At theSMASHEDpenny, only older Lincoln cents are used. In 1982 the U.S. Mint started making pennies out of zinc and put a very thin copper coating on them. The 1981 and older cents are made of solid copper. If you SMASH with a newer penny, you can often see the zinc show through as streaks. After a while, the newer elongated penny gets darker and corrodes, making for a pretty ugly collectible. So all of our SMASHED items are made on cents that are more than 27 years old. But, don't worry they are all very shiny and look brand new before smashing.

It's Legal! -- U.S. Code Title 18, Chapter 17, Section 331: Prohibits, among other things, fraudulent alteration and mutilation of coins. This statute does not, however, prohibit the mutilation of coins if done without fraudulent intent or if the mutilated coins are not used fraudulently.