1996 p nickel weighs 5.10 grams 2 2

[Richmac559]

I found a 1996 p nickel in my change that weighs 5.10 grams. Has anyone heard of such a coin? If anyone knows anything about this can you give me a little insight please? Thank you

[Just Bob]

Welcome to the forum.

Standard weight of a '96 nickel is 5 grams, with a tolerance of .194 grams. This means that a nickel can weigh anywhere between 4.806 and 5.194 grams, so your coin is within mint tolerance.

Mind if I ask what prompted you to weigh the coin in the first place? No judgement - I am just curious.

[Richmac559]

I weigh all my change

[VKurtB]

On 7/23/2023 at 12:26 AM, Richmac559 said:

I weigh all my change

Oh my. You must go through a LOT of batteries.

Edited July 23, 2023 by VKurtB

[Greenstang]

If you weigh all your change, then you should take into account that there are mint tolerances   
for all business strikes.

[Sandon]

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    Checking the weight of a rare or frequently counterfeited coin can be a useful tool in the authentication process and would also be relevant if you have a coin that appears to be struck on the wrong planchet to see if it matches the weight of a coin on whose planchet it might have been struck. However, nothing in my over 52 years of experience in numismatics would lead me to believe that weighing normal looking, common coins received in pocket change would be anything other than a great waste of time.  In addition to coin weights varying within mint tolerances, worn coins are likely to be appreciably underweight, and accumulations of surface dirt and other adhesions may add to a coin's weight. Although your photos are too out of focus to see much of anything, I note a sizeable black spot that could account for at least part of the additional tenth of a gram.  

   Although your practice could occasionally result in finding a coin struck on a thin or thick planchet, I don't think that they have much market value.  Why do you do it?

[VKurtB]

On 7/23/2023 at 5:01 PM, Sandon said:

nothing in my over 52 years of experience in numismatics would lead me to believe that weighing normal looking, common coins received in pocket change would be anything other than a great waste of time.

Ding! Ding! Ding! 

[J P M]

On 7/23/2023 at 6:01 PM, Sandon said:

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    Checking the weight of a rare or frequently counterfeited coin can be a useful tool in the authentication process and would also be relevant if you have a coin that appears to be struck on the wrong planchet to see if it matches the weight of a coin on whose planchet it might have been struck. However, nothing in my over 52 years of experience in numismatics would lead me to believe that weighing normal looking, common coins received in pocket change would be anything other than a great waste of time.  In addition to coin weights varying within mint tolerances, worn coins are likely to be appreciably underweight, and accumulations of surface dirt and other adhesions may add to a coin's weight. Although your photos are too out of focus to see much of anything, I note a sizeable black spot that could account for at least part of the additional tenth of a gram.  

   Although your practice could occasionally result in finding a coin struck on a thin or thick planchet, I don't think that they have much market value.  Why do you do it?

I agree with Sandon. Maybe if it was a Henning's date nickel or something odd but regular change is not worth the effort. 

[Henri Charriere]

Your question prompted me to do a little digging...

FWIW: If your 1982 cent is majority-copper, it will weigh 3.11 grams. If it is majority-zinc, it will weigh 2.5 grams.

In 2006, the USG imposed a penalty, a fine of up to $10,000 for melting cents or nickels, or up to 5 years in prison. If the cent is discontinued, it is likely to become legal to melt.

To my knowledge there are no figures given for the weight and cost of that copper mascara on the newer cents.

Finally, I know there are 200 or so LHC minus the S minted in 1990, but you couldn't pay me to own one. Far as I am concerned, there are no cents that make any sense to me post-1959.

[Henri Charriere]

On 7/23/2023 at 2:54 PM, VKurtB said:

Oh my. You must go through a LOT of batteries.

Re weighing change... Korean green grocers, which were ubiquitous in NYC at one time, would weigh rolled coins used to make a purchase especially if you were a regular patron. This served a purpose: expediting a purchase with change they always needed without embarrassing a patron. NOTE:  This courtesy did not extend itself to a $100. strap of one-dollar bills, whether they were brand-new and consecutively numbered, or not.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Henri Charriere
Recording for clarity

[VKurtB]

On 8/9/2023 at 6:28 PM, Henri Charriere said:

Re weighing change... Korean green grocers, which were ubiquitous in NYC at one time, would weigh rolled coins used to make a purchase especially if you were a regular patron. This served a purpose: expediting a purchase with change they always needed without embarrassing a patron. NOTE:  This courtesy did not extend itself to a $100. strap of one-dollar bills, whether they were brand-new and consecutively numbered, or not.

But they didn't weigh each individual coin. That strikes me as obsessive.

[Henri Charriere]

On 8/14/2023 at 5:21 PM, VKurtB said:

But they didn't weigh each individual coin. That strikes me as obsessive.

To avoid haggling, arguments and backtalk, I would add an extra coin to every roll, be it cents, nickels or dimes. They did not point out the error because up to a certain point, banks started charging merchants for rolled coins. Rolled quarters, for example, cost an additional 25-cents.