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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Kentucky, post: 2492848, member: 33176&quot;]Here&#039;s what Wikipedia says about the coating/plating/cladding:</p><p><br /></p><p>Production of the war-time cent was provided for in an Act of Congress approved on December 18, 1942, which also set as the expiration date of the authority December 31, 1946. Low-grade carbon steel formed the base of these coins, to which a zinc coating 0.0005-inch (0.013 mm) thick was deposited on each side electrolytically as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust" rel="nofollow">rust</a> preventive. This coating was applied to the steel before the blanks were made, leaving the rims of these coins extremely susceptible to rust. The same size was maintained, but the weight was reduced from the standard 48 grains (3.1 g) to 42 grains (2.7 g), by using a lighter alloy. Production commenced on February 27, 1943, and by December 31 of that year, the three Mint facilities had produced 1,093,838,670 of the one-cent coins. The copper released for the war effort was enough to meet the combined needs of two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiser" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruiser" rel="nofollow">cruisers</a>, two <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyer" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destroyer" rel="nofollow">destroyers</a>, 1,243 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-17_Flying_Fortress" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-17_Flying_Fortress" rel="nofollow">Flying Fortresses</a>, 120 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_gun" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_gun" rel="nofollow">field guns</a> and 120 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howitzer" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howitzer" rel="nofollow">howitzers</a>, or enough for 1,250,000 shells for large field guns.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)#cite_note-31" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)#cite_note-31" rel="nofollow">[</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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