1982-D Small Year Question 2 2

[Growe85]

Hello! Im not a coin collector but I do watch videos about rare coins from time to time. Today I came across a 1982 penny in really good condition and remembered a video on it. I tried to weigh it on my kitchen scale and comes up at 3g. Is this special in any way or just a run of the mill coin? Thanks all!

[Sandon]

    Welcome to the NGC chat board.

    Unfortunately, there is a tremendous amount of misinformation about coins on the internet and in mass media. In reality, it is extremely unlikely that you would find a valuable coin in your change or among accumulations of modern coins.

    When weighing coins, one needs a good quality, properly calibrated scale that weighs out to at least hundredths of a gram. A kitchen scale will not do.

    Your coin is a 1982-D small date cent, which was supposed to be struck only in the copper plated zinc composition introduced that year, which has a standard weight of 2.50 grams. Two pieces have been found that were struck in the old, 95% copper alloy composition, which has a standard weight of 3.11 grams, and which are the only valuable 1982-D cents. Your coin exhibits several small plating blisters--the small, raised dots between Lincoln's nose and the rim--which indicate that in all likelihood it is copper plated zinc.

   Your kitchen scale that appears to weigh only in whole grams would presumably round 2.5 grams up to 3, as well as rounding anything between 3 and 3.5 grams down to 3, and it may not be very accurate to boot. If you check this coin on an appropriate scale, the weight should be approximately 2.5 grams. The minimum weight within mint tolerance for the rare, pure copper alloy coin would be 2.98 grams, while the tolerance for a copper plated zinc cent would be between 2.40 and 2.60 grams. If it actually weighs at least 2.98 grams, further investigation may be in order.

   Your coin is in uncirculated condition and even if of the copper plated zinc variety is worth preserving in that condition for future collectors. Do not handle it with your bare hands, except by its edges if you must, and store it in an appropriate holder in a cool, dry place.

[Greenstang]

The video you watched was probably referring to the COPPER 1982D small date of which    
there are only a couple known. Yours is the copper plated zinc cent with millions being minted.   
As mentioned, kitchen scales are useless for weighing coins. Get a good set that weighs to
at least two decimal points. ( Cheap scales are not that accurate.)

[Christian336]

Im sorry to bother but are the 1980, 1980D, 1981, 1981D, and 1982 pennies weighing 3.1 common? I also have 1982, 1983D, 1986D, and 1989 weighing 2.5

[Greenstang]

Yes, those  weights for those years are common. 
Also weights of coins should  to be to two decimal points.

[Christian336]

I have numerous pennies ranging from 1935 to 2000s and also have double and thriple digit scales but the more I search on the internet the more confused i get. 

[Sandon]

@Christian336--Welcome to the NGC chat board. Please post your questions as new topics on this forum, not as replies to someone else's topic.

   The standard weight for all U.S. cents from mid-1864 through most pieces made in 1982, except for the zinc coated steel pieces dated 1943, is 3.11 grams, with a tolerance of plus or minus 0.13 gram. Most deviations from even this tolerance are generally due to wear or thin planchet stock and of no importance. It is almost always a waste of time to weigh common date coins that were taken from or made for circulation.

  

[Coinbuf]

On 9/21/2024 at 5:52 PM, Christian336 said:

I have numerous pennies ranging from 1935 to 2000s and also have double and thriple digit scales but the more I search on the internet the more confused i get. 

Not very surprising given the vast amount of misinformation about coins and coin collecting that is on the web.   The best advice I can offer is to stay away from sites like you tube or reddit.    Both of those sites have good information but is buried under a massive amount of misinformation just to get clicks.  If you have questions feel free to ask, but please start a new thread for each of your questions, it is much less confusing to start a new thread vs having multiple questions about different subjects or coin in one thread.

[powermad5000]

To the OP, hello and welcome to the forum!
 

I see some plating blisters on the obverse of your 1982 D Lincoln Memorial cent so it is sure to be the copper plated zinc variety with an ideal weight of 2.5g. You can get a better scale to weigh it and confirm that or if you cannot afford a better scale, you could take it to a local coin shop or jewelry shop that has one to get an accurate weight. A scale for weighing coins should weigh to the hundredth decimal place (0.01g). If you do invest in a better scale, try to avoid the cheap pocket scales from China that cost about $10 because many of those are not accurate even if they say PASS during calibration.

I agree that the condition of this cent is still rather excellent and since most of these were tossed back in circulation when it was found they were not the unicorn cent, better quality examples are a little harder to come by despite the very high mintage over 1 billion pieces. One more note, never tough the flat surface of any coin you believe to have some value. If you must, handle coins by their edges only.