Only pennies before 1982 are worth scrapping as they are made of copper.

The newer pennies are not really worth the effort as they are mostly zinc.

Ironically if they are no longer illegal to melt down (IANAL but I would think this is true?) they actually would be more worth it to scrap because of the negated risk.

No law in relation to pennies has changed. The executive branch has simply took the law stating the mint should create as many pennies as necessary, and decided that the necessary amount is 0.

The practicalities of their illegality then comes down to enforcement. Given the current executive branch's behavior related to enforcement of laws, that can mean anything from "melt them all down", to "don't do it", to "if our friends start doing it, it'll be legal, if our enemies start doing it, we'll enforce".

> The newer pennies are not really worth the effort as they are mostly zinc.

They're still worth $1 per lb., and you have to destroy them, anyway.

It's their mix with copper I beleive that makes them less valuable than their raw value in zinc if thats what your number is based on...

because the cost of seperation from the copper is greater than simply sourcing other materials.

I read this as a joke ($1/lb because 100 pennies weighs about a pound - although online sources make it sound like it's closer to 200 pennies for a pound)

Someone producing brass (copper-zinc alloy) could presumably use them, as they only need to add extra copper.

We can turn them into suntan lotion!

hahah ok actually I love that.

I think however the problem would be the trouble in seperating the zinc from the copper, I think you would likely operate at a loss still but this is just a guess.

It's called Coppertone for a reason