In 1982, due to the rising cost of copper, the composition of the penny was changed from 95% copper and 5% zinc, to a less expensive 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper mix. Since then, but especially in recent years, copper penny hoarders have been culling the higher value copper versions out of circulation, and saving them as a form of copper bullion.

If you have been stashing away your copper pennies, you’d probably like to be able to quickly see what the copper value of your entire hoard is worth, on a daily basis. You could do this with the calculator I released in December, but only by entering the total number of pennies. Today I am releasing a new calculator dedicated exclusively to the 95% U.S. copper penny, which features additional methods for entering large numbers of pennies.

U.S. Copper Penny Melt Value Calculator

If you like to toss all your copper pennies into a large bucket, now you can calculate their value by weight. Just weigh your bucket of pennies, subtract the weight of the bucket, and enter the total weight. You can calculate based on total ounces, pounds, grams or kilograms.

Maybe you store your copper pennies in canvas bags. Now you can enter your amounts by the face value contained in each bag. There is also an option to enter your pennies by the roll, or even by individual coin if you have a few singles.

I hope you find this new calculator more helpful in discovering the melt value of your entire copper penny hoard. Give it a try here: U.S. Copper Penny Melt Value Calculator

Another idea floating about is to switch the composition of these coins to a cheaper metal.  This has been done before with the penny when the cost of copper rose too high.  In 1982 the composition of the penny was changed from 95% copper and 5% zinc, to the less expensive 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper version used today.

The older pre-1982 95% copper pennies can still be found in circulation today, but they are disappearing fast.  Folks wise to the value of the copper in the pre-1982 pennies are separating them from the newer pennies, and hoarding them as a form of copper bullion.  There is currently more than two cents worth of copper in each pre-1982 cent, and it has recently been as high as three cents worth of copper each.

Another popular coin to hoard is the five cent U.S. nickel.  Comprised of 75% copper and 25% nickel, this coin’s metal value is just over five cents each, and has recently been as high as seven cents apiece.  Nickels are easier to hoard because you don’t have to separate them by date.  All U.S. nickels, except for the 35% silver versions issued during WW2, have the same composition.

It is currently illegal to melt pennies and nickels for their metal, but that might change in the future if those coins are discontinued, or switched to a cheaper metal.

If you have a stash of copper pennies or nickels, or if you are thinking about getting into this latest investment trend, then you would probably like to know what the value of your investment is at any given time.  That is why I have created my latest app on the CoinApps.com website.  My new U.S. Circulating Coins Melt Value Calculator will show you what the metal in your coins is worth.

In addition to pennies and nickels, you can also calculate the base metal value of all the other non-silver coins issued by the U.S. since 1965.  While the metal value of these other coins is currently just a fraction of their face value, that could change quickly if inflation really gets out of hand in the future.

Check out this new calculator at: U.S. Circulating Coins Melt Value Calculator

Although copper is not considered a precious metal, it has far more intrinsic value than a printed piece of paper. Many people are starting to recognize copper as being a potential hedge against ongoing currency devaluation. This is evident by all the new copper bullion products that have been popping-up on eBay and other online marketplaces.

Copper is a handsome color and many of these new bullion products look really sharp. Some of the newer copper rounds have borrowed a design similar to coins that were minted in the past. It’s easy to see why investing in copper bullion is starting to become popular.

So, I felt that CoinApps.com should probably have a melt value calculator for copper bullion too. Check it out at: http://coinapps.com/melt-value-calculator/copper-bullion.aspx

Represented are the American Gold Eagle 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz, and 1/10oz coins; the American Gold Buffalo 1oz, 1/2oz, 1/4oz and 1/10oz coins; and the First Spouse 1/2oz gold coin. With this app, instead of making all the coin pictures the same size, I have scaled them proportionally. This will make it easier to identify the different size fractional coins from their full ounce versions; since they essentially have the same looking obverse.

So, if you mostly own or like to buy U.S. gold bullion coins, you may find this new calculator better suits your needs. Give it a try: U.S. Gold Bullion Coin Melt Value Calculator.

CoinApps.com offers four melt value calculators for determining the market value of gold, silver, platinum or palladium bullion items. Up until now, those calculators would only compute the values of pure bullion items. Today I have improved these calculators by including a Bullion Purity text box. Now you can enter the percentage of your item’s precious metal content by weight, and the calculator will adjust your totals accordingly. The Bullion Purity text box will default to 100%, so if you don’t change it, then the calculator will function just like it did before.

To try out these latest improvements, you can follow these links:

Gold Bullion Melt Value Calculator

Silver Bullion Melt Value Calculator

Platinum Bullion Melt Value Calculator

Palladium Bullion Melt Value Calculator

CoinApps.com was initially launched in April of 2009 when I thought it a good idea to share the U.S. Silver Coin Melt Value Calculator, which I had developed for myself to determine my max bids on eBay coin auctions.  For more than two years the site consisted of just that one calculator, but recently I’ve decided to expand CoinApps.com into a full-blown website.

As of this writing, there are now six melt value calculators available for determining the intrinsic value of gold, silver, platinum and palladium coins and bullion.  I plan to grow the site with many more applications to come.  CoinApps.com will become a large functional resource serving the coin and bullion investing community.  So, bookmark this page, or subscribe to its RSS Feed.  You could also follow me on Twitter @CoinApps, or check out our Facebook Page.