын

    You could probably just dig a pit in the ground and make a blast furnace.

  • @srbontrager
    @srbontrager2 жыл бұрын

    So in simple terms, leave the pennies as they are, unless you're intending to actually make something that has a useful utilitarian purpose. Good informational video.

  • @triumphmanful

    @triumphmanful

    Жыл бұрын

    like otzie the Ice Man's Copper Axe ?

  • @masterventura

    @masterventura

    Жыл бұрын

    gringo joto

  • @ThomasLeonard454
    @ThomasLeonard4542 жыл бұрын

    Very good point.

  • @danielcunningham4213
    @danielcunningham42133 жыл бұрын

    Interesting video.

  • @guywilson2394
    @guywilson23943 жыл бұрын

    I stack copper but I get it through scrapping I had heard years ago that there was a time when if you melted down a copper penny it would double it's value but I haven't done it and enjoyed watching and learning from it good job

  • @ryanscott2548

    @ryanscott2548

    3 жыл бұрын

    310grams in 1$ .... 4$ of pennies would weigh 3 pounds of copper ... you'd double the value and pay for the propane to melt them down

  • @hector5749

    @hector5749

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@ryanscott2548 95 percent copper or 88% so you have to take that into account

  • @ryanscott2548

    @ryanscott2548

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@hector5749 .05-.15 per dollar.... that's still hardly anything, but to be more profitable you'd have to cut out the propane....maybe an old propane tank with 1/2 the top cut off...stuck on a bonfire and starting with a few thin copper pipes to get the melting started....! $4 OF pennies would weigh about 2.5lbs after melting.... let's say a price of $3/lb canadian..... $3×2.5 = 7.50 - 4.00 (pennies) = 3.50 profit per pound.... gotta cut out the propane... I wonder how many pennies would fill a propane tank half full ;)

  • @patrickfrawley6656

    @patrickfrawley6656

    2 жыл бұрын

    Is this illegal thing to do ?

  • @2020525142152

    @2020525142152

    9 ай бұрын

    Yes

  • @Pyrolonn
    @Pyrolonn2 жыл бұрын

    I have to say that was pretty cool. My mother will tell you (with a chuckle) about the time I set the carpet on fire trying to make a zinc apple from pennies using the lost wax process. I'm lucky it was just 10 year old carpet that was damaged, that stuff retains a lot of heat. I don't think it'd ever be worth it to melt them down in a backyard set up. I'm not sure doesn't the government sometimes decree certain coins are "obsolete" and can take a trip to the foundry?

  • @tahoma6889

    @tahoma6889

    2 жыл бұрын

    “According to Title 18, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code, which sets out crimes related to coins and currency, anyone who “alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens” coins can face fines or prison time.

  • @Pyrolonn

    @Pyrolonn

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@tahoma6889 That specifically refers to attempting to change the value (alter) or remove the metal (lighten). Destroying a coin is not mentioned, because the statute is about fraud.

  • @WalmartRich
    @WalmartRich Жыл бұрын

    Is there a way to remove debris and non copper elements when smelting?

  • @jeffreydouglas6002

    @jeffreydouglas6002

    Жыл бұрын

    Thats what I was wondering. He forgot to mention pre 1982 still has 5% zinc. So this isn't 100% copper.

  • @WalmartRich

    @WalmartRich

    Жыл бұрын

    @@jeffreydouglas6002 i watched a ton of videos and can not find anyone mention this.

  • @rgflemboskibrain5251
    @rgflemboskibrain5251 Жыл бұрын

    Very Intresting video. More fascinating on the melting of copper than the value of it.

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks 👍

  • @donreid6399
    @donreid63992 жыл бұрын

    You say in the video that you're not allowed to sell those ingots as proscribed by law. Yet, carefully reading the regulation you kindly posted at the beginning of your video doesn't seem to say that. It appears to state that you can resell melted-down pennies and nickels IF they're being sold for artistic purposes (novelty or jewelry are mentioned) rather than the intrinsic value of the metal. Does that mean that if one polished the ingot and sold it as an art piece that it could be resold legally?

  • @dbcrn859

    @dbcrn859

    2 жыл бұрын

    Or pour it into an art piece instead of a plain ingot.

