A pre-1982 cent consists of 95% copper and 5% zinc. It contains about 2.95 grams of copper, and there are 453.59 grams in a pound. The price of copper on Dec. 10, 2019, was $2.75 a pound. That meant the copper in each cent was worth about 1.7 cents. Thus, the meltdown value of a pre-1982 cent was about 70% more than the face value.
Beginning in 1982, cents began to be manufactured out of zinc, amounting to 97.5% of the mass of the coin, with a thin copper coating that amounted to 2.5% of the cent's mass. Some cents dated 1982 are of the almost-all-copper type, and some are the mostly zinc kind. You can tell them apart by weighing them if you have a sensitive scale: The majority-copper ones weigh 3.11 grams, and the majority-zinc ones weigh 2.5 grams.
The price of zinc has also increased since 2000, though it's down from a peak of $2.06 a pound in November 2006. As of Dec. 10, 2019, zinc was valued at $1.02 a pound. The 2.43 grams of zinc in a post-1982 cent was then worth six-tenths of a cent.
Calculating the Cent's Meltdown Price
The meltdown value of pre-1982 cents is calculated using the following formula that's also given with the unchanging values filled in:
(price of copper per pound x weight of cent x percentage of cent that's copper) / number of grams in a pound = value of copper in a cent
(price of copper per pound x 3.11 grams x 0.95) / 453.59 grams = value of copper in a cent
The meltdown values of other coins, including the mostly zinc cent, are calculated in the same way, substituting copper's values with those of the
majority metal.
The price of Copper is over $3.00 a pound and Going Higher
An Elongated Cent is made by squashing a cent
Kids put them on railroad tracks; but custom made Elongated Cents are made in a machine using custom made dies.
Collectors pay over one dollar for a single Elongated Cent. The cents used must be minted before 1982.
- the machine and dies that make these are very affordable
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