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There was recently a thread here about silver and gold for SHTF currency. Have any of you thought about copper as an (admittedly small) investment or possible currency in a bad situation?
I realize that copper is worth far less than the biggies like silver and gold, and that you'd really need a huge quantity for a normal sort of investment to make money. But, copper is actually stamped in coins and poured in bars that could be used for barter. Those 1 oz "rounds" could serve to buy things when an ounce of silver would be way too much in trade, not to even mention an ounce of gold. Those copper coins could be used for "penny candy" sorts of purchases in a SHTF situation (assuming the dollar goes kurplunk).
Also, technically, copper is more useful, in general, for many industrial and common home purposes. That could also be an aspect of its value in bad times.
I actually bought a few 1 oz copper coins, not because I thought I'd ever make anything on them, but just because I thought they were kind of cool... hey, I liked the depiction of lady liberty on the front (she's hot nuthin like a liberty-lovin' woman! ). They're very cheap, of course, but I could see these being used as sort of "pennies" in certain situations. Of course, nobody is going to carry around 1000 pounds of copper, but like I said... pocket change? Maybe 25 (or 30 or 40...) of these copper coins would get you an ounce silver coin in that Mad Max setting?
Copper is in everything; it is prevalent. It is why some thieves break into unoccupied houses and businesses - and strip out the copper pipes and wiring, even the A/C units, to get the copper. Where we used to live, we were always aware of fires smelling of insulation or plastic burning - the thieves would build open fires to burn off the insulation and other flammable things, leaving the pure copper, since the recycling plants would report any insulated copper turned in. The cops by "following a nose" made several arrests, catching the thieves in the process. While copper has a high recycle-value, I don't think that its intrinsic value as currency would be that high.
There was recently a thread here about silver and gold for SHTF currency. Have any of you thought about copper as an (admittedly small) investment or possible currency in a bad situation?
I realize that copper is worth far less than the biggies like silver and gold, and that you'd really need a huge quantity for a normal sort of investment to make money. But, copper is actually stamped in coins and poured in bars that could be used for barter. Those 1 oz "rounds" could serve to buy things when an ounce of silver would be way too much in trade, not to even mention an ounce of gold. Those copper coins could be used for "penny candy" sorts of purchases in a SHTF situation (assuming the dollar goes kurplunk).
Also, technically, copper is more useful, in general, for many industrial and common home purposes. That could also be an aspect of its value in bad times.
I actually bought a few 1 oz copper coins, not because I thought I'd ever make anything on them, but just because I thought they were kind of cool... hey, I liked the depiction of lady liberty on the front (she's hot nuthin like a liberty-lovin' woman! ). They're very cheap, of course, but I could see these being used as sort of "pennies" in certain situations. Of course, nobody is going to carry around 1000 pounds of copper, but like I said... pocket change? Maybe 25 (or 30 or 40...) of these copper coins would get you an ounce silver coin in that Mad Max setting?
Opinions?
All commodities, buy silver while its still at a decent price. Squirl them away.
Copper is in everything; it is prevalent. It is why some thieves break into unoccupied houses and businesses - and strip out the copper pipes and wiring, even the A/C units, to get the copper. Where we used to live, we were always aware of fires smelling of insulation or plastic burning - the thieves would build open fires to burn off the insulation and other flammable things, leaving the pure copper, since the recycling plants would report any insulated copper turned in. The cops by "following a nose" made several arrests, catching the thieves in the process. While copper has a high recycle-value, I don't think that its intrinsic value as currency would be that high.
Yes, a (sort of shady) neighbor was actually stripping a good quantity of copper wire the other day. Nope, didn't ask. I didn't even want to know...
I think the fact that we and other countries have copper pennies and other copper-alloy coins, and have for several hundred years, should answer the question about the usefulness of copper as currency. While common in many building materials etc. today, I doubt it would take long for this metal to be thoroughly scavenged for use or trade... especially given that it is already happening.
In addition, copper is an easily workeddurable metal and forms several useful alloys (like brass for ammo casing!). The Bronze Age wasn't a major technological era for nothing. So, if you wanted a metal that had some currency value (albeit low), but could also be a resource for a multitude of DIY applications post-SHTF since it doesn't require hot forging and has a low casting temperature, copper/alloy coins and ingots wouldn't be a bad investment.
I'm sure you could probably barter with Romex, but that wouldn't be efficient unless the person you're trading with needs a useful amount and what you're bartering for is worth that amount. Plain copper wire could be melted down and cast into coins or ingots; or made into links on a chain that could be removed for payment.
The problem with "common" items, scrap, and generic coins/ingots of ANY metal is that there is no way to determine it's exact currency value... you don't know how much it weighs and you don't know how pure it is.
Here's a little trivia for you... do you know why the edges of coins have ridges or raised rims? So that a recipient can easily tell that the metal on the edges of a coin had been shaved or clipped and the coin was debased.
Yes, copper has as long a use as "money" as silver and gold have. The easiest way to save copper, already in coin form, is to check through your change for pre-1982 pennies. Some of the '82s were copper as well, but it's not easy to tell which is which, so I just stash 'em up through 1981. It is not true that only the old "wheat backs" had all the copper; the design change had no effect on the composition (except, of course, for the steel pennies of WWII).
Nickels are also fair game for stashing. They are about 75% copper, and 25% nickel -- both valuable metals. On the survivalblog website, Jim Rawles encourages readers to stash nickels. We tend to look down on pennies and nickels, as inflation has made their face value worth very little. But their intrinsic value as metal has kept up with inflation! So much so, that the US Mint will be changing their composition within the next year or so. Steel pennies again, anyone? Aluminum? How about plastic bingo chips? Oh, yeah -- I save pennies and nickels! You should, too, before they change them.
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nuthin like a liberty-lovin' woman! 
). They're very cheap, of course, but I could see these being used as sort of "pennies" in certain situations. Of course, nobody is going to carry around 1000 pounds of copper, but like I said... pocket change? Maybe 25 (or 30 or 40...) of these copper coins would get you an ounce silver coin in that Mad Max setting? 
