I need info on 1974 "brass" cents.......

longtimecollector

Just the basics....... common or rare........ why brass???? what mint (s)......... Thanks, Jim

onlyroosies

I don't know much about the 74 but I once owned a 1959 Brass cent in an ANACS holder MS65. One of my
favorite coins I have ever owned. I regret ever selling it. I sold it at a long beach show in 1996 for $400.
Another one of my favorites and again a regretful sale was a 1943 silver cent ANACS 45. I sold it at the
same time for $700. Ahhhhhhhhh

lclugza

The brass cents are the common 95% copper, 5% zinc ones made between 1962 and 1982. 1974 brass cents are common; its the 1974 aluminum ones that are rare.Before that, from 1864 to 1961, the composition was 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc, making those cents bronze (to be technical about it).

richbeat

Could it be that you're thinking of the bronze clad steel cents? According to David Lange, there were three compositions tested in 1973: aluminum, bronze clad steel and the third composition was 70% copper, 30% zinc. The bronze clad steel cents consisted of two outside layers of 90% copper, 10% zinc bonded to an inner core of low carbon steel. Supposedly only the aluminum cents were to be struck from actual Lincoln cent dies, the other two compositions were to be struck from "nonsense" dies; dies with nonsense lettering. It's interesting to note that one of the bronze clad steel cents surfaced in 1994 and it was struck from actual Lincoln cent dies, not from the nonsense dies that were supposed to be used for that composition. The source of this bronze clad steel cent claimed to have five more.