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Is there an effective way to seperate the melted zinc and copper? From what I've heard, the copper's mostly used for coloring nowadays.

Let me spout some shit because I'm a borderline expert on this subject.

Pre 82 pennies are 95% copper/5% zinc. When smelted into ingots most of the zinc will evaporate in the melting process. You can still bring your ingots to a scrap yard, tell them it's guaranteed 95% copper (they'll know what you're talking about) and you're good to go. I'm in a small town though and I can't say that anywhere else has different policies. I do know a lot of people online (like I know you fuckers) who basically do this for a living. They go to the bank and just buy boxes and boxes of pennies. Sort, melt, sell, return the post 82s and buy more boxes. Rinse and repeat.

New pennies (post 82) are mostly zinc and you can melt them with a blowtorch. Useless and deadly. Zinc fumes are horrible, so don't show your kids you can melt a new penny in the garage because when you're not home they'll show all their friends the trick and possibly end up in the hospital with zinc poisoning.

I refine gold as a hobby and the byproduct is Chlorine Gas. Zinc fumes aren't much better.

I digress, right now $1.60 worth of pennies is roughly $3 worth of copper when all is said and done.

And that whole legality bullshit.... Um, there's a lot of things that are illegal and I'm sure 90% of you do them without getting caught right?
The secret service is not worried about a dude in MI who's melting a few thousand pennies for fun and profit.

There was a report I read from the secretary of the mint that basically said "They're you're pennies, and they are just pennies, do what you want with them"

Take that as you will, but I'm really not worried about running a smelter in my buddies basement swimming in fucking pennies.


EDIT:::

Shit, I went off on a tangent there and I never really answered the first quote. I did answer it, in that most of the zinc will evaporate, but you can't melt the "good" pennies without a kiln, smelter, or blast furnace. I have a electric kiln but the cost of electricity to run the fucking thing negates any profit you'd made. My smelter is going to be wood fired with ye ol' timey bellows.

Know that I think about it.. Cooperfeel, you should look into this. Cheap copper for you and I'm sure you probably have the means to melt it.