Can't tell

[Johnny5]

is there a way to distinquish between the two type of 1982 pennies other than weighing them. I've noticed a lot of pennies look like copper ones that were made in 1982 and later. They really have that copper look to them, or do you have to weigh them all? I just stareted doing pennies and i seem to average about 16-20 per box.

 

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[galenrog]

Weigh them. Small scales are cheap.

Time for more coffee.

 

[Megalodon]

You can find cheap digital pocket scales on ebay for a few bucks, good to 0.01 gram.

 

[LooseChange]

Lots of ways . . .

1) Your metal detector will tone different for zinc than for copper

2) Bounce it and listen to the ring.

3) Popsicle stick balance. Put a known zinc on one end and your unknown on the other end (fulcrum in the exact center). If the balance falls to the unknown side, it is heavier (and so, is copper). If it doesn't definitively overbalance, then the unknown is zinc.

4) You can put a deep scratch in it. You will see zinc or copper inside.

5) cheap gram scale is the best bet. $10 at Harbor Freight.

 

[Johnny5]

okay thanks for the replies, should I weigh the ones that look like copper and dated after 1982 or do you think its a waste of time?

 

[LooseChange]

okay thanks for the replies, should I weigh the ones that look like copper and dated after 1982 or do you think its a waste of time?

Pretty much a waste of time to check the post 1982 cents for weight - regardless of the toning. There would be practically zero chance of finding a later year struck on a brass planchet. It would be similarly as likely as finding the brass '43 or clad steel '44.

Arguably, the exception might be 2009. Chances are over 3,000,000 times greater to find a "heavy" 2009 (but chances are still practically zero). Many 2009 'D' and (P) cents were struck on bronze planchets - for mint sets. 2009 'S' proofs are also bronze rather than clad zinc. For all of those, finding 1 in the wild would be exceedingly unexpected.

 

[BigWaveDave]

I’m pretty confident that after 35 years of fondling garbage cents, I can tell the difference between 82 coppers and zincs just by looking at them.

 

[Dozer D]

Johnny: go with the scale,but make sure it goes to a hundredth of a gram, I.e. 3.11g, not the 3.1g. I bought the tenth 3.1, sorry I did, but it still serves its purpose.

 

[FormerTeller]

Bouncing it is the quickest and easiest way IMO. There's no mistaking the ring of copper and the thunk of zinc.

 

[sliverslave]

Most times I drop them on the countertop. If it rings a high tone copper if it sounds like a piece of plastic zinc