If you’re considering scrapping metal, it’s a good idea to look into collecting and selling bronze. Bronze is relatively common but it has a variety of uses, so it’s always in demand, making it a good option for resale.
How much is a pound of bronze worth?
How much bronze is worth fluctuates frequently, and its selling price can depend on things such as demand, where you’re selling the metal, and what quality the metal is. However, currently, bronze sells for about $2.50 per pound.
If you’re selling or scrapping bronze, it’s important to remember that, in most cases, the person or company you’re selling to will clean and melt down the metal before selling much larger quantities to businesses that can reuse the bronze.
For this reason, most scrapyards or other metal buyers will usually offer a price slightly below retail value so they can then make a profit when they sell the metal to whoever will use it.
You can still ensure that you’re getting the best price, though, by keeping up to date on the current selling price of bronze and thoroughly researching scrapyards before you choose one.
Always pick a reputable scrapyard or metal sales place. You can often get price quotes from several places before choosing the one offering the most money.
Some companies offer flexible rates, and you might be able to haggle for a better price, while others are firm on their rates.
What is bronze?
Most people are familiar with the look of bronze, but not many know what it really is. Bronze is a metal alloy, meaning that it’s made up of several metals, which give it added strength.
Bronze is mostly copper mixed with a small amount of tin. Additional metals, such as nickel, zinc, manganese, or aluminum, and other elements such as silicon and even arsenic, are sometimes mixed into the composition.
Modern bronze is almost always about 88% copper and 12% tin.
Because of its unique mixture of metals, bronze is less brittle than iron, so it can be crafted or molded more easily.
Bronze also has a lower melting point than iron. It can oxidize, but it’s usually only the outer layer that oxidizes, so the oxidization actually works to protect the metal from any other corrosion.
Bronze is also excellent for conducting heat and electricity and is denser than steel.
The use of bronze dates as far back as 4650 BC, and the use of the metal gave its name to the Bronze Age, a period during which the use of bronze helped further metal technologies and aided many societies in making cultural advancements.
The period lasted from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, after which iron became the more popular metal.
What is bronze used for?
Bronze has many uses, as it can be both decorative and functional. Historically, bronze was used to craft jewelry, dishes, statues, and other decorations.
Because it was so strong and so resistant to corrosion, it was also often used for boat fittings. The metal was later used in cannonballs because it has low friction with other metals, so cannonballs made of bronze did not stick in the cannon.
Bronze was also once used for mirrors before glass became more common.
Today, bronze is still used for many of the same things it was originally used for thousands of years ago. It’s popular for casting decorations and sculptures.
Bronze expands slightly just before setting, so it can pick up even the finest details in a mold. It then shrinks as it cools, so it’s easy to remove from the mold but still retains all the details the artist wanted to include.
Bronze is also often used for ship propellers or any metal pieces that need to be submerged. It’s also commonly used for electrical connectors, springs, bearings, and clips.
Bronze does not spark when struck against other metals, so it’s used to make hammers, wrenches, or other tools. It’s also a good choice for carpentry, especially when it comes to finishing oak pieces.
If steel wool is used to polish oak pieces, the metal will discolor the wood, but bronze wool does not.
Bronze sells for about $2.50 per pound.
Bronze is also used to make guitar and piano strings because of its unique properties. Most bells are also made of bronze, as it produces a beautiful ring. Drum cymbals are also generally made of bronze.
Bronze used for musical instruments may not always have the same copper to tin ratio as commercial bronze.
If you’re considering buying or selling bronze, it’s always a good idea to think about the individual pieces to assess value.
Old tools, springs, piano strings, or bearings will be worth scrap price, but any sculptures or decorations may be worth much more than simply the value of the metal thanks to their artistic importance.
