Pennies
Should I save pennies now that the Mint has stopped making them?
Type how many pennies you have and the share dated 1981 or earlier: the tool splits the jar into copper and zinc and prices the metal.
Copper and zinc in a jar of pennies
Metal in the jar
$17.30
| Face value | $10 |
| 200 copper cents | $8.73 |
| 800 zinc cents | $8.57 |
Melting or treating pennies for their metal is banned by 31 CFR Part 82, with fines up to $10,000. Both kinds were struck in 1982.
A jar of pennies is worth its face value at the bank or in a shop, and the end of circulating production on November 12, 2025 does not change that: the Mint’s announcement says pennies remain legal tender. What a jar also holds is metal. Cents dated 1981 or earlier are 95% copper and weigh 3.11 grams, about 4.4¢ of metal each at the price read on October 27, 2026; zinc cents from 1983 on hold about 1.1¢. The 31 CFR Part 82 rules forbid melting, treating or exporting cents for that metal, with fines of up to $10,000, so the copper is not cash. Saving makes sense in two cases: to sort out the scarce dates and errors a jar can hide, or if you simply like keeping old copper. Hoarding modern zinc cents in the hope of a rise has no basis in any official figure.
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
What the jar holds
A penny is two different coins depending on its date. Up to 1981 it is bronze of 95% copper weighing 3.11 grams. From 1983 it is zinc with a thin copper plating, weighing 2.50 grams, a change recorded in the Mint’s annual report for fiscal 1982; cents dated 1982 come in both kinds. At the prices read on October 27, 2026, that puts the metal at about 4.4¢ for an old cent and 1.1¢ for a new one.
| Jar of 1,000 pennies | Copper cents | Zinc cents | Metal value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% dated 1981 or earlier | 100 | 900 | $14.01 |
| 25% dated 1981 or earlier | 250 | 750 | $18.95 |
| 50% dated 1981 or earlier | 500 | 500 | $27.19 |
The tool at the top of this page does the same for your own count. The comparison shows the real interest of an old jar: the copper cents carry most of the metal. A jar of recent zinc cents holds roughly its face value in metal and nothing more.
What the law lets you do
The one-cent and five-cent coin regulations were written to stop exactly the idea that a jar of copper invites. Without authorization from the Secretary of the Treasury, nobody may export, melt or treat one-cent or five-cent coins. The exceptions are narrow: small amounts carried or shipped abroad, treatment for education, amusement, novelty or jewelry when profit from the metal is clearly not the aim, coins caught up incidentally in recycling other materials, and wartime silver nickels. Penalties reach $10,000 in fines and 5 years in prison under 31 U.S.C. 5111(d), and other federal penalties can apply on top.
The Mint’s penny FAQs repeat after the end of production that melting remains prohibited and that any request for a license goes to the Director of the Mint. Saving copper cents is legal; cashing them as metal is not.
What to pull out before spending
Before you roll or deposit a jar, a quick sort is worth an evening. Set aside every wheat cent dated 1958 or earlier, every cent dated 1943, cents with an S under the date, anything that looks doubled, off center or the wrong color, and cents dated 1982 to weigh later. The rare pennies page ranks the dates struck in the fewest numbers, the wheat penny page covers the older coins, and the 1982 weight test sorts copper from zinc. The small tool below prices a pile of copper cents once you have separated them.
Spend, deposit or keep
Once sorted, the zinc cents are ordinary money. The Mint says retailers may still price in one-cent steps and the coins may be used for transactions, so spending them or depositing them at a bank that accepts coin is the simplest choice. If a bank or a store offers to count coins for you, check its conditions and any fee before you carry the jar there.
The copper cents are a matter of taste. They take space, they do not earn interest, and the law prevents you from selling their metal, but they are a finite stock that grows no larger now that production has ended, as the page on the end of the penny explains. Keeping a few rolls of old copper costs little; turning a garage into a penny warehouse is a bet that the rules will change, and no official text announces anything of the kind.