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Sell Scrap Copper in North Alabama

Copper pays more per pound than anything else we buy. Bring it to any of our three yards, watch it cross a public scale, and leave with cash. Prices move daily, so call before you load up.

Get today's copper price (256) 247-0708

Copper Grades We Buy

Listed roughly from highest paying to lowest. Where your copper lands depends almost entirely on how clean it is.

Top grade

Bare Bright Copper

Clean, uncoated, unalloyed wire thicker than 16 gauge. No insulation, no corrosion, no paint, no solder. It looks like a new penny. This is what freshly stripped heavy wire becomes, and it pays the most of anything in the yard.

Number One Copper

Clean tubing, pipe, bus bar, and heavy wire. Free of paint, solder, fittings, and insulation. Light surface oxidation is fine. Most clean copper plumbing pipe with the fittings cut off lands here.

Number Two Copper

Copper with paint, solder, heavy oxidation, or light fittings still attached. Also thinner wire and pieces with some brass. Still solid money, just a step below clean.

Insulated Copper Wire

Priced on recovery rate, meaning how much copper sits inside the jacket. Heavy service entrance cable and thick THHN pay well. Thin wire that is mostly plastic pays much less.

Copper Transformers & Motors

Electric motors, starters, alternators, and copper-wound transformers. We take them whole, no need to tear them down. Coax and CATv cable too.

Copper Aluminum Radiators

Auto and HVAC radiators with copper and aluminum together. Their own grade, since the two metals have to be separated downstream.

Clean bright copper pipe and stripped wire beside dirty copper with a brass fitting and solder joint, and a saw for cutting fittings off
The Difference Is Real Money

Clean Copper vs Dirty Copper

Clean copper is copper and nothing else. No solder, no paint, no brass fitting hanging off the end, no steel screw sunk in it.

Dirty copper has something attached. A sweated joint. A brass valve. Tar or paint. Heavy green corrosion. It is still worth good money, it just grades lower because somebody has to do the separating, and that somebody ends up being us.

Here is where people leave money on the table: cutting a brass fitting off a length of clean pipe takes about ten seconds with a saw, and it moves that pipe up a grade. Scraping paint off the same pipe takes twenty minutes and moves it up the same one grade. Spend your effort on fittings and solder joints, not paint.

If you are not sure what you have, bring it in and ask. We will sort it in front of you and show you what would have paid more.

Should You Strip Copper Wire?

The honest answer is: sometimes. It comes down to how much copper is inside the jacket and how much your time is worth.

Usually worth stripping

Heavy gauge wire with a thick copper core and a thin jacket. Service entrance cable. Thick THHN. Big single-conductor runs. Bare bright pays a good deal more than insulated, and on heavy wire the copper comes out fast.

Usually not worth it

Thin wire with a fat jacket. Romex with a lot of plastic and paper. Small telephone and network cable. You will spend an evening stripping and gain a few dollars. Bring it in as insulated wire and let the recovery rate do the work.

Not sure which bucket your wire falls into? Bring a sample piece by any of our yards and we will tell you straight whether the stripping pays. We would rather you make the right call than waste a Saturday.

What Moves the Copper Price

Copper is a global commodity. What we can pay you tracks what mills and overseas buyers are paying us, and that number moves constantly.

  • Global demand. Construction, electrical work, and manufacturing worldwide set the floor.
  • The grade you bring. Bare bright to number two can be a meaningful spread. Condition is the part you control.
  • Freight and fuel. Moving heavy metal costs money, and that cost comes off the top.
  • Volume. Larger, consistent loads are cheaper for us to handle and process.

Nobody honest posts a copper price list and leaves it up. What was right Monday can be wrong Thursday. Call and ask.

Copper Theft and Your ID

Copper gets stolen more than any other scrap metal, so Alabama tracks it closely and so do we.

  • A valid state or federal photo ID is required, every time, no exceptions. A driver license is best.
  • We record every transaction as Alabama law requires.
  • We do not buy stolen material, and we work with local law enforcement when something looks wrong.

If you are a contractor or electrician bringing copper off a job regularly, talk to us about setting up a commercial account. It makes the paperwork simpler on both ends.

Commercial scrap accounts →

Get Today's Copper Price

Tell us what you have and we will call you back with today's number. No obligation, and it takes about a minute.

