It’s hard to get your foot in the door of the precious metals marketplace today if you’re peddling a product not made of gold or silver. Coins such as the American Gold Eagle, American Silver Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, and the various bullion coins of the Perth Mint in Australia command a lot of attention from serious investors and collectors. To be sure, there is good reason for this. Those products have government-backed metal purity and quantity, and countless years of production history supporting them.
If you pay close attention though, you’ll notice that copper bullion products are also on the rise, both in terms of demand and product variety. When it comes to investing in general, precious metals such as gold and silver are considered commodities, just like soybeans and sugar.
What sets gold and silver apart, in particular, is the demand from investors due to high-value bullion coin programs. In reality, copper deserves the same attention that gold, silver, and platinum (to a lesser degree) currently enjoy. Just a few minutes of browsing on JM Bullion and you’ll find a variety of potential copper investment products.
Why So Popular?
Simply put, copper bullion rounds and bars are available at more affordable prices than gold and silver bullion products. While the prices of gold and silver have increased at similar rates to copper in the 21st century, the demand for silver and gold bullion coins results in much higher premiums over the spot price of those metals.
Copper rounds and bars are available from private mints at lower premiums over the spot price, which makes it easier for more investors and collectors to get involved in copper.
Copper Rounds
JM Bullion carries copper rounds from numerous private mints across the United States. There are two popular approaches to copper round design at this point in time: historic coinage and historic paper money. Let’s start with historic US coin designs, because most of you are probably already familiar with these:
- Buffalo Nickel Copper Round: Features the image of James Earle Fraser’s iconic Buffalo Nickel design, which was in circulation in the United States from 1913 to 1939.
- Walking Liberty Copper Round: Bears the Walking Liberty design from Adolph A. Weinman that was used on the nation’s 50-cent piece from 1916 to 1947.
- Morgan Silver Dollar Copper Round: George T. Morgan’s first-ever design for the United States Mint became his most enduring. His depiction of Lady Liberty graced the nation’s $1 silver coin from 1878 to 1904, and again briefly in 1921.
- Mercury Dime Copper Round: Another design from Adolph A. Weinman, the Mercury Dime was so-named because the winged cap he created for Liberty’s left-profile portrait was reminiscent of the Roman god Mercury. This design was originally in circulation on the nation’s 10-cent piece from 1916 to 1945, and was replaced in short order by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s bust following his death in office. He was chosen for the new dime because of his successful March of Dimes program during the Great Depression.
The list of available copper round designs goes on and on, and features other popular designs such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ iconic Lady Liberty from the $20 Gold Double Eagle, the unique Incuse Indian design, and even the Canadian Maple Leaf design from the Royal Canadian Mint.
Beyond historic American coin design, there are also new copper rounds feature designs formerly used on American banknotes from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Available designs include the following:
- $1 Banknote: Design based upon the Black Eagle $1 Silver Certificate created by the United States Mint in 1899.
- $10 Banknote: Featuring the image of North America’s iconic buffalo, the $10 Banknote was first printed in 1901 and last printed in the 1920s by the US Mint.
- $100 Banknote: The $100 bill made its debut in American circulation currency in 1929 and featured the familiar face of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. His image continues to grace the nation’s $100 bill.
Copper Bullion Bars
As you search through our copper bullion bar listing you’ll notice a variety of designs also available on copper bullion bars. In addition to copper ingot bars with the historic coin designs mentioned above, there are copper bullion bars with historic US banknote designs as well, including imagery such as the $2 banknote, $5 banknote, and $500 banknote that do not feature on copper rounds.
There are also copper bullion bars with simple designs reflecting copper’s square in the periodic table of elements. Bars range in size from 1 oz to 5 and 10 lbs. All of the copper rounds and bars on JM Bullion are available in .999 pure copper.
US Coins
The next time you discount the US 1-cent piece, take a moment to rethink that position. US pennies struck prior to 1982 feature 90% copper, which is not the standard for production of these coins anymore. As such, investing in money-bag listings containing pre-1982 pennies is an affordable option for investing in copper.
Keep in Mind
Copper bullion products are not weighed in the same measurements as gold and silver. You’ll notice that all JM Bullion copper bullion products feature AVDP ounces. Known as Avoirdupois ounces, it was adapted from a French phrase that translated as “goods of weight.” In order to keep sizes and weights clear, remember the following:
- Troy ounces are LARGER than AVDP ounces: 1 Troy oz. equates to 31.10 grams, while 1 AVDP oz. equates to 28.35 oz.
- Pounds used to measure gold and silver are smaller than AVDP pounds. 12 Troy oz equals 1 Troy pound, and gold or silver of that weight equals 373.24 grams. Meanwhile 16 AVDP oz equals 1 AVDP pound and equates to 453.6 grams.
Investing in Copper? Watch the Dollar
As a commodity, copper’s value and overall worth is a mirror opposite of the US dollar. When the dollar is strong, copper prices will sink. When the dollar is weak, copper prices will rise. However, recent years have seen copper remain in high demand because it is not used exclusively for precious metal production.
Copper was long-used in the production of circulation coinage in the US because of its corrosion resistance strength. Its conductivity and corrosion resistance continue to drive demand in numerous industrial sectors, specifically housing (think of copper wires and piping), which helps hold the value of copper higher because supplies are limited.
If you have any questions about bullion copper bars and rounds available, don’t hesitate to search our online catalog or contact JM Bullion at 800-276-6508, chat with us live online, or send us an email.
