Coin Specifications

The most recent major change for the composition of the Lincoln Cent came in 1982. By that time, the rising costs of base metals had made the penny cost more to produce than its face value. After experimenting with a number of different potential compositions, the US Mint decided to use a composition of copper coated zinc. This would provide a cheaper material, but the Lincoln Penny would still remain its familiar color and feel.

The composition change occurred during the year, so 1982 pennies exist in both the old copper based composition and the new zinc based composition. At this time, the Lincoln Cent design featured the bust of Lincoln designed by Victor D. Brenner and the reverse Lincoln Memorial design from Frank Gasparro. The zinc based composition continues to be used for the 2009 Lincoln Cent designs released for circulation. During the zinc era, coins were struck for circulation at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints, and struck in proof for collectors at the San Francisco Mint.

Zinc Lincoln Cent Coin Specifications

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The Lincoln Cent underwent a major change in 1943. The US Mint altered the composition of the coin in an effort to conserve copper for the war effort. This change lasted only one year and created the 1943 Steel Cent. The deign of the coin remained the same as the prior year, however the metallic composition was radically altered.

The Steel Cent was created from zinc coated steel. Interestingly, the zinc coating was not applied to the edges of the coins, which resulted in many rusting when exposed to water, or even the natural process of circulation. The cent was also lighter than the prior version and could be attracted by a magnet. This caused problems with some vending machines. The somewhat unpopular composition was only used for one year before the US Mint reverted to the traditionally copper based penny.

Steel Lincoln Cent Coin Specifications

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The Lincoln Cent had a number of different compositions during the long history of the series. The first composition was the bronze composition used on the prior Indian Head Cent series. This composition contained a mixture of copper, tin, and zinc. The combination of tin and copper create the alloy bronze. This composition was used to start the series, was briefly replaced by different compositions, until the tin was removed completely in 1962. After this point, the series contained only a mixture of copper and zinc.

The original Lincoln Cent featured a bust of Lincoln on the obverse and a pair of wheat ears on the reverse that forms the basis for the common name Wheat penny. In 1959, the reverse was changed to a rendition of the Lincoln Memorial by Frank Gasparro.

Bronze Lincoln Cent Coin Specifications

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The Bronze Indian Head Cent was the second composition used for the Indian Cent series, the prior composition used copper-nickel. The new bronze composition was lighter and easier to strike. It was composed predominantly of copper with a mixture of tin and zinc. The other aspects of the Indian Cent composition were also changed slightly, resulting in slightly smaller diameter and thickness for the bronze coins. This composition was used during 1864 along side the copper-nickel composition, and for all subsequent years of the series. The same bronze composition was also used for the Lincoln Cent series almost uninterrupted until the replacement with a zinc based composition during 1982.

Bronze Indian Head Cent Coin Specifications

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The Copper Indian Head Cent was the first composition of the Indian Cent series. The composition was actually composed of 88% copper and 12% nickel, the same composition used for the prior Flying Eagle Cents. The composition was used for the first five years of the new Indian Head Cent series before changing to the bronze composition which would remain in use for nearly one hundred years. The composition was changed since the copper-nickel based version proved to be hard and difficult to strike.

Copper Indian Head Cent Coin Specifications

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