what year were pennies made out of copper & what year of pennies do u need to find for them to still be copper

Answer 1

The composition was pure copper from 1793 to 1837.
# From 1837 to 1857, the cent was made of bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc).
# From 1857, the cent was 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, giving the coin a whitish appearance.
# The cent was again bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc) from 1864 to 1962.
(Note: In 1943, the coin's composition was changed to zinc-coated steel. This change was only for the year 1943 and was due to the critical use of copper for the war effort. However, a limited number of copper pennies were minted that year.
# In 1962, the cent's tin content, which was quite small, was removed. That made the metal composition of the cent 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc.
# The alloy remained 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the composition was changed to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copper-plated zinc). Cents of both compositions appeared in that year.

Answer 2

I doubt you are taking about large cents, or the rest of the cents that are collectors items. It sounds like you want to hoard the later copper coins, so that if copper exceeds their value you can sell them to be melted. When as for now that is against the law. The mint has used some of the powers it has and in effect put a hold on all melting of cents, as well as nickels. In fact you are limited as to how many you can even take out of the country. The coins minted before 1982 are made of .950 copper and .050 tin and zinc, which actually makes them bronze. Some of the 1982 cents are also .950 copper but you would need a gram scale to tell the difference. The copper cents weigh 3.11 grams and the copper coated zinc cents weigh 2.5 grams. One point, the charge for melting as well as a profit for the middleman is passed on to the seller. That being the case, copper really has to go up a lot.