Summary for penny made of Discussion
penny made of? The thread notes that Canadian pennies are made of steel coated with copper, which makes them magnetic, according to James Totter. In response to a later question about why pennies were made, Ted Mooney explains that people wanted a practical coin instead of having to keep track of awkward fractions like a fifth or three-fifths of a nickel. His answer frames the penny as a convenience coin for everyday pocket use. The exchange is brief, but it gives both a material fact about one national penny and a simple historical rationale for why pennies exist at all. The discussion also includes a thank-you from a reader who found the site helpful and fun.
United States Mint image
I REALLY need to know if a penny is made of zinc and copper alloy, if not what is. Also What’s a metal whose 2+ ions form blue aqueous solutions?!?! Help VERY much appreciated.
Josh
What a penny is made of – Atlanta, Georgia, America
2004
Brief answers:
Pennies are copper plated zinc.
Cupric ions (Cu+2) forms blue aqueous solutions (like CuSO4).
James Totter, CEF
– Tallahassee, Florida
2004
Curiously enough, Canadian pennies are made of steel coated with copper. So the Canadian penny has joined many of its brethren in being magnetic.
Lee Gearhart
metallurgist – E. Aurora, New York
2004
Hi, Josh. Getting back to U.S. pennies —
Since 1983 they are made of a zinc core with a thin plating of copper on them. Before 1982 they were solid copper (not 100 percent pure copper, but solid through and through). 1943 only, they were a steel core with a plating of zinc (which means pennies from that year were magnetic). Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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October 30, 2008
Q. Why were pennies made?
Kathryn l
student – windlake wisconsin us
November 10, 2009
A. Hi, Kathryn. People got tired of trying to keep track of who owe who a fifth of a nickel or three-fifths of a nickel and wanted a coin they could put in their pocket instead. At least that’s my 40% of a nickel’s worth.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
November , 2009
Thank you so much! Your answers and site were extremely helpful.. and filled with fun facts!
Joy Douglass
– Sellersville Pennsylvania USA
April 25, 2011