If you squirrel away 5 pennies every day, weekends included, at the end of the year you'd have less than $20. And if you expended any time walking or (heavens forbid) drove a vehicle to get a day's quota of pennies, you'd have accumulated even less. This isn't an investment idea.

Also, remember that circulated coins aren't nearly as valuable and don't appreciate as much as uncirculated coins.

Coins and stamps, even when done on a large enough scale, are a poor investment for an inexperienced person. The experts people need to deal with to buy and sell will be certain to set prices to maximize their advantage, not yours.

Snidely, it's for the copper content only. In 1983, pennies started being minted with far less copper in them. And the copper price has gone up since then. We are not talking about a numismatic value.

No, it's not an savings tactic by any means, nor an investment. I've checked over my pocket coins for many years. I probably set aside a penny or two every week and a silver (pre-1965) coin once a year. It's a habit and I have a jar full of copper in a desk drawer.

OK, I didn't know that. Thanks, I suspect that's below most people's radar screens.

Even at that, I wouldn't describe the idea as a worthwhile activity, would you? What do you suppose your copper-filled jar is worth and how long has it been accumulating?

Anyone would do better squirreling away $10 or $20 a week from their normal spending and putting into a Christmas club type account that's allowed to accumulate. That would be real money after years.

Worthwhile? Probably not. But I still set aside all my pocket change to get Amazon credit (100% of value) at a Coinstar machine, and I set aside the copper, too. A relic of my childhood when I tried to fill in those coin books. I even notice the mint marks, still. Old habits die hard!

My brother has saved the copper pennies for years just for fun. Consequently, I save those I get for him. I do amass a fair amount of change since I'm strictly cash and carry but generally won't spend the time to count out exact change for a purchase. While he gets very few copper pennies in The Cities, I get quite a few of them up here. My bank has a coin counter when things get out of hand - my nickels, dimes, and new pennies, but the quarters are saved for parking meters.

The Canadian Government did away with pennies, but I still have quite a few kicking around. Pre-1980's nickels are also worth more in melt value than retail value. It's not a lot more, but still worth more. I remember as a kid going up to the Nickel mines in Sudbury, Ontario. Nickle coins used to be almost 100% nickel and now they are only about 25%.

Canadians may as well offer you "A penny for your thoughts" ...
... as it won't buy nuthin' else, these days.

The bank'll (still) give you a quarter for 25 of 'em, to return to the Mint: don't know how much longer that'll last!

Usually a litre (a bit over a quart per U.S. gal.) of 10% cream costs about upwards of $3.99 (in one store 5% usually costs $4.39 - don't ask me why!) . Quite often either kind is on sale for about $1.99.

The other day one discount store had 5% cream on sale for 99 cents.

If I'd bought two, the price would have been $$1.98 ... so they'd charge me $2.00, "rounding up" the 2 cents.

When I bought three, price was $2.97 ... so they "rounded down" to $2.95: saved 2 cents rather than giving 2 cents extra.

Trouble was ... those coated paper square canisters were swelled out a bit ... which often indicates that the milk-related contents are approaching the end of their useful life. Don't remember the code date ... but think that it's a couple of weeks in future, at least.

What to do to avoid real waste due to spoilage?
Gave one to landlord ... who ploughs and cultivates my/our garden ... and treats me well, otherwise ... refusing the loonie that he offered ... thus achieving some Brownie points.
Gave another to son and his partner, who's using 1% milk in her coffee quite a bit of the time, for dieting reasons (son likes cream) ... she often gives me supper ... and I take the veggies from the large garden.
Using the third myself, displacing the 10% cream carton that I had open ... and am reasonably confident that I don't need to worry about it going bad before it gets back into operation.

Such are potential problems when changes are made in one's currency!

ole joyfuelled

tim, how you would convert your copper pennies to cash? I thought that melting coins was not legal. Collecting is fun anyway, now just for curiosity I will have to look at our pennies!

I am actually talking about numismatic value as well as copper value.

There won't be any left for collectors.

Everybody has saved their wheat pennies for years. They will be far more common than the 60-82.

Older folks like myself save them for the grandkids.

For those who don't believe, don't save them.

that will make those left that much more valuable.

In cleaning out a closet last weekend (a task my wife put off for far too long), we came upon several large containers of coins. Thousands and thousands of coins of all denominations, it was a slog to get them into the car and to the coin machine at the bank.

Everyone has different hobbies. Going through those coins wasn't something I cared to do. The several hundred dollars deposited into the bank account was enough for me.

Many grandparents do things for their kids and grand-kids that more closely represent their own feelings than those of the recipients. I try to be conscious of that. My clutter-phobic kids wouldn't for a minute have an interest in a coin collection for themselves or their kids. Cash or gift cards that can be spent, saved, or used without taking up space - always welcome.

I tell you guys what. Call your local coin shop and see how much a circulated penny costs for your birthdate, your children's and your grandkidsbirthdate if you have any. Then write back and tell us how much they cost.

Pennies dated from 60-82 will be more valuable than the wheat pennies, because people have hoarded them.