We will call you back with today's price. No obligation, and we never share your information.

Copper Questions We Get a Lot

How much is copper per pound in Alabama right now?
Copper trades on the global market and the price moves daily, sometimes more than once a day. Any number posted on a website is stale by the time you read it. Call the Thornton yard closest to you and we will tell you exactly what we are paying today for the grade of copper you have.
What does dirty copper mean?
Dirty copper is copper with something else attached or mixed in: solder, paint, tar, fittings, brass valves, steel screws, or heavy corrosion. It still has real value, it just grades below clean copper because somebody has to separate it before it goes to the mill. A pipe with a brass fitting still on the end is dirty copper. Cut the fitting off and the pipe becomes clean.
Is it better to sell copper wire stripped or unstripped?
It depends on how much copper is inside the insulation. Heavy gauge wire like service entrance cable or thick THHN is usually worth stripping, because bare bright copper pays a good deal more than insulated wire. Thin wire with a lot of plastic and very little copper often is not worth the hours. Bring it in and we will tell you honestly whether stripping it pays for your time.
What is bare bright copper?
Bare bright is the top grade. Clean, uncoated, unalloyed copper wire, thicker than 16 gauge, with no insulation, no corrosion, no solder, and no paint. It looks like a new penny. Freshly stripped heavy wire is usually bare bright. It pays the most of anything we buy, pound for pound.
Do you buy insulated copper wire?
Yes. We buy insulated copper wire at all three yards, along with coax, CATv, and copper transformers. The price depends on the recovery rate, which is how much copper is actually inside relative to the insulation. Thick wire with a high recovery rate pays much better than thin wire that is mostly plastic.
What kind of copper do you buy?
Bare bright wire, number one copper, number two copper, insulated copper wire, copper tubing and pipe, copper transformers, electric motors, coax, CATv, and copper aluminum radiators. If you have something unusual, call and describe it and we will tell you whether we take it.
How can I tell copper from brass?
Copper is reddish or pinkish, the color of a penny. Brass is yellow or gold, and it is an alloy of copper and zinc. Scratch a hidden spot with a file: copper shows the same reddish color underneath, brass shows yellow. Neither one sticks to a magnet. Brass is worth good money too, just less than copper, so keep them in separate buckets.
Should I strip the paint off copper pipe?
Usually not worth it. A little paint knocks pipe from number one down to number two copper, but scraping paint off a whole load of pipe takes forever for a small gain. Cutting off brass fittings and solder joints, on the other hand, is quick and moves material up a grade. Focus your effort there.
Do I need an ID to sell copper?
Yes. Alabama law requires a valid state or federal photo ID for every scrap transaction, and copper in particular is closely tracked because of theft. A driver license works. We record every transaction as the law requires, and we do not accept stolen material of any kind.
Where can I sell copper near me in North Alabama?
We have three drive-through yards: Florence on Canal Street, Rogersville on County Road 76, and Town Creek on Water Street. All three buy copper at the same prices, weigh on public scales you can watch, and pay cash before you leave.

Bring Your Copper to Any of Our Three Yards

Same copper prices, same public scales, same cash payment at all three.

Rogersville Facility

750 County Road 76, Rogersville, AL 35652

(256) 247-0708
Mon - Fri8:00 - 4:00
Saturday8:00 - 12:00
SundayClosed
Get directions →

Town Creek Facility

135 Water Street, Town Creek, AL 35672

(256) 685-3727
Mon - Fri8:00 - 4:00
Saturday8:00 - 12:00
SundayClosed
Get directions →

Florence Facility

317 Canal Street, Florence, AL 35630

(256) 764-3169
Mon - Fri8:00 - 4:00
Saturday8:00 - 12:00
SundayClosed
Get directions →

Other Metals We Buy

Aluminum

Siding, sheet, wheels, extrusion, radiators, and cans. All grades, clean or mixed.

Sell scrap aluminum →

Iron & Steel

Structural steel, cast iron, plate, appliances, and machinery. Low per pound, heavy by volume.

Sell iron & steel →

Junk Cars

Cars, trucks, forklifts, and farm equipment. Title needed on anything 12 years or newer.

Sell your junk car →
See all scrap metal prices

Prices change often. Call your nearest yard for today's price.

Rogersville (256) 247-0708 Town Creek (256) 685-3727 Florence (256) 764-3169