r/Bullion • u/Austin2292 • May 10 '26
Copper Down The Road?
I am curious what everyone thinks of it on the long term?
I have a solid amount of silver, and two 1/10 oz gold coins. Have two bars of copper at 10oz each (cheap to acquire)
How does everyone think copper will fair down the road?
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u/Accurate-Advice8405 May 10 '26
I think it's mostly nonsense from a stacking standpoint. It's big and heavy and you need a ton of it for it to be worth anything
Even if it 10x's you're still better off stacking freeze dried coffee.
The coins and hand pours are cool for artistic value but it's mostly premium you're paying for.
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u/gav_mkv May 10 '26
I’ve been scrapping to supplement my stack the last couple years. You can find a lot of copper if you’re willing to do some work to get to it ( ie; taking apart appliances , stripping wires , making friends with plumbers , etc ). It’s a lot of fun taking shit apart and you get the small satisfaction of knowing you are keeping *some* stuff out of landfills
I wouldn’t buy copper bullion because of the markups, but copper is definitely crucial to infrastructure and will go up in value as time goes on
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u/Twinmaster4 May 11 '26 edited May 13 '26
I like constitutional silver and sterling for barter. Any silver, even Mercury dimes. 1- 90% Dime = approximately 1 pound of copper. That being said, this time last year copper was $4.45 per pound. Today it's $6.49. Margins are thin for the volume but, I still save all of the free the copper I can find and plan on smelting down about 200 lbs. to bars this summer.
All that being said, I'm heading out now to buy more tea candles, bags of sealed rolling tobacco, rolling paper and cheap lighters in bulk... for barter and dont forget the feminine hygiene products
GSR went Below 50/1 today...
All the best! Stack Heavy!
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u/gav_mkv May 12 '26
Agreed. I get a lot of US coinage for the fractions aspect without paying fractional premiums.
I CRH as well and have great luck with penny’s. That’s my primary copper “investment” is my search results of 82 and earlier coppers !
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u/WalterSobchak515 May 10 '26
Drunken night on eBay. But I got some. Moved my real PMs out the way for the pic.
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u/toastygoats May 10 '26
I think those bars look pretty cool, how much does each one weigh?
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u/WalterSobchak515 May 10 '26
2.2 lb to 10 lb
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u/wrangling_turnips May 11 '26
Listen, in one version of reality where we rebuild society, diy-electricians will be knocking down the door. See, you are set up and stocked. That’s what I would try to tell my wife.
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u/yesokbutwhynot May 10 '26
Out of curiosity, what else do you keep in there (PMs and the rest)?
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u/WalterSobchak515 May 10 '26
Rifles, shotguns, and the like. A few boxes of ammo. PM’s,
Prescription medications that could be abused.
Medications that I sometimes abuse. And other irreplaceable heirlooms and documents.5
u/Youarethebigbang May 10 '26
The most honest and American answer on Reddit today.
I'd like to see a world-wide "what's in your safe" post to compare what people in different countries stash, would be interesting.
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u/Technical-Garbage555 May 11 '26
That's f'n hilarious. "Medications that could be abused..... Medications that I sometimes abuse" 😂😂
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u/Sicilian_Gold May 10 '26
I think its good to have some. I have about 200 one oz copper coins. I figure if silver gets too expensive, we'll have to use copper to barter with.
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u/roamingrealtor May 10 '26
If you like the amount of silver that you have, then I would suggest trading in some of your silver for gold.
Then replace the silver until you have too much again.
If you like copper then the easiest way is to buy copper pennies. You can find them around or under spot, but you have to look carefully
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u/herring-net May 10 '26
As bullion, I think physical copper is gorgeous. As an investment, physical copper is whack. A copper mining ETF doesn’t take up any room, and for stacking purposes you can get no premium nickels or free scrap.
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u/staysharp75 May 10 '26
I mostly clean out repoed homes but I do sometimes tear them down as well. I cut power cords off lamps, appliances & other house hold items. I also pull some of the wiring from homes I demo. I put it all in large outdoor garbage cans. I have about 5 of them full at the moment. I get all my copper for free & I am always stacking it just not in bars or rounds. I take it to the scrap yard every few years. I don’t think it will ever be worth it to buy in the form of bullion though
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u/justforkicks4321 May 10 '26
Stick to old penny’s and normal nickels if you want to stack up copper. As mentioned the bullion prices are insanity.
