What if...

[NightWolve]

Sure thing.  If they were pre-1982 pennies I would be ecstatic because those are mainly copper compared to "modern" pennies.  Then I would drive to Mexico to start melting those bitches down so I could have $3 million!

Huh, interesting tidbit. I recall many years ago taking my propane-powered blow torch and melting a dozen or so pennies just to f--k around, heh. They're either tin or nickel depending on what's cheaper and if the melting temp of nickel was low enough for my blow torch.

I guess if it costs 2 pennies to make a penny then like Canaduh they should be discontinued. Or, make 'em out of plastic or something. That'd be cheap still and hey, those 3D printers will come in more handy.

Edit: Upon looking at penny trivia, the metal I thought might be tin when I melted some pennies was in fact zinc. From 1982 and forward they're being made out of zinc plated with copper. Too bad, I would've used the metal if it was tin for some soldering jobs of copper pipe... Makes sense, zinc has got to be much cheaper than something like tin.

[cr8zykuban0]

i would secretly go to coin star and change some of the pennies everyday lol

[xelement5x]

Sure thing.  If they were pre-1982 pennies I would be ecstatic because those are mainly copper compared to "modern" pennies.  Then I would drive to Mexico to start melting those bitches down so I could have $3 million!

Huh, interesting tidbit. I recall many years ago taking my propane-powered blow torch and melting a dozen or so pennies just to f--k around, heh. They're either tin or nickel depending on what's cheaper and if the melting temp of nickel was low enough for my blow torch.

I guess if it costs 2 pennies to make a penny then like Canaduh they should be discontinued. Or, make 'em out of plastic or something. That'd be cheap still and hey, those 3D printers will come in more handy.

Edit: Upon looking at penny trivia, the metal I thought might be tin when I melted some pennies was in fact zinc. From 1982 and forward they're being made out of zinc plated with copper. Too bad, I would've used the metal if it was tin for some soldering jobs of copper pipe... Makes sense, zinc has got to be much cheaper than something like tin.

Every time I get a pre-82 penny I save it in a jar in my house because technically they're worth like 3c in the copper value alone.  Someday, when America retires the penny I will melt those f*ckers down and create a solid copper Sega Saturn and then set it outside in the rain until it oxidizes and turns green like the Statue of Liberty. 

IT WILL BE AMAZING I TELL YOU!

[esteban]

Sure thing.  If they were pre-1982 pennies I would be ecstatic because those are mainly copper compared to "modern" pennies.  Then I would drive to Mexico to start melting those bitches down so I could have $3 million!

Huh, interesting tidbit. I recall many years ago taking my propane-powered blow torch and melting a dozen or so pennies just to f--k around, heh. They're either tin or nickel depending on what's cheaper and if the melting temp of nickel was low enough for my blow torch.

I guess if it costs 2 pennies to make a penny then like Canaduh they should be discontinued. Or, make 'em out of plastic or something. That'd be cheap still and hey, those 3D printers will come in more handy.

Edit: Upon looking at penny trivia, the metal I thought might be tin when I melted some pennies was in fact zinc. From 1982 and forward they're being made out of zinc plated with copper. Too bad, I would've used the metal if it was tin for some soldering jobs of copper pipe... Makes sense, zinc has got to be much cheaper than something like tin.

Every time I get a pre-82 penny I save it in a jar in my house because technically they're worth like 3c in the copper value alone.  Someday, when America retires the penny I will melt those f*ckers down and create a solid copper Sega Saturn and then set it outside in the rain until it oxidizes and turns green like the Statue of Liberty. 

IT WILL BE AMAZING I TELL YOU!

I endorse your plan. It better come to fruition.

[NightWolve]

Yeah, that is interesting. I might just see if I got pre-1982 all copper pennies now myself. I mean, you got criminals breaking into places to tear apart the electrical wiring to get at that copper, it is becoming more valuable.

[synbiosfan]

Every time I get a pre-82 penny I save it in a jar in my house because technically they're worth like 3c in the copper value alone.  Someday, when America retires the penny I will melt those f*ckers down and create a solid copper Sega Saturn and then set it outside in the rain until it oxidizes and turns green like the Statue of Liberty. 

