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Because of rising copper prices, people are hoarding pre-1982 pennies. They can’t legally melt them down for their copper, yet, but are saving them now in case they are later allowed to melt the pennies.

Inside a shed next to his house, Henry has orange tubs filled with 200,000 pennies, and he spends hours sorting through roll after roll of the coins. But it’s not just any and all pennies, Henry is only interested in those that are dated from 1982 and earlier because those are the coins made with 95 percent copper. A copper penny is worth more than other pennies — now mostly made of zinc — currently priced at $0.024…

But penny hoarders aren’t thieves, just opportunists. There are a slew of listing for pennies in bulk on eBay, but what’s amazing is they include listings for $10 in pennies being sold for $20 dollars. If you think only a sucker would pay two cents for a penny, you’re missing out on a business opportunity that Adam Youngs, who runs a massive penny sorting operation in Portland, Ore., has perfected.

He explained how he can sell a $100 worth of pennies for $176, when shipping and packaging are included.

Youngs’ operation, the Portland Mint, is locked inside a secure facility that deals with armored cars — selling and shipping to clients in every state — and works in pennies by the ton. He said he has clients with deep pockets who are storing huge sacks of pennies and he has inquires from hedge funds.