U.S. pennies stopped being made mostly from copper in 1982, when the Mint switched to copper‑plated zinc cents for regular circulation.

Quick Scoop

  • Before 1982, most U.S. pennies were about 95% copper (with small amounts of tin and/or zinc depending on the year).
  • In 1982, the Mint changed to a core of about 97.5% zinc with a thin copper coating, mainly because copper had become too expensive.
  • 1982 is a “transition year”: some 1982 pennies are still copper, and some are zinc, so that date alone doesn’t tell you the composition.

What counts as “stopped making copper pennies”?

  • For everyday pocket change, 1982 is considered the last year that standard pennies were struck in the traditional 95% copper alloy.
  • From 1983 onward, circulation pennies are copper‑plated zinc, not solid copper, even though they still look copper‑colored on the outside.
  • Collectors usually treat “copper pennies” as those dated 1982 and earlier, with the caveat that only some 1982 coins are actually copper.

Handy rule of thumb

  • If your penny is dated 1983 or later, it is almost certainly zinc with a copper coating.
  • If it is dated 1981 or earlier, it is the older 95% copper alloy.
  • For 1982 pennies, people often weigh them: a copper one is heavier (about 3.11 g) than a zinc one (about 2.5 g).

Small historical twist

  • There were also steel pennies in 1943, made from zinc‑coated steel instead of copper due to World War II copper shortages, but copper‑alloy cents returned in 1944 and continued (with small recipe tweaks) until the 1982 zinc switch.

TL;DR: For U.S. coins, “they stopped making pennies out of copper” for everyday circulation in 1982, when production shifted to copper‑plated zinc.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.