Why are pennies the only ones made of copper?

Answer 1

because it not supposed to be a lot of money so instead of making in silver or gold they made it copper!

MoreAt one time coins had to contain their face value in metal, minus a small amount to cover minting costs. As the previous answer noted, pennies aren't worth a lot so they had to be made from a cheaper metal. The more expensive metals would have been completely impractical. If a penny had been made out of silver, for example, it would have been about 1/4" in diameter while a gold one would have been so small you'd need tweezers to pick it up.

Today US cents (pennies) are made out of zinc with a copper coating because the price of copper has gone up so much that a penny would contain almost 2 cents worth of that metal.

Answer 2

Pennies are made of copper because copper is a relatively inexpensive metal that helps keep production costs low while providing a durable coin that can circulate for many years. Other coins are made of different metals like nickel or zinc to ensure they have specific properties like hardness or color.

Answer 3

Actually, cents are now made of zinc and simply coated with a thin layer of copper(*).

At one time all coins had to be made of metal that was worth the actual value of the coin, minus of course a small amount to cover the cost of making them. Copper was chosen for cents because it was inexpensive, easily worked, and you could make a reasonable-sized coin that contained a hair less than 1¢ worth of metal. Similarly, a dime had to contain a bit less than 10¢ worth of metal. Silver was the next most valuable metal that could easily be coined and carried a fixed intrinsic value that resulted in another reasonable-sized coin, so it was used for higher-value coins. BTW, the difference in metal value is why dimes are smaller than cents, even though they're worth more.

Back in the late 1700s nickel(*) was not used for coins because it was too hard to be easily minted using the relatively primitive presses and softer steel dies that were the only things available. It wasn't until the middle of the 19th century that dies and presses capable of striking nickel coins became available. By that point the idea of copper cents and silver (or silver-colored) higher-value coins had become pretty much ingrained, so the tradition has continued to today even though coins no longer have to contain their face value in metal.

Many countries, but not all, continue to use copper or copper-colored metal for their lowest denomination coins simply because of past history. Some use aluminum so their low-denomination coins are silver-colored, and others use still more distinct combinations. For example, European 5¢ pieces are copper-colored, while 10¢ pieces are brass-colored.

(*) Please note the spelling of these metals - it's copper and nickel

Answer 4

Believe it or not, the answer dates back to the 18th century. When America made its first coins they were required to contain their face value (denomination) worth of metal. Higher-value coins were silver or gold, but silver wasn't useful for low-value coins - a penny made of silver would have been about the diameter of a pencil! Instead, they were made of copper. Copper was inexpensive so 1¢ worth of copper would make a convenient size coin.

The first nickels were made in 1866. They're actually 75% copper and only 25% nickel. As with cents, the combination could be struck in a reasonable size and still be worth 5¢ in metal value.

Dimes, quarters, and halves continued to be made from silver until 1964. At that time the price of silver was deregulated and it became too expensive to use in coins so the Mint switched to the current "sandwich" composition consisting of a copper core clad with two layers of the same 75/25 alloy used in nickels. Cladding was chosen because it had a similar appearance to silver AND vending machines would accept the new coins without adjustments.

Eventually even the price of copper rose until pennies contained more than 1¢ worth of copper so the Mint switched to making the coins from zinc. Because cents had been copper-colored since those long-ago days in the 18th century the new zinc coins are plated with a thin layer of copper so they look the same as they always did.

Answer 5

In the early 1980s the price of copper increased to the point where a cent contained more than 1 cent worth of metal. The Mint had options of choosing one of several different, less expensive metals as a replacement but chose zinc after considerable lobbying by the zinc industry.

By the early 2000s the price of zinc had also gone up to the point where there was again more than a penny's worth of metal in the coin, so still cheaper metals such as steel are now being considered. Several other countries - Canada, the U.K., the EU - already have switched to copper-plated steel for their smallest coins.

Answer 6

Traditionally, the US penny (or, more properly, the US one cent coin) has been made of copper or copper with a small amount of zinc (except in 1943, when it was made of steel with a zinc coating). During 1982, as the price of copper meant that the "melt value" of the coin was more than one cent (that is, it had more than one cent's worth of copper), the decision was taken to produce the penny out of a cheaper metal - zinc. A coating of pure copper (equal to 2.5% of the total composition of the penny) was added so as not to change the appearance of the penny.

Answer 7

The composition of the US penny was changed in the middle of 1982 from 95% copper / 5% zinc to 97.5% zinc / 2.5% copper. With the rising price of copper, the penny was costing more than a penny to produce, and actually had more than a penny's worth of copper in it. Zinc was (and is) a less expensive metal than copper, but is not excessively light (like aluminum, another inexpensive metal) or magnetic (like steel). Note that the reformulated penny was produced with a pure zinc core coated with a thin layer of pure copper - thus leaving the appearance of the penny substantially unchanged.

Answer 8

in mid-1982. When the cost of the copper would have exceeded one cent, the US changed the penny to copper-plated zinc. You can identify these modern zinc cents because they do not "ring" when dropped onto a hard surface...mostly a dull thud.

EXCEPTIONS

The composition of US one-cent coins (the official name) was changed several times. While the earliest cents were entirely copper, later cents contained only 95% copper which was alloyed with zinc (bronze) or tin and zinc (brass). Before and during the US Civil War, cents had more than twice as much zinc as usual. During World War 2, brass was needed for military use and the 1943 cents were made of steel (these can be picked up with a magnet). This same necessity led to the use of silver in the nickels made from 1942 to 1945.

Answer 9

They're ideal coinage metals, especially when alloyed together. Both metals are plentiful, relatively inexpensive, and can readily be struck into coins that are hard enough to last 50 or more years.

Answer 10

The price of copper rose to the point where it cost more than 1 cent to make the coins.

There's more information at the Related Question.