US Pennies, Keep the copper cash in the zinc,

Do you want something to do during the next snowstorm when you’re shut in?

Grab that old coffee can of pennies and sort through them. Now that the U.S. has stopped making pennies, this is the perfect time to clean them out.

Anything after 1982 is basically worthless right now — cash those in now and get your space back. They’re just cheap zinc with no metal value.

But 1982 and older pennies are real copper, and that’s where the smart money is. You can’t melt them yet, but once melting becomes legal — and it will now that the penny is gone — the value of those copper pennies will jump quickly.

While you’re at it, look for common key dates you actually have a shot at finding in pocket change or old jars. Here are the Top 10 realistic “findable” keepers:

1930s Wheat cents (any date — the older the better)

1944–1958 Wheat cents (especially 1949-S, 1955-P, 1958-P)

1955 (not the doubled die — just any 1955 wheat)

1958 Wheat cent (last year — always worth saving)

1960 Small Date

1968-S (better mintmark)

1969-S (non-error still worth keeping; check for doubling)

1970-S (small or large date — both worth saving)

1974-S

1982 Copper (large and small date)

These aren’t the ultra-rare “one in a million” ones — these are the coins regular people actually find all the time.

So here’s the snow-day plan:

Keep the copper. Cash in the zinc. And pull the good dates — there’s more value in those jars than most people realize.