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Question:

Is the copper in a penny worth more than the penny itself?

Would it be worth it to save a lot of pennies and then sell it at a place where they buy copper?

Answer:

no. very little is copper now. no one will take pennies for copper, it's against the law.
no, there's barely any copper in it anymore, Its mostly zinc now.
Before 1982 the US made pennies using 95% copper. In 1982 the US had to change the materials they used to make copper pennies, because the copper in the pennies was worth more than the penny itself. If the penny weighs 3.1 grams then it is a 95% copper penny, but if it weights 2.5 grams then it is the newer model of the penny that they still use today. Current copper price approx $US 3.4 per pound (1 pound = 453.59237 gram). Collecting these pennies may not seem like it would pay off.
It costs more to make a penny than what it's worth due to the zinc that is inside of pennies and the copper coating. In 2007, it was reported that 1.67 cents were spent per penny made.

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