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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Conder101, post: 2963693, member: 66&quot;]The law specifying the content of the bronze cent called for &quot;95% copper&quot; and &quot;5% tin and zinc&quot; with no specifics as to exactly how much tin and how much zinc had to be in it.&nbsp; Through 1941 they tended to keep it at around 2.5% of each metal.&nbsp; In 42 tin became a much more critical war material and the amount of tin in the cents was reduced to the merest trace just to keep within the letter of the law.&nbsp; Let&#039;s put it this way in 1942 San Francisco struck 585,665 pounds of Lincoln cents, and they used 50 pounds of tin, or .009% tin.</p><p><br /></p><p>After the steel cents, it was decided to use recycled shell cases as the raw material for the cents. The shell cases were 70% copper and 30% zinc.&nbsp; This allow was though to be too brittle for coinage and due to improved stockpile the war production board allowed the mint to add enough raw copper to the melts to bring the final composition up to 95% copper and 5% zinc.&nbsp; (The same composition as the one they used from 1963 to 1982)</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1947 tin once again returned to the alloy.&nbsp; Usually not as much as pre war, typically around 1% tin.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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