  • @kaboomwinn4026

    @kaboomwinn4026

    2 жыл бұрын

    Nice loopholed you find

  • @ArtStoneUS

    @ArtStoneUS

    2 жыл бұрын

    That was the same logic behind the prohibition of ownership of gold. If you had a gold coin, drilled a hole in it, and put it on a necklace, you were not violating the law

  • @mmace3

    @mmace3

    2 жыл бұрын

    Once the coins are melted down how would anyone know they used to be pennies? Nobody that's who, so just do it and profit.

  • @kevinsellsit5584

    @kevinsellsit5584

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@mmace3 Actually any scrap yard with a PMI gun can tell instantly.

  • @medusaskull9625
    @medusaskull96253 жыл бұрын

    Now I know why we are in coins shortage crisis.

  • @ScottHD

    @ScottHD

    3 жыл бұрын

    Haha.

  • @destrowon1938

    @destrowon1938

    3 жыл бұрын

    That is a myth. Contraction of the money supply.

  • @garyburns8040

    @garyburns8040

    3 жыл бұрын

    The shortage is people throwing them away.

  • @henny4360

    @henny4360

    3 жыл бұрын

    our*

  • @trevortheturkey8411

    @trevortheturkey8411

    2 жыл бұрын

    😂😂😂 yeah

  • @robertboyd4587
    @robertboyd45872 жыл бұрын

    right on man you just spared me from wasteing my time,or any more of it as i have seperated about 1000.00 dollars worth.

  • @billstiem6035
    @billstiem6035 Жыл бұрын

    Very informative and interesting .................

  • @picklesnoutpenobscott3165
    @picklesnoutpenobscott31652 жыл бұрын

    Zinc will harm you, so do be careful. As an artist I am always looking for copper to use for art, not profit. Coins were what I thought of, but the zinc factor has me spooked.

  • @XanBos
    @XanBos2 жыл бұрын

    I agree that melting pennies to keep as bars for monetary gain is futile. If however you were to collect older pennies and then find the ones that were more desirable to collectors, you could sell one penny for a decent price. Less work, more profit.

  • @vincedibona4687

    @vincedibona4687

    Жыл бұрын

    Sorting through coins like that is tedious and boring WORK.

  • @chrisbudesa9355
    @chrisbudesa93552 жыл бұрын

    Good to have a helper.

  • @georgemontes8440
    @georgemontes84402 жыл бұрын

    I have probably close to a thousand copper pennies, and I was waiting for them to be worth more but, if I have to buy everything to melt them I don't think is really worth it, better invest in to something that will be worth over time. Thank you that was a good wake up call, on saving those copper pennies.

  • @TEXAS-SMITH

    @TEXAS-SMITH

    Жыл бұрын

    Things change. Your mystery blob will become valuable soon enough and China won't be sending supplies to their enemy pretty soon either. People who make furnaces in the good ol USA still get their supplies from China. Might want to get the furnace while you can. Your mystery blob has more copper in it than a mere penny and finding a bunch of pre 82 pennies today is proving harder and harder. All recycled metals head to China. Finding copper is eventually going to be as hard as finding silver scrap is today. All good things do come to an end. Anyone thinking a penny is going to get anything after a dollar collapse is nuts but "blobs" will be bought to make munitions. People amaze me by how dense their thinking is. If you sell me a legit blob of copper the first time I will happily barter with you for a second "blob" again. Just sayin... You do you.

  • @AHA500
    @AHA5002 жыл бұрын

    Awesome video! Very informative. Do you have a video melting silver coins or is it not worth it as well?

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    I do - I do the entire process of refining some "no date" ones that have pretty much only silver value.

  • @barrywainwright3391
    @barrywainwright33912 жыл бұрын

    1982 was a transition year when copper cents were made in the beginning of the year and then they changed and began making zinc cents. Anyone who is experienced with coins doesn't have to weigh them. They can tell if it's zinc by the look, feel and weight of them by eye and hand and give them the bounce test too. I've searched 100s of boxes of coins and found Indian head cents, wheaties, Canadian and foreign coins and I saved all copper cents dated up to 1982. I've sold $25 boxes of rolled copper cents to a scrap metal recycling center and more than doubled the money and got $54. I would never melt down and destroy coins. Btw, my recycling center would buy the copper ingots at the current scrap spot price. Why waste time melting coins when you can take boxes of copper coins to a recycling center and double your money. But not all buy coins so I'm lucky mine does. I don't have to advertise them either.

