List of US Cents my 2013 Red Book states .050 Sn-Zn, but no individual percent's for these elements.

Hi Everybody!

Subject: List of US Cents my 2013 Red Book states .050 Sn-Zn, but no individual percent's for these elements.

Questions:
Should we assume .050 % for each element in the alloy, or .050 % total combined and if so, what are the individual percent's and is there a source on the Internet or a published book, etc. that definitely states the individual percent's for Sn and Zn in the Cents listed below?

COIN YEARS COMPOSITION
Indian Head no.3 1864 - 1909 .950 Cu, .050 Sn-Zn
(Bronze).

Lincoln Wheat Ears no.1 1909 - 1942 .950 Cu, .050 Sn-Zn
(Bronze).

Lincoln Wheat Ears no.1 1947 - 1958 .950 Cu, .050 Sn-Zn
(Bronze) Resumed.

Lincoln Memorial pre-'82 1959 - 1962 .950 Cu, .050 Sn-Zn

Lincoln Bicentennial, 2009 .950 Cu, .050 Sn-Zn
Special versions for
collector sets.

Thanks in advance for your help!

ToddB67

 

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I'm gonna guess that quality control wasn't good enough to keep the amount of Sn and the amount of Zn at a given percent (say 2.5% each for a total of 5%), so they just lumped them together at 5%.

edit: thinking about it a bit more, I am guessing they really had no idea how much tin they had, or couldn't really control it, or it varied from source to source, AND they didn't care (even if it was 0% tin).

 

Wasn't I reading a thread here a few years ago that talked about putting just a crumb of tin into the mix to comply with the law?

 

Answer:

Question 1 and 2) 95% copper
2.5% tin
2.5% zinc

Question 3) There are probably many books that tell you that and many websites, here is one

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)
Here is an except from the sight in its composition section

"Bronze, 1909–1942. Initially the alloy of the Lincoln cent followed that established for this denomination with the Indian Head design in 1864, 95% copper and 2.5% tin and 2.5% zinc."

Here is an another site:
https://www.livescience.com/32401-whats-a-penny-made-of.html

Plus, in Mid-1962-Mid-1982, the tin was taken out of the penny and it was 5% zinc- Brass, not bronze, just like 1944-1946

So, yes there are references that say definitely.

And one more thing:
1864-1868 are not Indian Head cents, but rather Flying Eagle cents

Hope this helps,
Tyler

 

Wikipedia is not a "reference". I could edit that article right now to say that cents starting in 2018 include 5% vibranium in the core alloy; so could you.

The article should include a citation of an actual source for this information. It doesn't. Since it doesn't, I have no reason to believe it. All it indicates is that someone thought so, or wanted others to think so.

Today more than ever, you've got to learn to think critically about what you read.

 

Thanks a lot Tyler; that gives me a whole bunch to chew on and digest!

ToddB67

 

@ToddB67 Thanks

 

Thanks for that -jeffB ! Yes, I knew that Wikipedia information is subject to critique, even the source in the citation. I guess all information sources could be "reverse engineered" with the possibility of finding something incorrect!

ToddB67

 

This not only warms my heart to hear, but bears repeating.... very, very often.

Thumbs up!

 

Lead a horse to water and they piss in it.

 

You sure about that?

Sometimes when we try to be helpful, especially when we're not quite at the level we may want others to believe, we end up accomplishing the opposite of what we intended. Just food for thought...

 

FE cents 1856-1858

 

I am somewhat conflicted with Wikipedia. I use it sometimes and rarely question it. I would never use it for a scholarly article I was writing, and would be cautious if the subject were political or controversial, but other than that, I think it is fairly correct. I could be wrong though.

 

Sorry, 1856-1858

 

Here is an interesting article about copper, bronze and brass. It may not answer the original question but it may shed some light on the matter.

https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/difference-between-copper-brass-bronze/

 

Thanks sakata! After reading about all of those different metals and alloys(metal recipe's ), I added the URL to my Favorites List. So far, the most complete and well written tutorial about the properties and uses of copper, brass and bronze I have ever seen!

WTG!
ToddB67

 

The coinage act of April 22, 1864's specified the composition of the bronze one cent piece to be 95% copper 5% tin and zinc. It did not specify any specific ratio of the two metals tin and zinc, so the mint was free to use any combination of the two that added up to 5% of the total alloy. This is why in 1942 with tin being in very short supply due to its use in the war effort the amount of tin in the 1942 cents was reduced to a mere trace. The entire mintage of 1942 S cents used only 50 pounds of tin. From 1946 to 1963 the percentage of tin in the cents varied.