Pennies are commonly thought to be primarily Copper due to their distinctive color and for most of our nation’s history, that was true. However, contemporary pennies are zinc discs with a thin Copper shell. This composition became the standard in 1983. There were periods in our nation’s history when pennies were produced of other materials, such as during World War II when steel cents were used. If you are interested in obtaining Copper in the form of older U.S. pennies, it is important to know pennies minted in 1982 may be of either a 95% Copper alloy or zinc with Copper plating. It is also good to know the current melt value of a Copper one-cent piece is just about $.02.

Penny Composition by Year

Years	Material	Weight (grams)
1793 – 1795	~ 100% Copper	13.48
1795 – 1857	~ 100% Copper	10.98
1856 – 1864	88% Copper, 12% Nickel (NS-12)	4.67
1864 – 1942	Bronze (95% Copper, 5% tin and Zinc)	3.11
1943	Zinc-coated steel (1943 steel cent)	2.72
1944 – 1946	Brass (shell case Copper) 95% Copper, 5% Zinc	3.11
1947 – 1962	Bronze (95% Copper, 5% tin and Zinc)	3.11
1962 – 1981	Brass (95% Copper, 5% Zinc)	3.11
1962 – present	Copper-plated zinc (97.5% zinc, 2.5% Copper)	2.50

You can see that pennies were never struck in Silver, although there are urban legends about Silver pennies. Perhaps these stories were born of the steel cent, which was grayish in color.

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