Scrap copper grades
Bare bright, #1, #2 or insulated: the grade decides what your yard pays. Here's how grading works, how to sort, and a calculator for your yard's price per grade.
Scrap copper grades
Yards price copper by grade, not by "copper". The cleaner and thicker the copper, the closer your price gets to the market price. Trade codes are the names in the industry's scrap specifications (ReMA, formerly ISRI); your yard may use its own names.
| Grade | What it is | Tip | Trade code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bare bright | Clean, shiny, bare copper wire, about 16 gauge or thicker. No insulation, solder, paint, tin plating or heavy tarnish. | Usually the best-paid copper grade. Strip thick wire cleanly to get here. | Barley |
| #1 copper | Clean, unalloyed copper wire, pipe, bus bar and clippings with no solder, paint or fittings. Light tarnish is fine. | Cut off soldered ends and brass fittings to move pipe up into #1. | Berry / Candy |
| #2 copper | Unalloyed copper with solder, paint, coatings, heavy oxidation, or thin wire. | Most plumbing pipe lands here unless the joints are cut off. | Birch / Cliff |
| Light copper | Thin sheet copper: flashing, gutters, downspouts, kettles. | Keep it apart from pipe and wire; mixed loads get paid at the lowest grade. | Dream |
| Insulated copper wire | Wire with its plastic or rubber jacket still on. | Priced by how much copper is inside. Thick single wires beat thin cords. See the wire calculator. | by copper recovery |
| Copper-bearing items | Electric motors, transformers, compressors, copper-aluminum radiators. | Mixed metals; yards price these separately, well below clean copper. | own grades |
Price your copper by grade
Weight × what your yard pays, worked out to the cent.
An estimate, not a quote. Your yard's scale, grading and deductions decide the real payout.
Getting a better price for scrap copper
- Sort before you go. Bring each grade in its own bucket. A mixed bucket is paid at its worst grade.
- Cut off fittings and soldered ends. Brass valves, steel straps and solder joints pull a load down a grade.
- Ask for the price of each grade. Write it down, with the date. Prices move with the market.
- Bring ID. Many states require photo ID, and some record your vehicle, to sell copper.
- Watch the market. If you can wait, an alert on the copper price tells you when it's worth the trip.
Your yard's real prices, on your iPhone
Keep each grade's price for your yard in Scrap Metal Intel, log every sale, and see what your pile is worth before you load the truck.
Get Scrap Metal Intel on the App Store
Free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Pro is optional, sold in the app.
Not on an iPhone?
Scrap Metal Intel is an app for iPhone and iPad. A web version is being considered; there's nothing to sign up for yet. The calculators on this site work on any phone or computer.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between #1 and #2 copper?
#1 copper is clean: no solder, paint, coatings or fittings, and wire at least about 16 gauge. #2 copper is still unalloyed copper but has solder, paint, coatings, heavy oxidation, or thinner wire. Cutting off soldered joints often turns #2 pipe into #1.
What counts as bare bright copper?
Bare, uncoated, unalloyed copper wire that is bright and clean, about 16 gauge or thicker, with no insulation, solder, paint, tin plating or heavy tarnish. Yards are strict about it: one tinned or painted strand can drop a load to #1.
Should I strip insulated copper wire before selling it?
Sometimes. It pays on thick wire with a high copper share, and rarely on thin cords. The copper wire calculator works it out with your yard's prices and your time. Never burn insulation off: it is illegal in many places, toxic, and yards downgrade burnt wire.
How much is scrap copper worth?
It depends on the grade, your yard and the day. Yards set a price per pound for each grade and move it with the copper market, so the number that counts is your yard's price today. Call or check the board, then use the calculator above. Clean, sorted copper earns the better grades.