Need help from Lincoln experts

ROBERTB

I'm somewhat confused about the metal content in the Lincoln series.

The 1909-1942 coins are Bronze? correct?
Now here's where keep reading conflicting information..........................
The 1944-46, or 47 was made of 95% copper and 5% tin with the shell casings from the war, but, did the wheaties stay in this composition until the 1959 Memorial, or at some point did they go back to Bronze?


Also,

I believe the 1959-partial 1962 Memorials are Bronze? Is this correct also?

Any help is greatly appreciated as I've read so many conflicting reports, some within the same paragraph of the body of work?

Who is the Lincoln Master?

razorface1027

Who is the Lincoln Master?


Coppercoins....Chuck.


Tom

coppercoins

It goes like this...

1909-1942: 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc. This mixture is called French Bronze.

1943: Two slightly different weights of 100% steel plated in zinc.

1944-1947: Spent shellcasings as most of the alloy mix. Roughly 95% copper with "other metals" that are supposedly mostly zinc. Also contains some sulphur and other chemicals. They could have continued using this all the way through, but ran out in 1947.

1948-1962: Back to original French Bronze mixture...95% copper, 5% tin and zinc.

1962-1982: Drop the tin. 95% copper, 5% zinc. Now officially called "brass."

1982-present: 100% zinc core bath plated in 100% molten copper.


There's at least some very slight deviation over the years as to exactly where the metals came from, who made the sheets of metal, who (and how) the sheets were cut and punched into blanks, and other rather insignificant details, but the above notes the specifics of the alloy changes as is recorded in the Mint's records...so anyone with dates different from these is wrong.

As an aside, the mint didn't intend on anyone recognizing that the composition was slightly different from 1944-1947 than in other years. For many years after the war most sources you will find will simply state (albeit incorrectly) that the mint returned to French Bronze in 1944 after the miserably failing attempt at changing the composition in 1943. They did return to something that is nearly impossible to detect as being "different" to the lay person, but chemical analysis will show differently. These planchets had sulphur, other oxides, carbon, and a lot of other trace amounts of some nifty chemicals in them that caused the stored uncirculated coins to turn a deeper orange-red over the years rather than just going deeper red, then brown.

Incidently there were actually two separate alloy tests in the 1970s that never came to pass as viable options for one reason or another. The first was in 1973 when a copper/steel sandwich "clad" planchet was tested using 1974 dated dies. To my knowledge none of these escaped the testing area and none exist today. The other test was with solid aluminum in 1974. As I understand the story, nearly 250,000 were struck in West Point using Philly dies, and a few of them escaped a handout in Washington D.C. where all examples were supposed to be recollected. My understanding is that six escaped and some of these still exist today - one of them is in the Smithsonian, currently on display in an exhibit of some of the 56 rarest coins minted in the U.S.

granddad

95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. The shell casing coins 44-46 were 95% copper and 5% zinc. 47-62 back to 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. 62-82 95% copper and 5% zinc. 82 on 99.2@ zinc and .8% copper plating.


Have a Great Day!
Louis

ROBERTB

Wow! This is some great reference material. Thanks so much. I'm working on a more comprehensive than usual cent type set and I wanted to make sure I had a representative of each metal(s) type. All of this great info. will be invaluable for this purpose. Thanks alot!

BECOKA

Excellent reference. Thanks coppercoins.