You make approx. $7 or $8 dollars an hour at current copper prices just buying rolls and sorting them. If you have low household costs and time on your hands, and are willing to work long hours, not too bad a pastime. Some few banks try to charge you to buy rolls. Most don't. In my experience, small to medium sized towns have the best rolls. If you have kids to help you, all the better. Pre 1982 (actually 82 stamped both types). Fed Res related banks (eg US Bank) and WalMart get crap 2012 shiny junk zinc pennies. It is a measure of the decline that the Fed is even systematically vacuuming up copper pennies. Every last mini survival opportunity, they will put the screws to White goyim. Move quickly before the Fiscal Cliff. If gold and silver increase by multiples, copper had ought to follow, at least until industrial demand falls. Right now it is $3.62 per lb. Copper pennies are 2.39 times their face value. Just save the nickels. Wait. Somewhere in the survival blog piece he mentions that a roll of nickers contain 5.7+ oz of copper, so three rolls have over a lb. Plus, the 25% nickel.

http://www.pennysorter.com/
$500 machine that instantly separates real coppy pennies from zinc-based pennies.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VoAGfgYfY8"]Ryedale Copper Penny Sorter - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv9dLz2ITsg"]Ryedale Sniper Copper Silver Coin Sorter - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz4oAAemjJI"]Ryedale Sorter How it works - YouTube[/ame]

http://www.survivalblog.com/nickels.html

With nickels you won't have to spend time sorting out pre-1982 varieties...In October, 2011, it was reported that Texas hedge fund manager Kyle Bass had invested $1 million to buy 20 million nickels. It was not reported where and how he had them stored. That is a lot of weight!... It is still a 5 gram coin that is an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. (An aside: Some 1942 to 1945 five cent coins were made with 35% silver, because nickel was badly-needed for wartime industrial use. Those "War Nickels" have long since been culled from circulation, by collectors.)... But I predict that as inflation resumes--most likely beginning in 2013--the base metal value of nickels will rise substantially, regardless of the weakness in the industrial economy.

Ten years from now, when a $2 roll of nickel is worth $16, you'll be laughing about how you obtained $4,000 face value in nickels at just a small fraction over their face value.

By far, the best way to ensure a steady supply of bank wrapped rolls is to develop a relationship with a certain bank. Become friendly with the head teller or manager. Ask them to call you if someone deposits unusual items, like rolls of half dollars or large size dollars (such as Eisenhower Dollars.) In fact, make it a habit to always ask the teller to check the vault for rolls and partial rolls of these coin types, because the banks would love to clear out these oddments (they can't send them to the Fed until they acquire a certain amount) and these two coin types, among all types of currently circulating coins, are most likely to produce silver or valuable varieties!

Other Sources of Rolls of Coins

One of my juciest sources of circulated coins is the company that services the CoinStar machines in my area. People dump all kinds of old coins into those things! Another great source is convenience store clerks. Sometimes people bring in whole rolls of wheat cents or silver coins to buy cigarettes and liquor. Develop a rapport with likely sources of great coins in your neighborhood, and let them know you collect! Pass out a business card and ask them to call you when interesting rolls show up. I get great coins this way!

http://coins.about.com/od/coinbuyingadvice/qt/coins_from_bank.htm

Table based on December 07, 2012 closing base metal prices:
Copper $3.6240/lb 0.0127 Zinc $0.9087/lb 0.0008 Nickel $7.7661/lb 0.0112
http://www.coinflation.com/

U.S. COPPER PENNIES $300 FACE VALUE 204 POUNDS

204 pounds of 95% pure copper

3 boxes,
6 bags
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Price:
$2.38/lb
$485.52
http://coincollectingenterprises.com/products/buy-copper-pennies