IT WILL BE AMAZING I TELL YOU!

Glad I didn't wait for the penny to retire to do it. I'm still amazed you found out or, far more unlikely, came up with the same idea! It does look amazing I tell you!

[NightWolve]

Found about 50 in my change stash and elsewhere. Got some antiques as early as 1917 even. Had to clean some with SOS to read dates as they were so dirty and tarnished. So that's funny, they're worth about 3-4 pennies themselves, huh ?

[esteban]

Found about 50 in my change stash and elsewhere. Got some antiques as early as 1917 even. Had to clean some with SOS to read dates as they were so dirty and tarnished. So that's funny, they're worth about 3-4 pennies themselves, huh ?

They were worth that, until you scrubbed them clean. The patina is where the value is. The greasier and nastier the coin, the greater the value.

I have a 1994 nickel I rescued from a deep fryer. It smells of death, but that little gem is easily worth 15-25 cents. It's encrusted in lard and bits of potato. And a decade of dust (I once tried to remove dust with compressed air, but a kernel of crunchy fat broke off. I won't dare try that again!)

[xelement5x]

Found about 50 in my change stash and elsewhere. Got some antiques as early as 1917 even. Had to clean some with SOS to read dates as they were so dirty and tarnished. So that's funny, they're worth about 3-4 pennies themselves, huh ?

An easy way to clean pennies actually is to rub them in some ketchup for a bit.  You could also soak them in vinegar as it pretty much does the same thing. 

I am a big fan of doing smashed pennies (like you find in tourist traps), so I normally clean my solid copper pennies and use them for smashing as I think they look nicer. 

[wildfruit]

I would take them to my local supermarket that has a change counting machine. Spend them all on that and get 95% of the value back in note form.

[Necromancer]

You crazy f*ckers, stockpiling pennies so you can maybe someday double your investment..... minus the cost of smelting. 

[Arkhan]

I already live off penis, so this is easy.



oh. 



that says pennies.


sure.

[xelement5x]

Found about 50 in my change stash and elsewhere. Got some antiques as early as 1917 even. Had to clean some with SOS to read dates as they were so dirty and tarnished. So that's funny, they're worth about 3-4 pennies themselves, huh ?

An easy way to clean pennies actually is to rub them in some ketchup for a bit.  You could also soak them in vinegar as it pretty much does the same thing. 

I am a big fan of doing smashed pennies (like you find in tourist traps), so I normally clean my solid copper pennies and use them for smashing as I think they look nicer. 

From now on, whenever i think of you, i am going to have this mental image of a strange strange man with ketchup covered hands rubbing on a stack of pennies at a table beneath a single dangling light bulb in a windowless room full of Pico stuffs.

Now imagine me in my underwear and a gas mask like Walter White doing all the above as well....


Hope you sleep well tonight nonbeliever!

[NightWolve]

Found about 50 in my change stash and elsewhere. Got some antiques as early as 1917 even. Had to clean some with SOS to read dates as they were so dirty and tarnished. So that's funny, they're worth about 3-4 pennies themselves, huh ?

An easy way to clean pennies actually is to rub them in some ketchup for a bit.  You could also soak them in vinegar as it pretty much does the same thing. 

I am a big fan of doing smashed pennies (like you find in tourist traps), so I normally clean my solid copper pennies and use them for smashing as I think they look nicer.

I kept meaning to post this, a few months after I saw your tip about the use of vinegar, I gave it a shot. Heh. Very interesting. These photos were sitting on my HDD since 3 days after your post, but I just didn't get around to posting them. So basically I just kept letting them sit in a pan of vinegar which is a neat trick for cleaning other metals too!





There's a story about those 1943 pennies BTW, but no, I wasn't lucky enough to have scored one of the genuine 40 copper-alloy ones that got loose.

https://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/?action=fun_facts2a

[xelement5x]

Vinegar in the sun works really well if the penny is already kind of clean, but there is any film or gunk on it, you will not be able to get it totally shiny.  I use the ketchup since it's works as kind of an abrasive along with the chemical process on the copper.