Coin Specifications | U.S. Mint (2024)

How much does a dime weigh? What are pennies made of? Find out in the table below, which gives specifications for U.S. Mint legal tender coins presently in production for annual sets. Specifications for the American Innovation $1 Coins and Native American $1 Coins are the same.

The penny, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar are clad coins. Clad coins have an inner core of metal surrounded by an outer layer of a different metal. The Mint makes clad coins with an inner core of copper. The nickel is the only circulating coin that isn’t clad.

Denomination	Cent	Nickel	Dime	Quarter Dollar	Half Dollar	Dollar
Composition	Copper Plated Zinc 2.5% Cu Balance Zn	Cupro-Nickel 25% Ni Balance Cu	Cupro-Nickel 8.33% Ni Balance Cu	Cupro-Nickel 8.33% Ni Balance Cu	Cupro-Nickel 8.33% Ni Balance Cu	Manganese-Brass 88.5% Cu 6% Zn 3.5% Mn 2% Ni
Weight	2.500 g	5.000 g	2.268 g	5.670 g	11.340 g	8.1 g
Diameter	0.750 in. 19.05 mm	0.835 in. 21.21 mm	0.705 in. 17.91 mm	0.955 in. 24.26 mm	1.205 in. 30.61 mm	1.043 in. 26.49 mm
Thickness	1.52 mm	1.95 mm	1.35 mm	1.75 mm	2.15 mm	2.00 mm
Edge	Plain	Plain	Reeded	Reeded	Reeded	Edge-Lettering
No. of Reeds	N/A	N/A	118	119	150	N/A

Content last updated on April 28, 2022