How To Tell Brass From Copper 9 Steps With Pictures

Some brass has a greenish-yellow appearance, but this alloy, called “gilding metal,” is only used for a few specialized purposes in decoration and ammunition. [3] X Research source

This works best for thick, solid metal objects.

The UNS system in North America uses brass labels beginning with C2, C3, or C4, or fall between C83300 and C89999. Copper, if labeled, can use codes from C10100 to C15999, and C80000–C81399. [9] X Research source The last two digits are often dropped. In the current European system, both copper and brass begin with C. Brass ends with the letter L, M, N, P, or R, while copper ends with A, B, C, or D. [10] X Research source Older brass may not conform to these systems. Some older European standards (which were used quite recently) list the element symbols followed by a percentage. Anything that contains “Cu” and “Zn” is considered brass.

Copper is easier to bend than brass as well, but it’s difficult to draw exact conclusions from that test (especially without damaging the object).