  • @travismiller5548

    @travismiller5548

    2 жыл бұрын

    for me it's the sound

  • @travismiller5548

    @travismiller5548

    2 жыл бұрын

    the reason people go to the trouble to melt copper down themselves is because you can get around $20 a pound for "artisinal" ingots.

  • @travismiller5548

    @travismiller5548

    2 жыл бұрын

    don't worry about destroying coins, they already sell destroyed coin art at the mints.

  • @metaljacket866

    @metaljacket866

    2 жыл бұрын

    I would just keep them , the price of copper is only going up over time , like most other metals that come short for some industries ..

  • @Uleyra

    @Uleyra

    2 жыл бұрын

    This guy wants the biggest cookie

  • @spagsunfiltered
    @spagsunfiltered Жыл бұрын

    I just did my first Devil Forge melts this past Sunday. I'm glad my lid isn't the only one that looks like that...hahahahah. Man it was so much fun.

  • @davekimbler2308
    @davekimbler23082 жыл бұрын

    Point taken but factor in future costs either up or down and it’s all a gamble ! I will be using the copper to make things such as plate and round bar for plant stands and slugs to stamp and resell for more then scrap price !

  • @stoneybaloneycatnip2400
    @stoneybaloneycatnip24003 жыл бұрын

    Should heat your molds before pouring and pour slower for a smoother more even bar. Lose less grinding that way too.

  • @katieandkevinsears7724

    @katieandkevinsears7724

    2 жыл бұрын

    Heat the molds to avoid a steam explosion...unless you like getting burns.

  • @robertmeadows1657

    @robertmeadows1657

    2 жыл бұрын

    He had his safety shorts on.

  • @nikogamer0825

    @nikogamer0825

    2 жыл бұрын

    He did heat his molds as seen at 8:52

  • @JAMaxeRestoration

    @JAMaxeRestoration

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@robertmeadows1657 you forgot to mention his fire proof Crocs.

  • @michaelthacker6121

    @michaelthacker6121

    2 жыл бұрын

    You should also pre heat your utensils to prevent the metals from Sticking to them

  • @UnderDuress
    @UnderDuress2 жыл бұрын

    I often wonder if the people melting these go through them first good vid!

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yes, they were all gone through to sort 1982 and older, and 1982 were all weighed individually.

  • @jonathankurz1979
    @jonathankurz19792 жыл бұрын

    This was quite informative. You did it so I would not have to. I’m trying to help your Al Gore rhythm.

  • @Michael-tg5mx
    @Michael-tg5mx2 ай бұрын

    I learned something new from you. I didn't know that you can not sell it after you melt it down.

  • @ConcernedCitizenPPCA
    @ConcernedCitizenPPCA2 жыл бұрын

    That's pretty impressive analysis... Though I think you might stand to benefit from watching some serious metal melting/form pouring guys on KZread like TheGrowingStack and bigstackD... They have better tools if you're intending to do this more frequently. My advice is get a lifter that will apply force to the sides of your crucible for picking it up and place it into the center of a pouring tool with a full circle on the end that supports the whole thing. I think one of those guys has a video on making the tools for pouring molten metal. That said the yield you've gotten is quite respectable... that's got to be close to 99%.

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you - and yes this winter when I fire the forge back up, I plan on having a better lifting tool for the crucible!

  • @ConcernedCitizenPPCA

    @ConcernedCitizenPPCA

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@scottsCC Hope you have fun with it... Good thing is copper melts pretty low temperature, to melt steel well even those guys I listed have trouble doing it. I think the one guy set his forge/tank to like 4 mPa or whatever and still didn't get it fully melted though I've seen people melt steel with big induction coils and it melts pretty fast but that method is crazy dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

  • @Tony_acosta

    @Tony_acosta

    2 жыл бұрын

    I agree with everything theyve said, except for the love of god…. Put some pants on and lose the crocs. Burns of that nature really suck

  • @tahoma6889

    @tahoma6889

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@scottsCC I sound a penny the other day worth $392. from the 1970's. By the way, defacing or destroying currency is a crime, ya know?

  • @travismiller5548

    @travismiller5548

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@tahoma6889 I asked a penny destruction artist about the legalities the other day... she said they sell her artwork IN THE MINT. she was really rude about it too... she must answer that question a lot.

