i have spent the last year collecting all pennies ive come across, that are 1982 or older. they are composed of 98% copper. im trying to sell the copper for more than the pennies are worth. ive got about 6000
You do realize that the melting point of copper is like 1000 degrees, right?
Pennies aren't pure copper. Only coated with a thin copper shell. Defacing money on purpose or for your own personal gain is also illegal but if you really have to know just saw a penny in half and you will see what im talking about.
Pre-1982 cents are actually 95% copper. And you do know that it's against the law for you to melt cents or nickels, right? And you'd probably be hard pressed to find someone who would be willing to buy at the spot price of copper, since it doesn't take a genius to figure out how you got a bar of 95% copper, 5% zinc. The melting point of copper is just under 2000 F, so you can't just toss them in a fire and melt them down. In fact, that's hotter than you can probably get a propane torch to burn. Once you do that, you'll have to figure out some way to pour it off however you've heated it. You're talking about 40 pounds of molten metal, and molten metal is not something you want to play around with. When you pour it, some is going to splatter, so you've just thrown 2000 degree bits of metal all around your workspace. In short, it's a good way to burn your house down for about $120 profit
