How we pay
Paid within 24–48 hours, how the number gets set, and what to expect at pickup — the plain-English payment walkthrough.
BRASS & BRONZE REFERENCE
The Brass & Bronze Dictionary.
Every brass and bronze alloy, every C-number, every trade term — explained in plain English, no jargon left standing. Yellow brass, red brass, tin bronze, phosphor bronze, bearing bronze, nickel silver, and the field tests that tell them apart. Bookmark this page. When you want to understand brass and bronze, start here.
A TO Z
The brass & bronze dictionary
Every entry in one line of plain English. Tap any term for the full page — what it is, what it looks like, where it’s found, and what to know before you sell it.
A
- Alloy numbers — the C system
- The C-number stamped on mill brass and bronze is the metal's real name. C360, C932, C521, and the rest, decoded.
- Aluminum bronze (C954)
- Copper plus aluminum — no tin. Strong, marine-grade: propellers, pump parts, heavy wear parts.
B
- Bearing bronze (SAE 660 / C932)
- The dark bronze of bearings and bushings — leaded, slippery, self-lubricating. Rings, sleeves, flanges, thrust washers.
- Bronze
- Copper plus tin: the reddish-brown family — tin bronze, phosphor bronze, aluminum bronze, silicon bronze.
- Brass vs bronze
- The four field tests that tell them apart: color, magnet, weight and markings, and the file scratch.
- Bushings
- Sleeve and flanged bushings in C932 bearing bronze — what they look like and how to prep them.
C
- C-number system
- How copper alloys are numbered — brasses in the C2–C4 range, bronzes in C5–C9 — and why the stamp is the final word.
- Cartridge brass (C260)
- About 70% copper, 30% zinc — the bending and deep-drawing brass behind cartridge cases and pressed parts.
- Contamination
- Steel, aluminum, zinc die-cast, plastic — the stowaways that drag a whole barrel down to mixed.
F
- File scratch test
- The honest test under the tarnish: gold-yellow scratch is brass, reddish-brown is bronze, gray is plating over steel.
- Free-cutting brass (C360)
- The machinist's brass — leaded so chips break clean. Turned fittings, nuts, screws, and bar ends.
G
- Grading brass & bronze
- The four levers that decide what a load brings: alloy separation, cleanliness, attachments, and contamination.
I
- Identification — “what do I have?”
- The field guide: color first, magnet check, weight and markings, then the file scratch. No spark test — that's for steel.
M
- Magnet check
- Neither brass nor bronze sticks to a magnet. If it grabs, it's steel or plated — that's the test's real job.
- Mixed brass
- Yellow and red in one barrel get bought as mixed — and the redder alloy is the one that loses. Sort them.
N
- Nickel silver (C752)
- Silvery-white copper-nickel-zinc — no silver, and not bronze despite the numbering. Keys, zippers, instrument parts.
P
- Phosphor bronze (C521)
- The springy bronze — copper, tin, and a touch of phosphorus. Strip, coil, springs, and electrical contacts.
- Plumbing fittings
- Where sellers find brass: valves, elbows, unions, tees, nipples, faucets — and what counts as clean.
- Patina
- Tarnish is the metal's own skin and it's fine. Heavy green crust and pitting — where metal is eaten — is not.
R
- Red brass
- The copper-heavy brass — roughly four-fifths copper. Redder than yellow brass, not as red as copper. Valves, pump parts, steam fittings.
S
- SAE 660
- The trade name for C932 bearing bronze — the standard bearing and bushing alloy.
- Separation — alloy sorting
- Yellow apart from red, bronze apart from brass, stamped C-numbers in their own piles. The biggest lever on a load.
- Silicon bronze
- Copper plus silicon — the welding-rod and marine-hardware bronze. A cousin of tin bronze.
- Spring bronze
- The trade's nickname for phosphor bronze — bend it and it snaps back.
V
- Valves
- Gate, ball, globe, and hose bibs — solid brass bodies, the single most common brass item in the trade.
Y
- Yellow brass
- The gold-yellow workhorse: copper plus zinc, roughly two-thirds copper. Fittings, valves, hardware, machined parts.
INTERACTIVE
Brass vs bronze, side by side.
Spin them and compare the color: brass runs gold-yellow, bronze runs redder and browner. The 3D model loads as you scroll — if it doesn’t, the engraved plate above stays put.
Left: a brass fitting — gold-yellow. Right: a bronze fitting — redder, browner. Color is the fastest field test. Drag to spin, pinch or scroll to zoom.
GO DEEPER
The reference shelf
When one dictionary line isn’t enough, these are the full guides behind it.
Sell copper
Copper and copper alloys are our home turf — wire, tubing, and solids bought across Chicago with same-day pickup.
Copper Resource Center
Markets, pricing explained, quizzes, and every copper tool on the site in one place.
SISTER DICTIONARIES
More metals, same plain English.
The brass & bronze dictionary is one shelf of the reference library. The copper and carbide shelves are fully stocked.
Copper Wire Dictionary
Every copper wire type, grade, and trade term — bare bright, #1, #2, insulated, hair wire, MCM feeders, and the rest.
Tungsten Carbide Dictionary
Carbide grades, inserts, and scrap terms in plain English — the reference shelf for machine shops and scrappers.
READY TO SELL
Know what you’ve got? Turn it into cash.
You’ve done the homework — now get today’s number. Call or text a photo of your brass or bronze: 312-880-8174. Same-day pickup across Chicago, paid within 24–48 hours. Traveling nationwide for the right load.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Brass & bronze questions, answered.
What's the difference between brass and bronze?
The alloying partner: brass is copper plus zinc (gold-yellow), bronze is copper plus tin (reddish-brown). Full field guide: https://ironcrestindustrialsurplus.com/brass-vs-bronze
How can I tell brass from bronze?
Color first — gold-yellow is brass, reddish-brown is bronze. Back it up with a magnet check (neither sticks), then a file scratch on a hidden edge to see the true metal under the tarnish.
Does Ironcrest buy brass and bronze?
Yes — yellow brass, red brass, bronze, phosphor bronze, and bearing bronze, across Chicago with same-day pickup and paid within 24–48 hours. Text a photo to 312-880-8174.
What hurts the value of brass and bronze scrap?
Four things: mixed alloys in one pile, dirt and oil, steel or plastic attachments left on, and contamination — one steel bolt in the barrel drags the whole load. https://ironcrestindustrialsurplus.com/how-brass-bronze-is-graded
Is nickel silver actually silver?
No. Nickel silver (like C752) is copper plus nickel plus zinc — silvery in color, with zero silver in it. It's still a copper alloy and still bought as one.
Who buys brass and bronze in Chicago?
We do — Ironcrest Industrial Surplus buys brass and bronze across Chicago with same-day pickup and paid within 24–48 hours: 312-880-8174.
Text a photo of your brass or bronze to Sonny at 312-880-8174 — or call 312-880-8174 for today's number.