Is it illegal to melt pennies?

Yes. 31 CFR Part 82 (in force since 2006) prohibits melting or bulk-exporting U.S. one-cent and five-cent coins, with penalties up to five years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

Which pennies are 95% copper?

Cents dated 1909 to 1982 (except 1943 steel cents). During 1982 production switched to copper-plated zinc; a copper cent weighs 3.11 g, a zinc cent 2.5 g.

Home › Copper penny

Copper penny melt value

What the metal in a pre-1982 cent is worth, and why you can't melt it.

A copper Lincoln cent (1909-1982) contains 2.95 grams of copper, worth $0.0435 at copper $6.68 per pound, as of August 27, 2026.
That is about 4.3 times its one-cent face value.
Melting or exporting U.S. cents for their metal is prohibited by federal rule (31 CFR Part 82).

The law first: since 2006 it has been illegal to melt U.S. one-cent and five-cent coins, or to export them in bulk (31 CFR Part 82; penalties run to five years and $10,000). The value below is arithmetic, not an invitation - copper cents trade legally as whole coins, often by the pound, on the expectation the rule someday changes.

The math

3.110 g × 95% copper = 2.955 g ÷ 453.59 g/lb × $6.68/lb = $0.0435

Copper price: COMEX front-month via Yahoo Finance. The 5% balance of a bronze cent is tin and zinc, ignored here (it adds a fraction of a mill).

For comparison, a post-1982 zinc cent (97.5% zinc core) carries about $0.0097 of metal, using the IMF monthly zinc benchmark of $3,594/tonne (July 1, 2026, via FRED) - well under face value.

Which cents are copper?

1909 through mid-1982 cents are 95% copper (3.11 g). During 1982 the Mint switched to copper-plated zinc (2.5 g), and both types exist with that date; the reliable test is weight. 1943 steel cents contain no copper at all.

A pound of copper cents

About 146 copper cents weigh a pound (1.46 of face value) and contain 0.95 lb of copper, worth $6.34 at today's price.

Melt value is the floor, not an appraisal. Coins with collector value trade above their metal content, and dealers buy below melt and sell above it to earn a margin. This site publishes the metal arithmetic only - never buy or sell quotes, and never price predictions.

See also the Jefferson nickel and the wartime 35% silver nickel, which is exempt from the melting rule's practical effect because its value is in silver.