😂😂 now my last question 1 1

[Hammersred]

Please help me with this one and then I'll let y'all laugh me off the site, throwing tomatoes and rotten eggs as the little kid numismatics point and laugh at my terrible pictures, and ignorance.

82 small date. I looked, studied, got a micrometer and I know that the date fits the checklist 

[Greenstang]

Your right, it is a Small Date 1982D zincoin.
Pretty common though as there were millions minted.

[EagleRJO]

Another pipe dream that went down a rabbit hole.  If it doesn't weigh 2.5g +/- 0.10g I'll eat my shorts.

[Coinbuf]

Yes, as already noted above you are correct that this is a small date.   But if you think you have the ever elusive copper small date then biased on what I see that would be incorrect, it has the appearance of a zinc plated coin.

[Just Bob]

I doubt anyone's going to laugh you off the site. As long as you're willing to learn, we're willing to offer our opinions.

You are correct about your cent being a small date, but there were two different compositions used to make cents that year. Brass, which had been used since 1962, and copper coated zinc, which was introduced during the production of the 1982 cents. There were also two different size dates, as you know. The mints in Philadelphia and Denver minted coins for circulation with both size dates, using both compositions - except one. The only one that wasn't "officially" minted, was a 1982 D small date brass cent. A few leftover brass planchets got mixed in with the coated zinc planchets, and those are the ones that are rare. A simple test would be to weigh your coin. 3.11 grams is the magic number, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. The odds of finding one are many millions to one.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Just Bob
Got interrupted as I was typing and left out some important facts.

[The Neophyte Numismatist]

No need for tomatoes - you are asking questions.  This time you were 100% correct.

I say this with compassion - you seem to be jumping into the deep end of the pool without cutting your teeth on fundamental things.  Items like understanding the minting process, knowing what it takes to be a quality coin, or understanding scarcity of issues by series cannot be overstated.  These skills will take you further than searching for minor doubled dies.

That said... there is nothing wrong with hunting varieties and doubled dies after you have the foundational knowledge to do so.

Edited August 2, 2023 by The Neophyte Numismatist

[Jason Abshier]

As a machinist for 27 years myself did you really measure that coin with a micrometer ? 😂 people often get Dial or Digital calipers mixed up with Micrometer both are two different measuring tools it the metalworking machining world … 99% of the folks wouldn’t know how to read a true micrometer anyways … but it’s not really needed to determine 1982 small date 👍

[JKK]

The people who get laughed at or scorned don't get that for asking questions, even if they aren't real great questions. They get disrespected because they are obtuse, or slow in the uptake, or foolishly insist on conclusions proven incorrect by people who know more than they do.

[powermad5000]

I am not going to laugh. As a matter of fact, I am going to congratulate you as you took the time to inspect and even take a measurement to either prove or disprove the date in question. That means you are learning and developing your inspecting skills, and look, it got you a correct ID of this coin. Kudos!