# New Pennies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2006, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966 "2006-10-26T12:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/1 "2006-10-26T12:48:50Z")
I got a couple of 2006 pennies in my change yesterday, and they look and feel …wrong. They’re bright and shiny, but they feel too light and they don’t sound right when I drop them. They look and feel like copper-coated aluminum. I know there’s ben talk of doing somethuing about pennies, even abolishing them, because they cost more to produce than they’re worth, but I never heard that they were actually going to do it. Checking the U.S. Mint website shows nothing, and Googling the topic doesn’t pick up anything either. I could be wrong, bur I swear these pennies aren’t right. They can’t be counterfeits. Who, outside of the Striperella character **Cheapo** (in the episode “Cheapo by the Dozen”) would want to counterfeit _pennies_? ["Stripperella" Cheapo by the Dozen (TV Episode 2004) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0801078/) ---
**Author:** ![Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Alive\_At\_Both\_Ends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alive_At_Both_Ends)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/2 "2006-10-26T13:01:47Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I got a couple of 2006 pennies in my change yesterday, and they look and feel …wrong. They’re bright and shiny, but they feel too light and they don’t sound right when I drop them. They look and feel like copper-coated aluminum. [/QUOTE] The Mint may have changed their composition to save money. This happened to UK pennies a few years ago. They used to be bronze, now they’re bronze-plated steel. Outwardly they’re identical to the old pennies, but you can tell the difference if you have a magnet. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/3 "2006-10-26T13:06:14Z")
I got nothin, but if you change pennies to penes, it’s quite an amusing post. > [@](#): > > "They’re bright and shiny, but they feel too light and they don’t sound right when I drop them. They look and feel like copper-coated aluminum. > > I know there’s ben talk of doing somethuing about _penes_, even abolishing them, because they cost more to produce than they’re worth, but I never heard that they were actually going to do it. Checking the U.S. Mint website shows nothing, and Googling the topic doesn’t pick up anything either. > I could be wrong, bur I swear these _penes_ aren’t right. > " ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/4 "2006-10-26T13:41:45Z")
[QUOTE=Alive At Both Ends] …now they’re bronze-plated steel… [/QUOTE] Copper plated zinc, > [@](#): > > [The Composition of the Cent](http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/index.cfm?flash=no&action=fun_facts2) > > Following is a brief chronology of the metal composition of the cent coin (penny): > > ``` > * The composition was pure copper from 1793 to 1837. > * From 1837 to 1857, the cent was made of bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc). > * From 1857, the cent was 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, giving the coin a whitish appearance. > * The cent was again bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc) from 1864 to 1962. > (Note: In 1943, the coin's composition was changed to zinc-coated steel. This change was only for the year 1943 and was due to the critical use of copper for the war effort. However, a limited number of copper pennies were minted that year. You can read more about the rare, collectible 1943 copper penny in "[What's So Special about the 1943 Copper Penny.](http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/index.cfm?action=fun_facts2a)") > * In 1962, the cent's tin content, which was quite small, was removed. That made the metal composition of the cent 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc. > * The alloy remained 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the composition was changed to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copper-plated zinc). Cents of both compositions appeared in that year. > > ``` CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/5 "2006-10-26T14:09:40Z")
Yeah, but according to the Mint’s site they haven’t changed the composition of pennies lately, nor have any other sites said anything about changes. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/6 "2006-10-26T14:15:40Z")
Thanks very much, **crowmanyclouds.** That one post wrapped up a fistful of questions I had about the cent for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/7 "2006-10-26T14:33:14Z")
