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1982: the year the cent changed metal

Partway through 1982 the Mint switched the cent from bronze to copper-plated zinc. Both kinds are dated 1982.

“In FY 82 the new copper-plated zinc (CPZ) cent was phased in with the bronze one-cent piece.”

The same report gives the details: the composition went from 95% copper and 5% zinc (bronze) to 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper (copper-plated zinc), the weight from 3.11 grams to 2.50 grams, and the diameter stayed the same (Mint annual report, fiscal 1982, PDF p. 10).

How many 1982 cents of each kind? Not published in the sources we checked. No calendar-year or dated counts in the sources we checked. The annual reports we could read for fiscal 1982 to 1988, 1990 and 1992 count coins manufactured by fiscal year, not by calendar year or date, so their figures can't be matched to the date on a coin; the text of the fiscal 1997 and 1999 reports has no calendar-year coin table either. The other reports for these years were image-only scans we didn't transcribe, or failed to download.

Philadelphia's P has appeared on circulating cents only in 2017, so a 1982 cent from Philadelphia has no mint mark.

“In 2017, the “P” mint mark appeared for the first time on circulating pennies. This change was only for the 2017 issued cents, in honor of the U.S. Mint’s 225th anniversary.”

Figures and quotes checked against their sources on October 12, 2026.