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Aluminum was chosen, and over 1.5 million samples of the 1974 aluminum cent were struck before ultimately being rejected. The cent's composition was changed in 1982 because the value of the copper in the coin started to rise above one cent. [7] Some 1982 cents used the 97.5% zinc composition, while others used the 95% copper composition.
The old pennies quickly went out of use after Decimal Day, 15 February 1971—there was no exact decimal equivalent of them, and the slogan "use your old pennies in sixpenny lots" explained that pennies and "threepenny bits" were only accepted in shops if their total value was six old pence (exactly 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 new pence). The old penny was ...
The fact that pennies of different specifications circulated side by side precluded the weighing of quantities of copper coin to ascertain the value. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] In addition to the pennies struck since 1806, there were Boulton's 1797 coppers and also, to a different standard, coppers struck for Ireland, which had been legal tender since 1826 ...
And yet, the temptation remains. Whereas the U.S. replaced almost all copper content in the penny with zinc in 1982 (nickels today contain more copper than pennies), up in Canada they kept on ...
The 1944-D Lincoln penny is also referred to as steel pennies or silver pennies. In 1944, pennies were supposed to transition from steel back to copper. These pennies were mistakenly minted using ...
This leads to the possibility of smelters taking coins and melting them down for the scrap value of the metal. Pre-1992 British pennies were made of 97% copper; but as of 2008, based on the price of copper, the value of a penny from this period is 1.5 new-pence. Modern British pennies are now made of copper-plated steel.
As a result, with only a few wartime exceptions, any penny from 1981 or earlier -- and some made in 1982 -- have a high copper content. At current copper prices, the melt value of older pennies is ...
The Coinage Act of 1792 established the Mint of the United States, and made both gold and silver legal tender. This meant that anyone could present bullion at the Philadelphia Mint and receive it back, struck into coins. The 1792 act authorized six silver coins, in value from five cents to a dollar, and prescribed their weights and fineness.