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US cents were never made out of rifle casings themselves, but they were made from shell casings during 1944 and 1945. These coins were of course called "shell-casing cents".

In 1943 the Mint struck cents in plated steel to save copper for use in ammunition. The steel coins were unsatisfactory in almost every way - they were confused with dimes when new, after a while they either rusted or turned an ugly gray, they didn't always work in vending machines, etc., etc. As the war turned in favor of the Allies there was so much spent ammunition that the government was able to divert some of the scrap for use in coins, so starting in 1944 coinage of bronze cents resumed.

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10y ago

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