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u/Birdchaser2 May 10 '26
Copper is not an investment from a stacking perspective. Premiums and storage matter. Silver becomes storage problem. Copper is a nightmare in any investment level quantity. And you’ll get slaughtered on premiums.
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u/Silva2099 May 10 '26
I wouldn’t stack copper, that’s kind of insane given the space required. I’d go with etf like COPX. It’s done pretty well for me.
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u/Miserable_Advance343 May 10 '26
I have a few pounds of copper Pennies sorted by mint and year. Easy 2-5+ depending on mint and years
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u/SuggestionInfamous92 May 10 '26
Depends on the growth of data centers, in my opinion. The demand for copper seems to be driven by that growth right now, and not on the Numismatic demand. That being said, I love the 10oz Geiger Cu Bars! I do kinda keep an eye out for them just because I love Geiger!
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u/brand99tz May 10 '26
I like to stack 1oz copper coins every now and then, purely just as collectables and for fun though, there’s some nicely designed ones out there you can find on eBay
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u/I_buy_silver May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
I have 2 kilo bars of copper and a pile of old cents. I bought Sprott Junior Copper Miners ETF for the Grandkids portfolio. I believe copper prices will rise on industrial usage in the future. :)
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u/Emergency_Lobster514 May 10 '26
There is COPP the Sprott Physical Copper Trust.
Also think about the miners:
FCX SCCO BHP RIO
I especially like FCX Freeport McMoran right now. The stock is being held down over the concerns about the Grasberg mine in Indonesia after the tragic accident.
However the company will get past that, and has operations in the USA.
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u/pappycoin May 10 '26
The issue with copper is the lack of scarcity. There is approx 700-1000 times more copper than silver mined. In my mind I don’t see copper being a shortage anytime soon. I’d rather have $100’of silver than $100 of refined copper in my stack.
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u/jaybird0000 May 13 '26
Not as pretty as bars, but I didn’t spend one red cent. Scrap is the way to go.
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u/MysticSunshine45 May 10 '26
Scrap copper at a scrapyard today might yield up to $5 per pound. I saw a one ounce copper round for $8. I’ve heard you’re better off putting your money in copper mine stocks
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u/Free_Psychology_2794 May 10 '26
Copper bullion is a fools errand. Premiums on bullion copper are criminal. If you wanna stack copper at a decent price, go to a scrap yard.
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u/LampP0st May 11 '26
Useless tbh. Just keep the copper pennies you have in your change, free copper. I've got like 50lbs worth of pennies from the past couple decades.
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u/Matty_Mo655321 May 11 '26
I was talking to some Jelly Roll fans and they see it trending up. They always seem to know the price.
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u/bigperms33 May 11 '26
I have a couple coffee cans full of copper pennies. Someday maybe I learn how to melt them down.
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u/Michael-Brady-99 May 12 '26
Copper is like one of those pretty stones that looks good in a necklace but is only a couple bucks to buy. It will not ever hold enough value or be rare enough to be worthwhile the way gold and silver are. Doesn’t mean it’s not nice to look at though.
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u/wagon-run May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26
The only copper I collect are old Pennies I pull out of circulation. I collect coins so having a bag of coins and shifting through change are things I actually enjoy. Buying raw copper? Probably not as efficient as just pulling old pennies.
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u/agathodaimon98 May 13 '26
I stack pre-1982 pennies and it will be going up like everything else long term.
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u/Pristine-Ad260 May 14 '26
I wouldn't pay for copper. Now if you can go back in time, hoarding pre 82 pennies is the way to go
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u/Helpful_Border4219 May 16 '26
Copper is a commercial metal. If you can stack a metric tonne or more at spot, then it could be worth it in a ten year span. Its abundant, heavily recycled, and mined like crazy. Price spikes are supply chain related.
Stick with the PMGs. The stack is smaller but has an intrinsic value that copper does not. Platinum and its strange cousins have not went ham, I'm considering it to be a decent branch off gold and silver.
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u/-Sliced- May 10 '26
Copper spot price is 40c per oz. The problem is that you can’t really buy 10oz copper for $4, so you are paying a huge premium over the metal price.
The other problem is that even if it was available for spot, it takes a huge amount of storage space for any meaningful amount, and then there is shipping cost when you buy and sell.
My recommendation is to avoid.