It was a few months ago when copper prices rose to the point that the pre-1982 pennies that were made out of 100% copper had a copper content value of more than 1 cent. This week zinc prices reached $1.80 per pound mark (what pennies are made out of today) which means if you melt the zinc in a penny, it has a value of $0.0101867. Pre-1982 copper pennies have a value close to 2 cents. That means all the pennies in your piggy bank (with the exception of the steel pennies made during World War 2) have a metal value greater than their denomination.

Maybe instead of placing those pennies into the bank, you should consider melting them down…

Hat tip: CoinFlation