Caution all dog owners — any pennies made after 1982 can be extremely harmful to your furry four-legged friends. Why?
Aside from being a choking hazard, pennies made in late 1982 and after contain a zinc core (there is a coating of pure copper around the zinc core, but that copper is easily worn or broken away). And zinc toxicity can be highly dangerous — even fatal — for dogs.
Zinc poisoning is a cause of anemia in dogs. Symptoms may include:
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Diarrhea
- Coma
How do you take a step in maintaining your dog’s safety?
Keep your coins — especially your post-1982 zinc pennies — locked away. Any loose change kept in jars or bins needs to be out of your dog’s reach.
Don’t forget, zinc is found in many other things, including:
- Nuts & bolts
- Galvanized metals
- Human medical pills containing zinc (such as certain supplements)
I’m the Coin Editor here at TheFunTimesGuide. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I’m a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) and have won multiple awards from the NLG for my work as a coin journalist. I’m also the editor at the Florida United Numismatists Club (FUN Topics magazine), and author of Images of America: The United States Mint in Philadelphia (a book that explores the colorful history of the Philadelphia Mint). I’ve contributed hundreds of articles for various coin publications including COINage, The Numismatist, Numismatic News, Coin Dealer Newsletter, Coin Values, and CoinWeek. I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!
