When did coins become clad???

[latitude42]

ok, I know the difference between clad & coins.... but what years did each coin turn to clad? ie..penny, year 19?? went to clad.


Thanks much,
Larry C

 

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[mgdigger]

All US silver coins became clad in 1965, the half dollar still had some silver content until 1970 or so. The penny became clad in 1982

 

[teverly]

Actually the penny went to zinc clad copper in1959.

 

[latitude42]

any ideas on the dime also, is a nickel still nickel

Thanks,
Larry C

 

[Jeffro]

Ok- here it is from the Red Book.

"Under the coinage act of 1965, the composition of dimes, quarters and half dollars was changed to eliminate or reduce the silver content of these coins. The "clad" dimes and quarters were composed of an outer layer of copper-nickel (75% copper and 25% nickel) bonded to an inner core of pure copper. Starting 1971 the half dollar and dollar composition was changed to that the dime and quarter. All silver clad coins have an outer layer of 80% silver bonded to an inner core of 21% silver, with a total content of 40% silver."

Now cents on the other hand have been different compositions through the years, but none of them are truly "clad". The steel cents of 1943 were plated, as are the cents starting in 1982.

"Clad" is a term used to describe how the different metals are put together, for lack of better wording.

Clad coins are from a sheet of metal that has an inner core of copper, and an outer core of copper and nickel. The blanks are puched out of this sheet and stamped into coins. The metals are layered in the original sheet of metal.

The steel cents and cents since 1982 are plated. They are punched out of the base inner metal, then the plating is put on afterwards. If they were truly clad, the zinc cents would rot through from the rims almost immediately after leaving the mint.

Longwinded, but I hope that answers your question.

 

[latitude42]

at Coins-about.com....
"If your Lincoln Memorial penny has a date before 1982, it is made of 95% copper. If the date is 1983 or later, it is made of 97.5% zinc, with a thin copper coating, or "clad."

For pennies minted in 1982, when both copper and zinc cents were made, the safest and best way to tell their composition is to weigh them. Copper pennies weigh 3.11 grams, whereas the zinc pennies weigh only 2.5 grams."

Thanks,
Larry C

 

[Jeffro]

A point of contention amongst coin collectors for sure.

I myself do not consider plated coins to be clad.

 

[ivan salis]

plated or clad any way you want to call em ---zinc cents are still nasty cruddy bits of junk once their in the gound a bit --- give me the 95 % copper cents (1982 and before) cuz they hold up in the ground -- generally just by looking at them one can tell the zinc "junk" 82's from the nice copper 82's ain't hard to tell em apart for the most part -- Ivan

 

[luvsdux]

Just as an added curiosity - I dug a signal in the sand by an active, but low water level stream one time and when I found it, it turned out to be a clad dime that had all the outer layer of silver worn off from the action of the sand and running water. Looked like a penny other than the size and the fact that you could still make out the impression of the dime.
Bill

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Actually the penny went to zinc clad copper in1959.

No, it was mid-'82. Memorial cents replaced Wheats in 1959

 

[fistfulladirt]

It appears that zinc has been used in the minting of Lincoln cents from 1909 to present.

 

[galenrog]

Yes, zinc has been used in the cent for many decades. It is an inexpensive hardening agent when alloyed with copper in low quantities, such as the 5% that was used prior to the content change in 1982. A little study and searching will show that the specific copper alloy used by Treasury was not very precise. Many batches of the feedstock for cents had much higher portions of zinc and other metals than the standard .950 alloy we are accustomed to.

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Been digging a washed out beach and finding that 45% of the cents (total = 156) and 9% of the dimes (total = 74) are so corroded that you can't read the date. The nickels and quarters are not corroded but darkened. Almost all the corroded cents are the clad type minted since 1982 - they don't survive long in salt water. With the dimes, either the outer layers get worn away, probably via friction with sand, or the center layer erodes about 1/2 mm (prob via salt water corrosion) thus leaving the outer layers larger than the inner layer.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Been digging a washed out beach and finding that 45% of the cents (total = 156) and 9% of the dimes (total = 74) are so corroded that you can't read the date. The nickels and quarters are not corroded but darkened. Almost all the corroded cents are the clad type minted since 1982 - they don't survive long in salt water. With the dimes, either the outer layers get worn away, probably via friction with sand, or the center layer erodes about 1/2 mm (prob via salt water corrosion) thus leaving the outer layers larger than the inner layer.

Gross!

 

[Peyton Manning]

which is the reason I only keep 81 or older pennies and 64 or older silver

 

[fistfulladirt]

which is the reason I only keep 81 or older pennies and 64 or older silver

Is it almost time to throw the 40's back?