The effect of various pre-treatments on the elastic strain coefficient (alpha) (defined as the reciprocal of the modulus of elasticity E) (Epsilon) and on the mechanical hysteresis of copper has been investigated. Variables comprising the pre-treatments were pre-straining by stretching in a tensile testing machine and by drawing through a die, aging at room and elevated temperatures and annealing. The variation of the elastic strain coefficient with test stress was also investigated