Rpena Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Hi everyone has anyone ever seen a penny that weighs 3.5 g I thought 3.1 g was the most they weighed Thank you in advance for all your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandon Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I assume that your scale is properly calibrated and is weighing other bronze or brass cents (1864-1982) at approximately 3.1 grams. The scale should show weights within one hundredth (0.01) gram. Those that show weights only in tenths of a gram may not be very accurate. Per the Coin World Almanac, the statutory weight of a 1981 Lincoln cent was 3.11 grams, with a tolerance of 0.13 gram, so the legal weight could vary from 2.98 to 3.24 grams. Coins may be somewhat underweight or overweight due to variations in planchet thickness or alloy. The mint only tends to be very careful about such matters when coins are composed of precious metals. A normal looking cent being a miniscule 0.26 gram over tolerance isn't something that collectors would generally care about or notice. Collectors generally only weigh coins that are suspected of being counterfeit or appear to be abnormal in some way that might affect their weight. I have been collecting coins for nearly 53 years and have never owned a scale. If something about this cent appears unusual to you, you should post clear, cropped photos of each side of the coin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) Why would you be weighing a 1981 cent, and has the scale been calibrated with a known weight. From the posted weight you are not using a very accurate scale to begin with. A 1982 copper cent at the high end of the mints' tolerance range weighed with a scale that has a 0.1g accuracy and may easily be out of calibration by 0.1g could simply be reading 3.5g. You can get a good quality very accurate scale that comes with calibration weights for not that much. Edited January 27 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenstang Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 How do you know if the actual weight is only 3.47g which would make it only .23g overweight. This is why an accurate scale to at least two decimal points is a must if you are going to weigh coins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
