Pennies
1982 penny: copper or zinc, and what is it worth?
Type the weight shown by a gram scale: the tool tells you which 1982 cent you hold and prices its metal.
1982 penny: copper or zinc by weight
Your 1982 cent is
95% copper
| Expected weight | 3.11 g |
| Metal value | 4.4¢ |
| Cut-off used | 2.80 g |
Both kinds were struck in 1982, so the date alone does not tell them apart.
A cent dated 1982 can be one of two different coins. The Mint’s annual report for fiscal 1982 records that the copper-plated zinc cent was phased in with the bronze one that year: composition changed from 95% copper and 5% zinc to 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, weight from 3.11 grams to 2.50 grams, diameter unchanged. So the date does not tell you the metal; a scale does. A copper one holds about 4.4¢ of metal and a zinc one about 1.1¢ at the copper and zinc prices read on October 27, 2026. Both kinds were struck in huge numbers at Philadelphia and Denver, so neither is scarce, and melting either is banned by 31 CFR Part 82. The weight test is still worth doing on a jar of cents, because it tells you how much copper you have kept.
Copper in pre-1982 pennies
Melt value of 100 coins
$4.37
| One coin | 4.4¢ |
| Face value | $1 |
Melting pennies is banned by 31 CFR Part 82: this is the metal inside, not money you can collect. At copper $6.61 per lb (last price read).
Mintages, metals and prices read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Why 1982 has two coins
The early 1980s brought the cent its largest change since 1943. The annual report for fiscal 1982 lists, among the year’s main events, the production conversion from copper cents to the new copper-plated zinc cents and the resolution of a cent crisis that had begun to develop in 1980. It gives the specification change in a few lines:
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Bronze | Copper-plated zinc (CPZ) |
| Composition | 95% copper, 5% zinc | 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper |
| Weight | 3.11 g | 2.50 g |
| Diameter | unchanged | unchanged |
| Metal value today | 4.4¢ | 1.1¢ |
The changeover took more than one fiscal year. The report for fiscal 1983 says total conversion was completed that year, and that of the 14.6 billion cents manufactured, 12.7 billion were of the new alloy. Fiscal 1983 began on October 1, 1982, so the report does not say which date those last bronze cents carry, and this site does not guess.
The weight test step by step
A scale is the only simple test that works. Set it to grams with two decimals and check it against a known weight if it has one. Weigh the cent alone, then type the figure into the tool at the top of this page. The tool places the cut-off halfway between the two specifications, at 2.80 grams, and warns you when a reading falls outside the usual range, which usually means a damp coin, a dirty pan or a scale that needs calibrating.
For a whole roll, weigh fifty cents of 1982 together and divide. If the average sits between the two weights, the roll is mixed, and you can sort it coin by coin. Cents dated 1981 and earlier need no test: they are bronze. Cents dated 1983 and later are zinc, as the Mint’s current coin specifications confirm for the modern cent.
What the copper is worth, and what you may do with it
At the prices read on October 27, 2026, the copper in a bronze cent is worth several times its face value, while the zinc cent holds about 1.1¢, close to its face value. The small tool below adds up a batch of bronze cents so you can see the gap on a roll or a jar. It is a measure, not an offer: the regulations in 31 CFR Part 82 prohibit melting, treating or exporting one-cent coins, with exceptions only for small amounts carried abroad, novelty and jewelry uses, and recycling where coins are incidental. Penalties reach $10,000 and 5 years in prison.
Why keep sorting, then? Because the copper cents are a finite stock. The Mint stopped circulating cent production on November 12, 2025, and the bronze cent itself ended with the conversion completed in fiscal 1983. Whether to keep them is a personal choice; this site only measures what they hold.
Neither kind is scarce by number
The Bureau of the Mint tables used on this site stop at 1980, and the Mint’s yearly production pages that it can read start later, so the tool shows no mintage for 1982. The fiscal 1983 figure above, 14.6 billion cents in one year, gives the order of magnitude. A 1982 cent is worth more than a cent only through its copper, an error or exceptional condition. The Lincoln Memorial cent page covers the rest of the series, and the saving pennies page looks at a whole jar.