1983 D Penny that weighs 3 grams, before I send into NGC I would like feedback. 1 1

[CurrencyChallenged]

Spoiler

 

Hello NGC Community, 

Recent collector and I was curious how rare is it to find a 1983 d over 2.5 grams? I’ve weighed it numerous times on my flour/kitchen scale and it comes to 3.0 grams but I think it’s not sensitive enough to get the .11 or not, so I figured I’d post here before I send it in to the company to see if it is worth trying to get it certified. 
 

Any feedback welcome and thank you.

[l.cutler]

Welcome to the forum.  Your scale is useless for weighing coins.  It will round to the nearest whole gram, a normal copper coated zinc cent weights 2.5, so if this one weighs 2.51 it will round up to 3. You need a scale that will read to at least hundredths of a gram.  This coin has the look of a normal copper coated zinc cent.

Edited June 19 by l.cutler

[Greenstang]

There is also a +- tolerance of .12g.  As I.cutler stated your scale is useless for coins.   
Get an accurate scale to two decimal points if you want to weigh coins.
Looking at the fields of your coin, I would bet that it is copper plated zinc.

[Henri Charriere]

Welcome!  

If I may, I should like to make some helpful suggestions...

Do not place any coin in your open palm, yes, even circulated ones.

Also, make it a practice to hold your coins by their edges only using two fingers.

Warm skin, with moist oils and perspiration, are the passive forms of post-mint damage that hobbyists can exercise control over. 

[powermad5000]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Aside from the weight discrepancy which is probably not an actual discrepancy, this well circulated and worn cent is not worth the cost of submission. It is heavily marked and nicked and has a spot of verdigris developing on the reverse. The coin you have posted is worth face value.

You would do well to invest in two books and a scale worthy of weighing coins instead of thinking about submitting a face value penny for the roughly $120 or so that it will cost you to submit a single coin.

Get yourself a copy of the Red Book of United States Coins, 2025. Also get a copy of a book titled ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins, 7th Edition. As for a scale, there are limited times that I actually need to weigh a coin and that is typically to verify its authenticity. But, should you invest in a scale that weighs to the hundredths of a gram (0.01g) which is necessary for weighing coins, spend the extra and avoid the cheap pocket scales from China. Many of these are not accurate even after calibration.