I know pennies that are 1982 and earlier are mostly copper but how far do the copper pennies go back? What year was the first copper penny made? Are Indian heads copper?
The first copper pennies I believe were minted in 1793 in the USA. They were pure copper at that time. Later they were mixed with nickle, bronze, and zinc. In 1943 they were made with zinc coated steel due to the war. Pennies have varied in size over the years. Some were as big as quarters. Currently they are made with a zinc inside and an pure copper coating on the outside. If you attempt to melt a current penny the inside will melt sooner than the outside since zinc has a much lower melting point. 1793–1857 Pure copper 1857–1864 88% copper, 12% nickel 1864–1942 bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) 1943 zinc-coated steel 1944–1982 brass (95% copper, 5% zinc) 1982-Now 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper (core: 99.2% zinc, .8% copper; plating: pure copper)
kind of relies upon on what united states of america you're asking approximately, this could be a worldwide communicate board. i'm in Thailand. attempt googling your united states of america's mint. I googled 'Royal Thai mint' and have been given it first hit... 2d hit became right into a cooking recipe for beef.
In the US the very first pennies from the 1790's were copper. Indian heads are copper.
