82 penny question
 

just for fun I am filling up a folder with pennies. I see the holes for 82 pennies and they got several, for zinc ones and coppers, for big and small dates. how to tell the diff? anybody got pics or an online guide? thanks for your help

Re: 82 penny question
 

copper = 3.15 grams
zinc = 2.5 grams

Re: 82 penny question
 

yep - i just weighed mine and was suprised at the ratio of copper ones, more than 60%.

Re: 82 penny question
 

I currently lack a scale so I just flip em to differentiate between copper and zinc. Copper pennies ring, zinc ones don't. If there is any question flip a few pre and post 82 pennies to compare. I judge the dates by looking at how close the 2 in 1982 is to the rim of the coin. A bit primitive but it works.

Re: 82 penny question
 

Thanks for the tip, I hadn't considered a ring test on a penny. I have a small mess of 82's but no balance or scale sensitive enough to weigh them at the momment. I'll try flipping them.

Re: 82 penny question
 

Anty Ep, in 1982 there where 7 different varieties of pennies, This link is and
will be very helpful, It really helped me allot, i hope it helps you.:wink:
http://www.balances.com/applications/penny.html

Re: 82 penny question
 

My ears are not sensitive enough to tell anything with a ring test.

It's easy to weigh them though. Start with 2 pennies you know are copper (a pre 82 one) and one you know isn't. Get a pop sickle stick. Tape or glue a copper penny one one side of the pop sickle stick. Then balance the stick over a small object (like the shaft of a q-tip). There will be a spot where your fulcrum (the q-tip shaft) will allow a copper penny to lift the test penny and a zinc one will not. When I found that point, I marked it and then glued the q-tip shaft onto the pop sickle stick. And there you go, your 1 cent penny tester.

Re: 82 penny question
 

damn you are smart. I love ideas like this. my compliments

Re: 82 penny question
 

hey thanks, didnt we have a conversation about this the other day?

what the best pocket scale out there? best vendor?

I usually get my supplies from brent kreuger

Re: 82 penny question
 

I tried the ring test on some pennies. I found the difference to be very easy to hear. I stopped trying to flip them and instead dropped them on the table. The zincs were dull and thudding whereas the copper made a clear ring. It is a different ring than silver makes so if you get used to both you should be able to distinguish them by sound alone.

Re: 82 penny question
 

Re: 82 penny question
 

YA i think we did ? but can't remember if it was about the best weight scale, or about a certain coin that needed to be weighed, Well anyway good luck on filling up the penny folder, As for me, i will need a long loooong time filling it up. There is one that i will love to get my hands on, and its the 1943 copper penny :D boy oo boy oo boy would i love to get my hands on that one :D

Re: 82 penny question
 

If you're just checking pennies, a cheapo digital balance from Harbor Freight works fine. I got mine for $9.99. It is a Cen-Tech Item#93543 (Chicom), has a capacity of 500g, and readability to 0.1g. Can also be switched to oz., dwt., and troy oz. For rough calibration I use nickels at 5.0 grams apiece. Of course if you're weighing gold, you'll want better calibration than that!

I use the "ring test" to screen out copper pennies, then confirm them with the balance. I take a stack of 5 presumed copper pennies, and they should weigh about 15.5 g. If it's closer to 15.0, then one of them is probably a zincoln. That's faster than weighing them one-by-one. I'm at least 95% accurate with the "ring test".

I also use a variation of the popsicle stick and q-tip when I don't have my balance around. I use a 12-inch ruler and a wooden pencil (hexagonal).