[Tangent] As A Lapsed Metals Miner, This One Sparks My Imagination... Over One Million Pennies For Sale, As A Collection -- Original Copper Ones.

So -- to be clear, the idea is not so much that there might actually be a 1943 Copper Wheat Penny, or even more improbably -- a 1944 Steel Wheat Penny in good condition, in one of these boxes or bags -- though that is not. . . strictly speaking, impossibile.

[Just one of either of those might fetch $500,000, by itself. And since they've all been laying untouched -- in a dark crawlspace -- for a half century, minimum -- the find could well be. . . in pretty pristine shape.]

No, the idea -- as these brothers from Germany understood it -- was that the pure copper itself (as was the case in pre-1980-era pennies) would gradually become more valuable over time. And (even accounting for minerals and commodities markets cycles) that is true today. But melting all these old pennies down. . . will likely only yield about $25,000 at today's spot prices. Here's the item:

. . .Fritz and his brother were German immigrants who Reyes described as “war babies,” who understood the importance of metals and materials.

When the nation switched from copper to zinc to press its pennies, Fritz saw an opportunity to help build generational wealth for his family.

Fritz, a well-known butcher who worked in Hollywood for years, would take his paychecks to the bank and purchase copper pennies, knowing their value would only go up in time.

He was “always worrying and best trying to position himself,” Reyes recalled.

Years after his death, Fritz and his brother are still looking out for his family, and Reyes intends to make sure their hard work pays off — even if it’s a headache in the meantime. . . .

Now that's a. . . fundamentally charming story! Be excellent to one another. . . smile. [That's some fine MJ Thriller video, on a Friday night of silliness!]



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