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Thread 313/14
How can you tell the difference in penny compositions?
A question in my science class is what year did the US Mint begin to make pennies out of zinc and copper. I found on a historical website that the year was 1943 then again in 1982. My question is, is there a scientfic/chemical way of showing or finding the difference in the different compositions.
Thank you,
Fellicia G.student - Pueblo West, Colorado, USA
2004
publicly reply to Fellicia G.
Plain old visual is the easiest way. The WWII penies look like steel. The normal penny (old) is solid copper (alloy). The modern penny is a "clad" one. Cut part of it off and you can easily see the zinc center with the copper coat.
James Watts- Navarre, Florida
2004
publicly reply to James Watts
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