Bare Bright Copper Price Today
As of October 2, 2026, scrap yards are paying about $5.06 to $5.58 per pound for bare bright copper wire, or $11.15 to $12.29 per kg. That's 78% to 86% of the COMEX copper price of $6.48, more than any other copper grade keeps, because clean, sorted wire needs almost no processing before it's remelted.
Every copper grade is on the scrap copper prices page, and every metal is on the scrap metal prices hub.
What yards pay for bare bright copper
- Per pound
- $5.06 to $5.58
- Per kilogram
- $11.15 to $12.29
Estimated yard price: 78% to 86% of the COMEX copper price ($6.48/lb as of October 2, 2026). Ranges cover the spread between yards.
Estimates checked against posted yard boards on September 18, 2026.
Bare bright copper calculator
Enter the weight. The estimate uses the per-pound range in the price card above. Add a yard's quote to see where it lands in that range.
Estimated payout
$50.57 to $55.76
At $5.06 to $5.58 per lb.
Yards pay on their own scale after grading, and boards differ by region, so use the range to judge a quote.
COMEX copper, the price behind bare bright
Bare bright is a fixed share of this price, so when copper moves the yard board follows, usually by the next morning.
What counts as bare bright copper
Stripped, uncoated wire 16 gauge or thicker with a shiny finish. No paint, tin, or tarnish. The top grade at any yard.
Its ReMA specification name is Barley. To make the grade, wire has to be stripped, 16 gauge or thicker, and bright copper color all over. Tinned wire, which looks silver, and wire thinner than 16 gauge are bought as No.1 copper, and so is thick wire that has lost its shine.
Most bare bright starts as insulated wire. A pound of Romex at 65 percent copper recovery strips down to about 0.65 pounds of bare bright, worth $3.29 to $3.62 today, against $2.72 to $3.24 for the same pound sold with the jacket on. The gain per pound is small, so stripping pays with a stripping tool and volume. The insulated copper wire prices page runs the numbers for each wire type.
Once it's stripped, keep it dry, covered, and in its own bin. A yard grades the whole bin by what it finds in it.
What lowers the price of bare bright
- 1Tin plating. Tinned conductors look silver and sell as No.1 copper, which pays 74% to 81% of COMEX copper against 78% to 86% for bare bright.
- 2Tarnish and green corrosion. Wire left out in the weather loses its shine and drops to No.1. Store it dry and covered.
- 3Thin wire. Stripped wire finer than 16 gauge is No.1 at most yards, however bright it is.
- 4Jacket scraps and mixed pieces. A few half-stripped, painted, or tinned strands can get the whole bin bought as No.1.
- 5Enamel coating. Magnet wire from motors and transformers is enamel-coated and usually sells as No.2.
Related grades
Nearby grades and what they bring per pound. The full board is on the scrap copper prices page.
- No.1 copperClean pipe, flashing, and solids; no solder$4.80 to $5.25 /lb
- No.2 copperSoldered pipe, bus bar, painted or oxidized$4.60 to $5.06 /lb
- THHN and high-grade wireSingle-conductor building wire, 75% to 85% copper$3.37 to $4.02 /lb
- Romex and house wireSheathed residential cable, 60% to 68% copper$2.72 to $3.24 /lb
Where this estimate comes from
The estimate is the live COMEX copper price times the share yards typically pay for this grade (78% to 86%). The share was set by dividing posted yard prices by the same day's benchmark, using these public boards, and last checked on September 18, 2026:
- Rockaway Recycling (New Jersey), posted board of September 18, 2026
- Central Metal Recycling (Chicago), posted board, mid-September 2026
- MetalRecap national price survey, September 17, 2026
- ScrapMonster North American grade spreads, June 2026
Published by MetalCharts, a free precious metals resource providing real-time prices, interactive charts, educational guides, and portfolio management tools. All market data sourced from COMEX, LBMA, and LME.
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