According to an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, your thoughts may be worth more than a penny! About a year ago, the topic of copper came up in the blog world when it was discovered that the price of copper escalated. I know of several who made a lot of extra spending capital by selling used copper. It appears that the shortage will continue.
There is a potential shortage of coins in the United States and with the price of copper still being high, those pennies are now worth a nickel. Since 1982 the mints have produced 910 pennies for every American. It is unknown how many were made for the illegal residents of our country. Currently there are 8.23 billion copper pennies in circulation which calculates out to 51,948,051 pounds of pennies. Copper prices were a high of $4.16 per pound last May so these pennies are worth $216,103,892.16 based on their metal content or $80,000,000 in face value. If you are like me and when you get over three zeroes in a number you get confused, the simple solution is to break it down into terms that us common folk can understand. Take the price of copper last May at $4.16 pound and there is a total of 154 pennies to the pound. So your option is that you can take your 154 pennies and cash them in for $1.54 or sell them to salvage for $4.16, a difference of $2.62 net profit. It is expected that by mid summer the price of copper and nickel will escalate once again so you may want to break into those "penny jars" and start weighing them.
After seeing this picture, I may reconsider my initial retirement plan of finding a "nice little desert lot" in Arizona for a winter retirement hangout. A little snow on the cactus does not bother me that much, but I am not sure that my snow plow will hold up on the trip from Alaska to Arizona, I would probably even have to buy a license for it to get through Canada. 
Since the release of the discovery of "Kwispelbier", a "beer for your best friend" on this site a couple of days ago, it has become recognized throughout the country. The Tuesday issue of the LA Tribune even carried a story about this particular beer. I realize, that it is most likely very expensive, however, since the beer is of Dutch origin it is only right that my "Dutch" should be treated to at least a case for his birthday. It would most likely hurt his feelings if I were to show him these pictures of this Mesican Dog, which probably is not even a citizen let alone an "Alaskan" enjoying a "Dutch" beer. If I were his joint heirs, I think I would be a little nicer to him considering that he is at the top of the inheritance list. Sixty three (63) shopping days left and "Dutch" will be five. Two years of age is the legal drinking age for dogs.
-22°F in Deadhorse, AK
8 years ago
