A penny minted before 1982 is 95% copper— about 2.95 grams of a metal that has traded high enough in recent years to make the coin worth roughly two to three cents as metal. It is the only US coin still in circulation whose melt value visibly exceeds face value, which has spawned an entire hobby of “copper picking.”
Copper or zinc: the 1982 dividing line
| Dates | Composition | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1909–1942, 1944–1981 | 95% copper, 5% zinc/tin | 3.11 g |
| 1943 | Zinc-coated steel (wartime) | 2.70 g |
| 1982 | Both — transition year | 3.11 g or 2.5 g |
| 1983–present | 97.5% zinc, copper-plated | 2.50 g |
Sorting is by date for everything except 1982, where only a scale settles it. The oddball 1943 steel cents are magnetic, collectible, and contain no copper. Canadian cents have their own copper era — see the Canadian copper cent calculator.
What the copper is worth
Melt math: 3.11 g × 95% = 2.95 g of copper per coin, about 154 copper cents to the pound. At $4.50/lb copper, each pre-82 penny holds roughly 2.9¢ of metal — a 190% premium to face value, before the important caveat below. The copper penny calculator runs the numbers at the live copper price, and the base-metal coin page covers nickels and other denominations the same way.
The catch: melting is illegal
Since 2006, US Mint regulation 31 CFR Part 82 bans melting or exporting one- and five-cent coins (up to $10,000 and five years for violations). So the copper in a penny cannot legally be realized today — hoarders are betting the ban lifts once the cent is fully retired, as happened with silver coins in 1969. Until then, sorted copper cents trade among hobbyists at modest premiums over face. Full legal picture in is it legal to melt coins.
If you want to sort
- By date — slow but free; everything 1981 and earlier (except 1943) is copper.
- By weight or sound — copper rings brighter when dropped; a scale is definitive for 1982s.
- Pull the wheats — 1909–1958 wheat-back cents carry collector premiums above their copper.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell if my 1982 penny is copper or zinc?
Weigh it: copper cents weigh 3.11 grams, zinc cents 2.5 grams. Both compositions were struck in 1982 across seven date/mint varieties, so the date alone cannot tell you.
Is it illegal to melt copper pennies?
Yes — a 2006 US Mint rule (31 CFR Part 82) makes melting one-cent and five-cent coins punishable by up to a $10,000 fine and five years in prison. Owning, hoarding and selling them as coins is perfectly legal.
Are wheat pennies worth more than their copper?
Usually. Wheat cents (1909–1958) carry a collector premium of a few cents each even in bulk, with key dates like the 1909-S VDB worth hundreds. Sort them out before treating a hoard as bulk copper.