Did you know that all Lincoln cents minted before 1982 contain about two and a half cents of copper -- more than double their face value? Are you saving these pennies thinking you will be able to cash them in just like silver dimes, quarters and half dollars? Well, there is a government ban on melting pennies and another ban on exporting them so speculators are not buying them. You might save them, but you'll have a hard time selling them for a profit. Of course rare or numismatic pennies are the exception and collectors will pay for these. Also, some 1982 pennies are copper. 1982 was the year that the government started making zinc pennies that are coated with a thin layer of copper. 1982 was the year that copper prices made it too costly to make "copper pennies."