This might get booted into the political forum....
In the middle of 1982, after decades of counterfeiting more and more money every year, the US government found it had inflated its token currency so much the cent was about to become worth no more than the smidgeon of copper in a penny. If something wasn't done soon the penny would end up being worth a penny and they'd be minting real money for the first time since 1935 ... and next they'd find themselves minting pennies worth even more than a penny and people would melt them down to use or sell the copper as fast as the government could mint them....
So in the middle of 1982 they quietly stopped minting copper pennies and started minting zinc pennies and copper-plating them.
The zinc pennies will work, more or less, but the zinc is so soft it scrapes off on the steel ... copper pennies work better.
Just for the fun of it, try heating a post-1982 US cent with a propane torch. The zinc will melt and usually it'll burst through the copper plating and run out -- you can nick the edge with a knife or a file before you heat it, but it'll usually work fine without that -- after the zinc melts and runs out you'll have yourself a curiosity -- an amazingly thin copper shell of a penny -- it must be less than one thousandth of an inch thick I guess (.00254mm). Handle with care, even after it cools.
The change was made in the middle of 1982, so some 1982 pennies are copper and some are zinc. You can tell the difference by weighing them if you want; the zinc ones are lighter....
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-Cougar Allen :{)
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This post is not merely the author's opinions; it is
the trrrrrruth. This post is intended to cause dissension and unrest and upset people, and ultimately drive them mad. Please do not misinterpret my intentions in posting this.
