Price of Bronze per Pound or Ounce + Where to Sell Bronze

Short Answer — Bronze is worth about $1.20 to $1.60 per pound ($0.08 to $0.10 per ounce) when sold for scrap. For more details about bronze scrap prices, see below.

Price of Bronze per Pound or Ounce

The average scrap price of brass is about $1.20 to $1.60 per pound, or $0.08 to $0.10 per ounce, at the time of writing.^[1][2]

Note that the exact value of bronze depends on the current scrap market conditions, which can vary by location and fluctuate regularly.

Identifying Bronze

Bronze can be found in plumbing materials like pipes,^[3] as well as springs, tools, and decorative items like sculptures.^[4]

It’s made mostly of copper and mixed with tin, plus sometimes a smaller percentage of other metals like aluminum.

It has a dark gold-brown color and looks different from brass because you can see faint rings in the metal (in addition to its duller color).^[5]

Getting the Best Price

The purer your bronze, the more money it will be worth. If looking for items to scrap, look for bronze that contains more copper.^[6][7]

If you already have bronze but are unsure of what type of alloy, consider the following types (ordered from those which are generally worth the most to the least):^[8]

• Aluminum bronze: Used in the petrochemical and water supply industries
• Manganese bronze: Used for valves, pups, gears, nuts, and bolts
• Silicon bronze: Used for pumps and valves
• Bismuth bronze: Found in bearings and historical kitchenware
• Bearing bronze: Has high lead content and is often used for bearings and bushings
• Phosphor bronze: Used for electrical components, instruments, washers, and springs
• Copper-nickel bronze: Used in electronics, ship hulls, pumps, valves, and other marine equipment

Of course, you can also earn more for bronze scrap if you sell a large amount to a scrap yard in bulk; a pile of bronze pipes is will be more attractive to buyers than just a few pipes.

If you have some brass that contains more copper than the rest, be sure to separate it into different piles to get the best price.^[6]

For pieces that may be of value on their own rather than for scrap, such as bronze sculptures, you might want to double-check with an art expert and have them appraise it.

You can find art experts at universities, libraries, art galleries, or auction sites. ValueMyStuff and Appraise Art are two easily-accessible online sources for the valuation of things like sculptures.

How Does Bronze Compare to Other Metals?

There are two categories of metal to consider when selling: ferrous and non-ferrous. Ferrous metals contain iron; non-ferrous metals are less commonly recycled, more durable, and worth more money.^[9]

You can tell whether your metal is ferrous by trying to stick a magnet to it; non-ferrous metals aren’t magnetic.^[10]

Bronze is non-ferrous, so you can usually sell it for more than you would sell something like cast iron — though pure copper is usually the most valuable non-ferrous metal.^[11][5]

For information on selling other metals, see our research on scrap brass prices.

Where to Sell Bronze

After confirming that what you want to sell is, in fact, bronze, you can sell it either for scrap or as an individual item (if it has any collectible value or common use).

To find scrap yards near you, use an online locator like iScrap App or Scrap Monster Scrap Yard Finder; you might want to call around to a few different yards in your area to be sure you’re getting the best price.

For collectibles, consider selling the item(s) yourself on eBay’s Collectible Bronze Metalware marketplace.