United States one cent coin

The United States one cent coin, commonly called a penny, is a unit of currency equaling one 1/100 of a United States dollar. Its current design features the profile of President Abraham Lincoln on the obverse and the Lincoln Memorial on the reverse.

Coins minted after 1982 consist of 97% zinc, 3% copper, and ones before that were 95% copper, 5% zinc. This was changed because the intrinsic value of the coin started to rise above one cent. In 1943, during the Second World War, they were made of steel (for a short time) plated with zinc to resist rust.

The cent has gone through several designs over its two-hundred year history. Initially, it was much larger than it is today, about the size of the current United States half dollar coin[?].

See also: United States coinage