Nature of copper in the new cuprate superconductors ${\mathrm{Pb}}_2$${\mathrm{Sr}}_2$${\mathrm{Ca}}_{1\mathrm{-}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{L}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_3$${\mathrm{O}}_{8+\mathrm{\delta }}$

Based on Cu K-edge absorption spectroscopy as well as Cu(2$p_{3/2}$) and Cu(LVV) Auger spectroscopies it is shown that the recently discovered ${\mathrm{Pb}}_2$ ${\mathrm{Sr}}_2$ ${\mathrm{Ca}}_{1\mathrm{-}\mathit{x}}$ ${\mathrm{L}}_{\mathit{x}}$ ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3$ ${\mathrm{O}}_{8+\mathrm{\delta }}$ (L=Y or Lu) superconductors contain well-defined ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{1+}$ species in admixture with ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+}$. The proportion of ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{1+}$ is small in the nonsuperconducting samples with x=1, a feature which is uniquely different from that in ${\mathrm{YBa}}_2$ ${\mathrm{Cu}}_3$ ${\mathrm{O}}_{7\mathrm{-}\mathrm{\delta }}$.