What do you think of this fact?
Green is the color everyone associates with the Statue of Liberty. But it wasn’t always that way. When it was put up in New York, it looked completely different.
Shiny like a new penny
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886. Its outer skin is made of copper, the same metal as many coins. According to the weather service AccuWeather, it shone “like a new penny” back then, reddish brown and metallic.
The copper skin is surprisingly thin. According to AccuWeather, it’s only about as thick as two pennies stacked on top of each other. A framework inside holds it up.
How brown became green
Copper reacts with air, water and substances floating in the air. Over time, a new layer gradually forms on the surface, called patina. And patina is green.
According to the US broadcaster PBS, it took about 30 years for the statue to turn completely green. During that time, its color slowly shifted from copper brown through darker shades to today’s blue-green.
Bonus fact: The green layer isn’t damage. According to AccuWeather, the patina protects the copper underneath from further weathering. That’s why it was deliberately left in place.
That also means the statue we know today is really the result of decades of chemistry in the open air. Rain, wind and sea air in New York Harbor helped shape it.
If you’ve ever seen an old copper coin or a copper roof, you can watch the effect on a small scale. A greenish coating forms there over time too.
So Lady Liberty doesn’t wear green for fashion. She earned it over 30 years.