Which pennies have more copper

This design was minted from the years However the copper Lincoln memorial coins will be from , with some copper coins minted in Lincoln wheat cents are easy to spot, you can check the date and see the 'wheat design' on the back of the coin.

They were made from In the government changed over to the Lincoln Memorial design. Their composition is slightly different than the more common Lincoln memorial cents. These coins have more numismatic value, and are therefore more valuable than the Lincoln Memorial copper cents.

In today's market they go for around cents each and some are worth more depending on their condition. Indian Head cents were made from You're not going to find these coins in your lose change. However you may be able to find them in old boxes or from family heirloom chests. There were pennies made before the Indian Head cent. Most of these cents were large- about the size of the current US dollar coin. The earlier copper pennies before are very rare, and you most likely won't find them around your house.

Although it is possible to find them in family heirloom chests. Theoretically it would make sense to melt down non-numismatic copper pennies for their copper value.

However the United States government has made it illegal to melt down any US coin. In they passed a law, Section of Title 18 , which bans this practice.

So it's not worth the risk of getting caught. Melting coins is also illegal in the UK, as referenced in the UK coinage act Keep in mind though that laws can change. Some copper coin hoarders are waiting for this law to change so they can melt down all of their copper pennies. About Us. Contact Us.

NBC12 Jobs. Local Steals and Deals. Latest Newscasts. Investigate TV. Gray DC Bureau. By Jennifer Warnick and Terry Alexander. Published: Feb. Share on Facebook. Email This Link. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Warning Only use the drop test on circulating pennies where you are sorting copper and zinc for the bullion value only.

Featured Video. Related Topics. Branch Manager, Commodities Broker. Updated December 10, Featured Video. View Article Sources. Cite this Article Format. Kowalski, Chuck. The Properties and Uses of Zinc Metal.

Copper Facts: Chemical and Physical Properties. Bimetallism Definition and Historical Perspective. How to Make Copper Acetate from Copper. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for ThoughtCo. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data.

We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification.