MEASURED · 20 OCTOBER 2026

Brass price per pound: what the metal in each type of brass is worth, every year since 1960

Brass has no exchange price of its own. What it has is copper and zinc, and sometimes lead and tin, and those trade every day in London. At September 2026 prices the metal in a pound of yellow brass was worth $4.91, +44% in a year and a record in dollars of the day. That is 74.7% of a pound of copper, a lower share than in 662 of the 801 months since 1960. Below: the metal value of six common brasses, how to work out your own, brass against copper month by month, every year since 1960 in dollars of the day and of today, and the grades a scrap yard sorts brass into.

The short answer

Yellow brass, 65% copper, September 2026

$4.91

metal value a pound; $10.82 a kilogram

Cartridge brass, 70/30 (shell cases)

$5.14

metal value a pound

Cast red brass, 85-5-5-5 (valves)

$6.93

metal value a pound; 105.6% of copper’s price

Copper, for comparison

$6.57

a pound, London, +45% in a year

Metal value: the brass’s copper, zinc, lead and tin, each at the World Bank’s September 2026 monthly average of the London Metal Exchange price, weighted by the alloy’s composition from the Copper Development Association. It is what the metal in a pound is worth at exchange prices. A scrap yard’s price is its own, and we do not measure scrap prices.

Brass price by type

Metal value of a pound of six common brass alloys at September 2026 London prices, with the composition, the value as a share of a pound of copper, and the value a year earlier
BRASS	PER LB	VS COPPER	WHAT IS IN IT	A YEAR EARLIER
Leaded red brass, cast (85-5-5-5)C83600 · Cast red brass: valves and castings, scrap grade Ebony	$6.93	105.6%	85% copper, 5% tin, 5% lead, 5% zinc	$4.74+46.2% since
Red brass, 85%C23000 · Wrought red brass	$5.85	89.2%	85% copper, 15% zinc	$4.05+44.6% since
Cartridge brass, 70%C26000 · Fired shell cases are 70/30, scrap grade Lace	$5.14	78.3%	70% copper, 30% zinc	$3.57+44.1% since
Yellow brass, 65%C27000 · The common yellow brass, scrap grade Honey	$4.91	74.7%	65% copper, 35% zinc	$3.41+43.9% since
Free-cutting brassC36000 · Leaded brass made to be machined	$4.71	71.8%	61.5% copper, 2.75% lead, 35.75% zinc	$3.29+43.5% since
Muntz metal, 60%C28000 · 60% copper, the least of the six	$4.67	71.1%	60% copper, 40% zinc	$3.25+43.7% since

Compositions from the Copper Development Association’s wrought and cast alloy tables: the percentage in the alloy’s name for the plain brasses, the midpoints of the limits for C36000 (copper 60–63%, lead 2.5–3%), and 85-5-5-5 for C83600. Trace iron is left out. September 2026 London prices per pound: copper $6.57, zinc $1.82, lead $0.85, tin $24.36.

How to work out what your brass is worth

Multiply each metal’s share by its price and add them up. For yellow brass at September 2026 prices: 0.65 × $6.57 for the copper plus 0.35 × $1.82 for the zinc is $4.27 + $0.64 = $4.91 a pound. Copper is 87% of that, which is the practical point: a brass price is mostly a copper price. When copper moves 10%, yellow brass’s metal value moves about 8.7%. That is why it rose +44% between September 2025 and September 2026, with copper +45% and zinc +37%.

Then multiply by your weight. Ten pounds of clean yellow brass held $49.06 of copper and zinc at those prices. That figure is a reference point for judging a quote, not a quote: a yard prices brass by grade and by what its own buyers pay, and its price is not something we measure. If you want today’s value rather than a monthly average, put today’s copper and zinc prices into the same sum.

Brass against copper, since 1960

Upper line: cast red brass, 85-5-5-5. Lower line: yellow brass, 65/35. Both as a percentage of the London copper price per pound in the same month.

A pound of yellow brass held metal worth 74.7% of a pound of copper in September 2026. The arithmetic makes the reason plain: 65% of the copper price plus 35% of the zinc price, so the share only moves when zinc gets cheaper or dearer against copper. In September 2026 zinc cost 28% of copper per pound. In 139 of the 801 months since January 1960 the share was this low or lower, and in January 2026 it fell to 73.6%, the lowest since October 2012. The range since 1960 runs from 70.1% in April 1966 to 92.3% in September 1997. By decade it averaged 74.7% in the 1960s, 80% in the 1970s, 83% in the 1980s, 83.3% in the 1990s, 80.5% in the 2000s, 77.2% in the 2010s, and 76.3% in the 2020s. So an estimate built on the 1980s or 1990s share, about 83% of copper, would overstate brass today.

Why cast red brass beats copper on paper

Cast red brass, the 85-5-5-5 casting alloy C83600, is 85% copper. You would expect its metal to be worth less than copper’s. It is worth more, because 5% of it is tin, and tin cost $24.36 a pound in September 2026, 3.7 times the copper price. That 5% alone holds $1.22 of the $6.93. Measured month by month, cast red brass’s metal was worth more than a pound of copper in 702 of 801 months since 1960, and in every month since September 2012.

That is metal content, not a price anyone pays. The scrap trade’s red brass grade, “Ebony”, covers castings “made of copper, tin, zinc, and/or lead”, and its specification sets no tin content. We have no measure of how much of the tin a buyer pays for.

Brass price history chart

Upper solid line: cast red brass. Lower solid line: yellow brass, in dollars of the day. Dashed: yellow brass in September 2026 dollars (BLS consumer price index). Log scale, so equal heights are equal percentage moves.

Is brass at a record?

The month of the highest yellow brass metal value in today's dollars in each decade since 1960, per pound, in dollars of the day and in today's dollars
DECADE	PEAK MONTH, AFTER INFLATION	THEN, PER LB	IN SEPTEMBER 2026 DOLLARS
1960s	April 1966	$0.61	$6.33
1970s	April 1974	$1.17	$8.22
1980s	February 1980	$1.00	$4.26
1990s	September 1990	$1.14	$2.89
2000s	May 2006	$2.94	$4.89
2010s	February 2011	$3.30	$5.03
2020s	September 2026	$4.91	$4.91

Yellow brass, 65% copper, 35% zinc. Each decade’s row is its highest month after inflation.

In dollars of the day September 2026 is the record for both yellow and cast red brass, in data back to 1960: $4.91 and $6.93 a pound. After inflation it is not. Yellow brass’s metal was worth $1.17 a pound in April 1974, which is $8.22 in September 2026 dollars, and 31 months beat September 2026 in real terms: every one of them between 1964 and 1974 except February 2011. For cast red brass the 1974 peak is $10.06 in today’s money against $6.93 now. The cheapest month after inflation was October 2001: $0.53 a pound for yellow brass then, $1.00 today.

Every fall of 40% or more

Every fall of 40% or more in the monthly metal value of yellow brass since 1960, per pound, with the time to the low and back to the old peak
PEAK	LOW	FALL	MONTHS TO LOW	BACK TO THE PEAK
April 1966$0.61 a pound	July 1967$0.34 a pound	−44.5%	15	June 1973, 7.2 years
March 1970$0.56 a pound	October 1972$0.33 a pound	−41.8%	31	June 1973, 3.3 years
April 1974$1.17 a pound	August 1977$0.42 a pound	−63.7%	40	November 1988, 14.6 years
February 1980$1.00 a pound	June 1982$0.49 a pound	−50.6%	28	October 1988, 8.7 years
December 1988$1.28 a pound	November 1993$0.63 a pound	−51.1%	59	August 2005, 16.7 years
January 1995$1.07 a pound	October 2001$0.53 a pound	−50.8%	81	November 2004, 9.8 years
May 2006$2.94 a pound	December 2008$1.08 a pound	−63.2%	31	December 2010, 4.6 years
February 2011$3.30 a pound	January 2016$1.56 a pound	−52.7%	59	May 2021, 10.2 years

Yellow brass metal value. A fall counts from a peak to the lowest monthly value before a 40% rally off that low. “Back to the peak” is the first month at or above the old peak, in dollars of the day.

Yellow brass’s metal value has dropped 40% or more eight times since 1960. The deepest was from April 1974, −63.7% to August 1977. The slowest to come back was the December 1988 peak, regained only in August 2005, 16.7 years later. Every one of these peaks has since been passed in dollars of the day, but four of the eight took more than nine years.

Brass price by year, 1960 to 2026

Yearly average metal value of a pound of yellow brass and of cast red brass, in dollars of the day and today's dollars, with yellow brass as a share of the copper price, 1960 to 2026
YEAR	YELLOW, PER LB	TODAY’S $	CAST RED, PER LB	TODAY’S $	YELLOW VS COPPER
2026 (to Sep)	$4.52	$4.58	$6.47	$6.56	74.1%
2025	$3.39	$3.54	$4.72	$4.93	75.1%
2024	$3.14	$3.37	$4.32	$4.64	75.6%
2023	$2.92	$3.24	$3.97	$4.39	75.9%
2022	$3.15	$3.64	$4.24	$4.90	78.8%
2021	$3.22	$4.01	$4.44	$5.52	76.3%
2020	$2.18	$2.84	$2.86	$3.72	77.8%
2019	$2.18	$2.87	$2.84	$3.75	79.9%
2018	$2.39	$3.21	$3.09	$4.15	80.7%
2017	$2.28	$3.13	$2.95	$4.06	81.4%
2016	$1.77	$2.48	$2.37	$3.33	80%
2015	$1.93	$2.75	$2.57	$3.66	77.3%
2014	$2.37	$3.37	$3.24	$4.61	76%
2013	$2.47	$3.57	$3.42	$4.95	74.1%
2012	$2.66	$3.90	$3.64	$5.34	73.6%
2011	$2.95	$4.42	$4.10	$6.14	73.7%
2010	$2.56	$3.96	$3.47	$5.35	75%
2009	$1.78	$2.79	$2.37	$3.72	76.2%
2008	$2.35	$3.67	$3.19	$4.99	74.4%
2007	$2.61	$4.25	$3.21	$5.21	80.9%
2006	$2.50	$4.18	$2.89	$4.83	82.1%
2005	$1.30	$2.25	$1.64	$2.83	78.1%
2004	$1.01	$1.80	$1.34	$2.39	77.8%
2003	$0.66	$1.20	$0.83	$1.52	81.3%
2002	$0.58	$1.09	$0.72	$1.35	82.5%
2001	$0.61	$1.15	$0.74	$1.41	84.6%
2000	$0.71	$1.40	$0.86	$1.68	86.8%
1999	$0.63	$1.28	$0.76	$1.55	89%
1998	$0.65	$1.34	$0.80	$1.65	86.7%
1997	$0.88	$1.85	$1.05	$2.20	85.2%
1996	$0.84	$1.80	$1.07	$2.29	80.6%
1995	$1.03	$2.28	$1.31	$2.90	77.3%
1994	$0.84	$1.90	$1.05	$2.38	80.1%
1993	$0.72	$1.67	$0.89	$2.07	82.6%
1992	$0.87	$2.09	$1.06	$2.54	84%
1991	$0.87	$2.15	$1.07	$2.64	81.7%
1990	$1.03	$2.64	$1.22	$3.14	84.9%
1989	$1.10	$3.00	$1.34	$3.66	85.4%
1988	$0.96	$2.74	$1.21	$3.43	81.7%
1987	$0.65	$1.93	$0.87	$2.58	80.7%
1986	$0.52	$1.61	$0.70	$2.14	84.2%
1985	$0.54	$1.70	$0.83	$2.62	84.3%
1984	$0.55	$1.79	$0.84	$2.72	88.4%
1983	$0.59	$2.00	$0.94	$3.17	81.8%
1982	$0.55	$1.94	$0.89	$3.11	82.6%
1981	$0.65	$2.40	$1.03	$3.81	82%
1980	$0.76	$3.14	$1.26	$5.17	77.2%
1979	$0.70	$3.26	$1.16	$5.38	78.1%
1978	$0.50	$2.56	$0.85	$4.37	80.2%
1977	$0.48	$2.67	$0.78	$4.32	80.8%
1976	$0.53	$3.11	$0.74	$4.37	82.8%
1975	$0.48	$3.02	$0.66	$4.13	86.1%
1974	$0.80	$5.54	$1.02	$7.02	86.1%
1973	$0.66	$4.98	$0.83	$6.24	81.6%
1972	$0.37	$3.00	$0.51	$4.10	77.5%
1971	$0.37	$3.06	$0.51	$4.24	75%
1970	$0.46	$4.04	$0.64	$5.59	72.3%
1969	$0.48	$4.39	$0.66	$6.02	71.8%
1968	$0.41	$3.96	$0.56	$5.45	72.4%
1967	$0.38	$3.82	$0.52	$5.29	73.4%
1966	$0.50	$5.16	$0.68	$7.11	71.4%
1965	$0.43	$4.60	$0.60	$6.42	73.4%
1964	$0.34	$3.67	$0.47	$5.05	76.8%
1963	$0.22	$2.47	$0.31	$3.46	76.4%
1962	$0.22	$2.45	$0.31	$3.48	75.1%
1961	$0.22	$2.49	$0.31	$3.48	76.9%
1960	$0.24	$2.73	$0.32	$3.66	77.7%

