The penny or once-cent coin is the lowest denomination of the United States's currency. The most recent version of the penny is the Lincoln cent. The Lincoln penny was made of 95% copper, 5% zinc from 1959 until 1985. Since 1985 it has been minted with 97.5% zinc, 2.5% copper. It's basically a zinc core with a "very" thin copper jacket.
Some metal heads (those who are into semi precious and precious metals) collect pennies older than 1986 and sell them in bulk, as the metal melt value is worth almost 3x the face value. It's illegal to melt these coins down however. If it weren't we probably wouldn't have any pennies older than 1986 in circulation. In fact a rough average of metal value for a $25 box of pennies is $35 = $45. I personally would spend $25 to make $35 all day long wouldn't you :). To bad we can't sell them as scrap. The Lincoln Cent / Penny replaced the Wheat Penny (1909 to 1958) in 1959.
Were in the process of detailing all the Lincoln Pennies from 1959 to 2022 and are hoping to have them done by the end of August at the latest. We have tons of user submitted photos, and have to edit those down too. So hang on and be sure to bookmark our page (Ctrl+D) and tell your friends.
Current silver melt value* for a pre 1965 coin (90% Silver) is $3.99 and this price is based off the current silver spot price of $22.09 This value is dynamic so bookmark it and comeback for an up to the minute silver melt value.