  • @adamholloway5605
    @adamholloway56052 жыл бұрын

    Why melt them? 3/4” copper pipe makes a great hiding tube without the expense of melting them.

  • @scarsprospecting
    @scarsprospecting3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for sharing

  • @philipgriffin8827
    @philipgriffin88272 жыл бұрын

    👍thanks for the information

  • @Randomgrogu
    @Randomgrogu3 жыл бұрын

    So I went and did the math out of curiosity, The clean copper yea not worth it not even going to mess with that because well its not worth it So first lets assume you invested in a coin sorting machine to get the copper coins to cut down on that time Please correct me if my math is off 25,000 Pennies ($25) gives you about 16 LBS of coins Refining, melting, pouring, and polishing each one I estimated to take about 6 hours $10 in propane If you are making lets say $20 for each hour $120 labor So that gives you $155 / 16 LBS Round up give you $10 per pound Currently I see listing for nice polished copper ebay $20 (again you can't "Legally" do this as it is not allowed) Ebay and Paypal fees at $2.9 Shipping let say $5 Giving you $8 + $10 cost make You sell for $20 to make $2, so If you sell all 16 bars Profit $32 if everything goes right

  • @yazmon4515

    @yazmon4515

    3 жыл бұрын

    Seems that if you use scrap copper, wire, tubing, etc. instead of buying pennies you are that much ahead.

  • @thewikiwatch1518

    @thewikiwatch1518

    3 жыл бұрын

    25,000 pennies is $250, not $25.

  • @seanfoltz7645

    @seanfoltz7645

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@yazmon4515 If you can get it for free then yes, but the experiment was intended to address the copper penny stackers who have several thousand dollars in copper pennies in a closet which they are hoping to legally melt/sell as scrap copper at some point in the future.

  • @Padres-sv1lr

    @Padres-sv1lr

    Жыл бұрын

    If you can find a away to remove the zinc and get your melted pennies closer to .999 % pure copper then the break down should be: 155 Pre 1982 Pennies = 1lbs of Copper. Market price for scrap copper is $3.63. Meaning your $1.55 in Pennies is now worth $3.63. So IF you already have the furnace etc, and IF you're doing this as a hobby so labor isn’t part of overhead then your only costs are the gas and acquirement of pennies. Seems like it would be marginally profitable to do this. I think the key everyone is missing is that scrap buyers don’t want .95% copper as most scrap is pipe and wire which is .99% copper.

  • @solunaescutcheon5428
    @solunaescutcheon54282 жыл бұрын

    It’s all fun and games till you melt a collectible 1909 VDBS and realize it’s worth $1000

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    I've roll searched every single one of them beforehand! Also checked for errors!

  • @timothylongmore7325

    @timothylongmore7325

    2 жыл бұрын

    That's the real reason I don't melt mine. I just stockpile until I need them, Then I'll sort through them for key dates. It's no harder to store pennies than ingots. The law is a factor too , lol. I hope a grand child will help or have the pleasure when I'm gone. I found a steel war penny in the coin return of a coinstar recently. Most people just don't pay attention.

  • @DannyVoltaje
    @DannyVoltaje Жыл бұрын

    What a great video.

  • @sumobear1777
    @sumobear17772 жыл бұрын

    are they going to do away with all cents? i sure hope so cuz ive ran out of place to put it all. when i buy things i often find myself saying "keep the change cuz ive ran out of room" i would keep them in my flashlights if only they could power them.

  • @sammercedesrocco3379
    @sammercedesrocco33793 жыл бұрын

    I’ve watched this twice it just doesn’t make cents lmao

  • @bonedmordh5320

    @bonedmordh5320

    3 жыл бұрын

    CENTS XĎDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDX

  • @sauljimmytakavic4286

    @sauljimmytakavic4286

    3 жыл бұрын

    It makes dollars...

  • @TomokosEnterprize
    @TomokosEnterprize2 жыл бұрын

    I have found the war time pennies from WWII work best. 1939 to 1946. I do pours for vets quite a bit.

  • @ArtStoneUS

    @ArtStoneUS

    2 жыл бұрын

    Removing the steel ones of course

  • @stevenleslie8557

    @stevenleslie8557

    2 жыл бұрын

    Steel pennies?