Average of the year’s monthly metal values, per pound; “today’s $” in September 2026 dollars. Yellow brass is 65% copper and 35% zinc; cast red brass is 85% copper and 5% each of tin, lead and zinc.

Brass in the US

The prices on this page are London’s. In 2025 the US copper price (COMEX) averaged 9.1% above London, by the US Geological Survey’s estimate, against 2% or less in each year from 2021 to 2024. The gap is set out year by year in copper price per pound. Since copper is 87% of yellow brass’s metal value, a copper premium of that size lifts the value of the metal in US brass by roughly 8%. Zinc, lead and tin are left at London prices in that estimate.

How a scrap yard sorts brass

US yards buy and sell scrap in grades with code names from ReMA’s ISRI Specifications (July 2026), the trade’s own definitions of what a load of each kind may and may not contain. The brass grades:

ReMA ISRI scrap grades for brass, what each contains and what it must be free of
GRADE	WHAT IT IS	MUST BE FREE OF
Honey	Yellow brass scrap: mixed yellow brass solids, castings, rolled brass, rod, tubing, plated brass	Iron, manganese and aluminum bronze, unsweated radiators, excessively dirty or corroded pieces, and munitions, including bullet casings
Ebony	Composition or red brass: red brass scrap, valves, machinery bearings and parts, castings of copper, tin, zinc and/or lead	Semi-red brass castings (78% to 81% copper), high-lead alloys, cocks and faucets, closed water meters, aluminum, silicon and manganese bronzes, iron
Lace / Lady	Clean fired 70/30 brass shell cases, without primers (Lace) or with them (Lady)	Other material
Label	New brass clippings: cuttings of new unleaded yellow brass sheet or plate	Foreign substances; Muntz metal and naval brass
Ebulent	Lead-free bismuth brass castings: copper, tin, bismuth and zinc	Leaded brass attachments; 0.2% or more alloyed lead
Drink	Refinery brass: brass and bronze solids and turnings, alloyed and contaminated copper	Under 61.3% copper or over 5% iron; insulated wire

Three practical points follow straight from those definitions. Shell cases are their own grade, and the yellow brass grade must be free of them, so keep them apart. Both main grades must be free of iron, so take off steel screws, handles and inserts. Faucets and closed water meters are named as excluded from the red brass grade, so they do not belong in a load sold as red brass.

