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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Conder101, post: 2489370, member: 66&quot;]He asked about the Bronze and Brass , not the plated zinc.</p><p><br /></p><p>The composition tended to vary.&nbsp; The law required 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, but did not specify how much tin and how much zinc.&nbsp; During the early years the tin and zinc ratio was about equal 2.5% of each.&nbsp; But during WWII with tin being a strategic metal the amount of tin was reduced to just a trace.&nbsp; (and I mean a SMALL trace.&nbsp; For example the 85,590,000 cents struck in San Francisco in 1942, total weight 585,069 pounds, used just 50 pounds of tin.&nbsp; That&#039;s .009%</p><p><br /></p><p>Once the mint switched to brass shell cases 1944 - 46 they added copper to bring the alloy up to 95% copper, and would then toss in a pre-1942 cent into the melt to provide a trace of tin and satisfy the legal requirement.</p><p><br /></p><p>After 1946 the amount of tin was increased but I don&#039;t believe it ever went over 1% from 1947 to 1962.&nbsp; The 1963 to mid 82 cents are 95% copper 5% zinc with no tin.</p><p><br /></p><p>The only real way to tell a bronze cent from a brass one, other than by date, or the exact composition of a bronze one is by something like the XRF machines[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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