  • @TomokosEnterprize

    @TomokosEnterprize

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@stevenleslie8557 Both our countries made them. I am a Canuckian. My dad saved a few as he was there in the middle of that awful time in Europe. He was gone for 3 years. I treasure every one of them from both our countries. They all paid big for our freedom.

  • @ArtStoneUS

    @ArtStoneUS

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@stevenleslie8557 in 1943, during World War II, they made pennies from steel in order to use the copper for other more important purposes

  • @TomokosEnterprize

    @TomokosEnterprize

    2 жыл бұрын

    @Steve L I will melt anything if asked to. Some silver pieces mean a lot to folks when made into something special they want.

  • @appatula
    @appatula Жыл бұрын

    Quick tip: I Cut a piece of cardboard and put it under the crucible before I start, the carbon prevents refractory/crucible from fusing onto the base of the silicon carbide crucibles.

  • @qray4851
    @qray4851 Жыл бұрын

    Hang on to it man!

  • @qray4851

    @qray4851

    Жыл бұрын

    Copper is King!

  • @ravemac5008
    @ravemac50082 жыл бұрын

    Prices up to 4.46 by the way. Also seems like you might need a more effective way to do it

  • @larrylewis6725
    @larrylewis67253 жыл бұрын

    Did you weigh each of the 1982 pennies and pull out all the 99.2% zinc coins? Lesser impurities the better in smelting process.

  • @jeffreypowell1396

    @jeffreypowell1396

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes my thoughts as well 1982 was an interesting variety for pennies

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes - they were ALL separated by hand, the 1982 ones were weighed (3.11g copper, 2.50g zinc). These are ALL 95% copper.

  • @steve8395
    @steve8395 Жыл бұрын

    I do love the African Gray in the background, they're sweet birds.

  • @reallyman9418
    @reallyman9418 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks man!

  • @CyrusOfNaias
    @CyrusOfNaias3 жыл бұрын

    Copper is $4 now :P btw, Any idea how much it would cost to refine those bars to .999 purity?

  • @jackjogger1051

    @jackjogger1051

    3 жыл бұрын

    No clue, I'm guessing it's also much more expensive for him to melt down metals at home than large scale metal recycling plants.

  • @ryanscott2548

    @ryanscott2548

    3 жыл бұрын

    1$ in pennies weighs 310 grams ... 454 grams in a pound. He may have doubled the value of the pennies after melting them down

  • @AnDyity

    @AnDyity

    3 жыл бұрын

    Next to free if you know how to make nitric acid.

  • @760sky9

    @760sky9

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@ryanscott2548 you weight it yourself?

  • @matthewtomes9396
    @matthewtomes93962 жыл бұрын

    It's legal to do anything you want with your money as long as you're not attempting to alter the face value for profit.

  • @howardjohnson2138
    @howardjohnson21382 жыл бұрын

    Interesting - Thank you

  • @scottsCC

    @scottsCC

    2 жыл бұрын

    You're welcome

  • @howardjohnson2138

    @howardjohnson2138

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you.

  • @lookronjon
    @lookronjon2 жыл бұрын

    Nice job. If I had the stuff to do that I would cast a copper axhead

  • @punkinhaidmartin
    @punkinhaidmartin2 жыл бұрын

    So the way to come out on melting pennies for copper is to melt it in a wood fire that you were going to burn anyway. Just need a blower, and $2500 in copper pennies to make a grand. Of course you could use them to plate with as they are. Copper is worth a lot more when you plate it onto a bumper and chrome over it or whatever.

  • @scottsCC
    @scottsCC2 жыл бұрын

    READ the Law at the beginning of the video guys! I have no plans or intent to sell any of it. This is not against current US law as it is not being 1) sold or 2) sold for profit. It is for educational purposes only. All of the coins used here were 1982 and older AND all of the 1982's were weighed individually to ensure they were 3.11g and not the 2.50g zinc ones.

  • @Padres-sv1lr

    @Padres-sv1lr

    Жыл бұрын

    how do you remove the zinc content to move the melted pennies into a ingot at greater 95% purity ?

  • @perpetual-learning
    @perpetual-learning Жыл бұрын

    As a fellow Texan myself and precious metal purchaser, I would think that your comment on not with it due to inflation is incorrect. As of today and in the future Cooper will continue to rise in price, but when purchasing power vs inflation (pp) wins every time. Today it's $3.41 pound so taking $35 in total cost to preserve 16 lbs of copper (of today's purchasing power) then comparing the trade-in of future prices is better than placing $35 in a jar and seeing what you can purchase vs the $51 dollars of today's money is a win win. Don't most people think this way or an I missing something.