The [mint tested some aluminum pennies back in 1974](http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:1ugct6okmqMJ:financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/071906bd.pdf+pennies+aluminum+mint+site:.gov&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=7&client=firefox-a). Perhaps they’re doing it again, and a few escaped into the regular penny pool. > [@](#): > > Mint records indicate that 1,571,167 of the aluminum cents were struck over the course of two production runs. In order to show congressional leaders what the coins would look and feel like, 14 of the trial pieces were given to the committee members and their staff members - nine to House committee members and staff, and five to Senate committee members and staff. Other pieces were also distributed to Mint and Treasury officials. If so, the coins are likely illegal to own, and you should _immediately_ turn yourself in at the nearest office of the department of Homeland Security. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/8 "2006-10-26T14:59:03Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I got a couple of 2006 pennies in my change yesterday, and they look and feel …wrong. They’re bright and shiny, but they feel too light and they don’t sound right when I drop them. They look and feel like copper-coated aluminum. [/QUOTE] Compare them with some ‘ordinary’ 2006 or other recent year pennies. Is the stamping impression the same? File a spot on the edeges of each and compare the core laminate material(s). This should show a marked(?) difference in color and hardness. It is possible they are test coins. See if your banks has a roll (of fifty) new pennies that you can buy. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/9 "2006-10-26T15:02:49Z")
[QUOTE=crowmanyclouds] Copper plated zinc,CMC [/QUOTE] That’s US pennies. **Alive At Both Ends** was talking (correctly) about the composition of UK [pennies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_One_Penny_coin). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/10 "2006-10-26T15:28:01Z")
I just thought it necessary to pop in here to say that when I first glanced at the thread title, I thought it said “New Penises.” Carry on, my shame and are out of here. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/11 "2006-10-26T15:29:16Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] If so, the coins are likely illegal to own, and you should _immediately_ turn yourself in at the nearest office of the department of Homeland Security. [/QUOTE] Along with my jars of [vegemite](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=393169&highlight=vegemite) ? ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/12 "2006-10-26T15:30:40Z")
Where have you been?? In 1982 the government switched from primarily copper to a copper-coated zinc planchet. Part of the reason coins look so “cheap” today is that the dies used to strike coins were changed, along with the presses, and hence the force needed to impress the image, this speeds the process. If you compare pennies, nickles and cents from earlier issues you’ll notice a big difference in the relief of the coin, the newer ones look flat. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/13 "2006-10-26T15:44:06Z")
Just a note in passing that the change in 1857 was not merely from bronze to copper-nickel, but also one of size. The pre-1857 coins were “large cents” approximating the size of a quarter. (Any Newfie Dopers: if you’ve ever held a Newfie 20c piece from before joining Confederation, it’s almost precisely the right size.) In 1857 (with pattern pieces struck in 1856) the Mint changed to the present “small cent” size, which has been adhered to in dimensions ever since. These were the “shield” pennies, with an obverse featuring a shield with a chief of stars and vertical stripes. In 1859 (I think) the design was switched to the Indian-head cent that was issued until Lincoln’s hundredth birthday in 1909, when the present obverse was adopted. (Reverse was wheat ears surrounding “ONE CENT” for the first 50 years of coinage, changed in 1959 to the present Lincoln Memorial, and the presence or absence of the initials of designer Victor D. Brenner occasioned two other minor changes.) ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/14 "2006-10-26T15:50:48Z")
Ironically the latest gold-colored Sackie dollars in both size and overall composition are virtually identical to the pre-1857 large cents. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/15 "2006-10-26T17:11:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Where have you been?? In 1982 the government switched from primarily copper to a copper-coated zinc planchet. i’ve been right here. These new pennies look and feel cheaper than other relatively new pennies. as i say, they look and feel aluminum-ish. Even the zinc-copper pennies had some heft to them. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/16 "2006-10-26T21:05:53Z")
I think they weigh the same, at least since '82. Both copper and zinc versions were produced that year, but after that - should be virtually identical. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-pennies/377966/17 "2006-10-26T23:33:48Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] i’ve been right here. These new pennies look and feel cheaper than other relatively new pennies. as i say, they look and feel aluminum-ish. Even the zinc-copper pennies had some heft to them. [/QUOTE] I’d have to agree with others that you’re just imagining the weight difference. Take 10 random date cents from your pocket and see if you can get someone(a friendly jeweler?) to weight them. I think you’ll find they all weigh the same since 1982.