When copper prices skyrocketed in the mid-to-late 1970s, there was a fear that the U.S. one-cent piece might succumb to this fate, leading the Mint to change the composition of the cent in 1982.
The U.S. one-cent piece might succumb to this fate, leading the Mint to change the composition of the cent in 1982. There was a fear this. Copper prices skyrocketed in the mid-to-late 1970s.