  • @swaybelly3212

    @swaybelly3212

    Жыл бұрын

    Exactly what I thought, in today's copper price, it would be $55 in metal value, and the $25 monetary worth of pennies would be buying far less now than 24 months ago, due to the Biden Regime's compounding inflation (7%-Oct. 2021+7.7-Oct.2022=14.7% less buying power)...

  • @perpetual-learning

    @perpetual-learning

    Жыл бұрын

    @@swaybelly3212 Agreed, I'm in the process to purchase land and the interest rates on loans are going up every time the feds have a meeting. I never thought until now that have debt for land loan would be even better than before because of the constant devaluation of our fiat. Add BRICS nations buying up gold (dumping the dollar "probably using it to buy the gold") to then create an alternative reserve currency that would be backed by gold and continue to allow other countries that manufacture US goods more leverage over our market, and not to forget that unless people are buying pure 999.9 gold COPPER will still be used to generate less than 999.9 gold bullion. It's hard but we need to factor all these things when making videos to share knowledge.

  • @amjmmint4786

    @amjmmint4786

    25 күн бұрын

    Most people are completely oblivious to material construction and manufacturing of anything at all. They see "ooh finished product with a fancy brand, I look classy now!" and throw it in the trash when it's out of style, hence the growing value of recycling and urban mining. As a non-precious metal, and the global demand and versatility, it's not exactly feasible to hoard copper bars, as eventually storage becomes a liability. Regular uptrades to better metal classes already established as rare is your better option. Fill a gunsafe with copper bars, no more room, take half to an exchange or 4, swap em for a gold coin and some industrial grade silver, rinse and repeat. It's good to stay diversified because you never know what demand will ask, maybe there is a huge rush on asteroid mining which ignores copper and margins rocket off reserves only for a generation. So long as you're not trading purchasing power on cheap one-off trash products, consider yourself ahead of the curve, lot of people out there still upset they can't afford to overpay for sweatshop textiles (like we don't have enough shirts to go around).

  • @americanfreedom1016
    @americanfreedom10162 жыл бұрын

    What's in the penny that would get you in trouble if you melted it down to bars ....sorry if I missed it if you said it in video ....

  • @eogg25
    @eogg253 жыл бұрын

    I know a copper penny is worth more as scrap than it is in money but I don't know if the scrap buyer would trust a person selling melted copper, because it can be mixed with other metals and would be hard to tell the difference, They can drill and test it but some don't want to bother.

  • @amjmmint4786

    @amjmmint4786

    25 күн бұрын

    An organization gathering bars for industrial processing may have a spectrometer. It's a 50,000$ gun which can be set to detect various metals and their purity. I have seen someone bring one to a coin store as their main purchaser of scrap silver. He humored me scanning a palladium ring once, accurate breakdown of 3 trace metals aside the stamp purity. I don't see a massive need to micromanage purity of copper bars, they will either shred them or hydraulic press cut them in half and throw them in the bin. It's one of those situations where hiding another metal in the core is an engineering feat not worth the effort, like how it costs more to produce pennies than their value. Unless you come with appraisal certificates you will likely just get scrap #2 for dirty copper, but if you did have authenticity, you wouldn't take it to the yard as bullion. It would really only begin to make a difference if people began handing off bars as semi-liquid means of exchange. People would likely ask as many questions as we do now with the metal content of change, ending up in another melt for industry where they'd purify and repurpose before dwelling on the odd content.

  • @BrooklynWalker
    @BrooklynWalker2 жыл бұрын

    17:07 “It’s not worth it.” (Green scale backlight goes out.)

  • @75SlowDuck
    @75SlowDuck2 жыл бұрын

    If you doubled the size of The Crucible, would you have to use twice as much gas to melt it?

  • @danlorett2184

    @danlorett2184

    Жыл бұрын

    No, you'd have to use much more gas. Twice the size = cube the volume.

  • @brandoncasas5254
    @brandoncasas52542 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the video as of 12/17/2021 that price for scrap copper is $3.31/LB

  • @perpetual-learning

    @perpetual-learning

    Жыл бұрын

    As of today 10/15/2022 price is stay at $3.41.