To check a piece, use a magnet. Brass is not magnetic, so if a magnet sticks there is iron or steel in or on it; as little as 1% iron in a brass gives a noticeable pull, according to Wikipedia. Since 4 January 2014, pipes, fittings and fixtures for US drinking water must be “lead free”, which the EPA explains means a weighted average of no more than 0.25% lead on the surfaces that touch water, down from 8% before the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act. Lead-free bismuth brass has its own scrap grade, Ebulent, for castings with under 0.2% lead.

The same history for the metals inside brass is in copper price per pound, and for others in aluminum price per pound, silver price history and gold price history. This page is history, not a forecast or personal advice.

How we measured it

Prices: the World Bank Pink Sheet (2 October 2026 release), monthly averages of London Metal Exchange prices for grade A copper, high-grade zinc, refined lead and tin, January 1960 to September 2026, in dollars per metric ton, converted at 2,204.62 pounds per ton (1 lb = 453.59237 g). Compositions: the Copper Development Association’s UNS tables; the metal value is the weighted sum of the metal prices, ignoring trace elements and any cost of separating them. Today’s money: BLS CPI-U to September 2026. Falls: a fall runs from a peak to the lowest monthly value before a 40% rally and ends at the first month back at the old peak. US copper: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, annual averages. Scrap grades: ReMA’s ISRI Specifications, July 2026. Lead-free plumbing: the EPA.

Common questions

How much is brass worth per pound?

The metal in it was worth $4.91 a pound for yellow brass (65% copper, 35% zinc) at September 2026 London prices, $5.14 for 70/30 cartridge brass, $5.85 for 85% red brass and $6.93 for cast red brass (85% copper, 5% each of tin, lead and zinc). That is the value of the copper, zinc, lead and tin at exchange prices, not a scrap yard's price.

What is the price of scrap brass?

It depends on the yard and the grade. We did not measure scrap prices, and we know of no free national series of them. What we can give is the metal value behind a quote: $4.91 a pound for yellow brass and $6.93 for cast red brass at September 2026 London prices. A yard sorts scrap into grades such as Honey (yellow brass) and Ebony (red brass) from the ReMA specifications, and separating yours by type, with iron, steel and non-metal parts taken off, is what those grade definitions ask for.

Is brass worth more than copper?

Yellow brass is not: its metal was worth 74.7% of a pound of copper in September 2026, because zinc costs far less than copper. Cast red brass is, on paper. Its 5% tin made its metal worth 105.6% of a pound of copper in September 2026, and it has been above copper in 702 of 801 months since 1960. That is metal content, not what a buyer pays for it.

Why did the price of brass go up?

Because copper and zinc did. Between September 2025 and September 2026 copper rose +45% and zinc +37% on the London Metal Exchange, and the metal in a pound of yellow brass went from $3.41 to $4.91. Copper is 87% of that value, so a brass price moves almost one for one with copper.

How can you tell if something is brass?

Try a magnet. Brass is not magnetic, so a magnet that sticks means there is iron or steel in or on the piece; Wikipedia notes that as little as 1% iron in a brass gives a noticeable pull. Bronze is a different alloy: copper with tin, aluminum or silicon rather than zinc, and scrap yards grade manganese and aluminum bronze apart from brass.

What is the difference between yellow brass and red brass?

Copper content. Yellow brass (C27000) is 65% copper and 35% zinc; red brass (C23000) is 85% copper and 15% zinc. In scrap, the red brass grade (Ebony) covers valves and castings of copper, tin, zinc and lead, such as C83600, 85% copper with 5% each of tin, lead and zinc. At September 2026 prices the metal in a pound of C83600 was worth $6.93, against $4.91 for yellow brass.

Is brass at an all-time high?

In dollars of the day, yes: September 2026 was the highest monthly metal value for yellow brass in data back to 1960, at $4.91 a pound. After inflation it is not. April 1974's $1.17 is $8.22 in September 2026 dollars, and 31 months, all but one of them between 1964 and 1974, were higher in real terms.