1982 Pennies Questions

Somewhere there is a description of making a very basic balance beam out of a Popsicle stick. Like this:

Find the center of the Popcicle stick and glue a small dowel or straw under the center. Then with a pre-1982 cent on one end, place the cent in question on the other end. If it falls toward the pre-1982, the one in question is zinc. If it stays balanced its copper. Try the balance beam with a known zinc or copper cent just to see how it reacts first.

Check out the link on Lincoln Cent Resource

it shows the difference on the small an large date sizes plus
the popsicle stick thing to tell the difference between the CU and ZN

http://www.lincolncentresource.com/...es/1982.html

for myself ... I do the drop test on a table/desk but thats me

Personally, I use the digital scale I got to check the weights on my son's Pinewood Derby car. It is accurate enough to separate pennies. (Any self zeroing digital scale that measures 0.1 grams will do, and we're talking $10 or less for one). I tossed on a 1967 penny and it read 3.0 grams. A 2007 penny reads 2.4 grams. I could weigh them again and be +/- 0.1 grams, but there is no way to confuse the two. Greater than 2.7 grams = copper. Less than 2.7 grams = zinc.

The tough part is large date/small date. It seems that no matter what subjective term they use to describe the difference, every coin I look at could go either way. (Does the tail of the nine point at the bottom of the next number, or the middle?) I just don't see it. So I got certified examples and I can offer this bit of advice if you happen to be a stamp collector with the tools and a talent for measuring small increments: The distance from the '1' in 1982 to the rim is approx. 4 mm. for all 1982 pennies. Large Date is approx. 3.5 mm wide with approx. 1/2 mm to the rim at right. Small date is approx 3 mm wide with approx 1 mm to the rim at right. If the date is > 3.25 mm wide, it's large date. If it is less than 3.25 mm wide, it's small date.

Good luck!

I agree with amida17
John1

Like amida suggested, I bought an uncirculated set for 7 bucks. Well worth it to me, instead of messing around trying to weigh stuff.

Agree that a scale is worth the investment for most coin collectors. I had a really hard time at first also telling them apart, but now I can almost always tell them apart by feel and just the way the strike looks. The copper ones seem to have a deeper strike to them while the zinc ones look flatter.

Now with 1982's, I will make my copper/zinc call first and then weigh them to confirm. I've gotten pretty accurate!

For the large date/small date, the best way I think to tell is that the 8 looks like a snowman on the small date, with a small head on a large body. The large date the top of the 8 and the bottom of the eight are about the same size. No snowman there...

Speaking of snowmen, the link snowman24 posted is a great reference source.

Yes and if you hit them with a hammer, the Zinc ones bend easier. And if you use an Arc Welder on them, again the Zinc ones melt faster.
In reality and the real world, that popsicle stick thing is the easiest and fastest and accurate method. Again, take any popsicle stick with out the stuff on it, balance on the end of a pencil. Those six sided pencils stay still better. Place a drop of glue at that spot and allow to dry. You now have a balance beam type scale. IF you place a modern Cent at the far end of the stick, only Copper ones placed at the opposite end will drop. All Zinc ones will only balance since all the same weight.
The reverse is also true. IF you place a older than 82 Cent at one far end of the stick, placing any Zinc ones at the other end will do nothing. Only another all Copper one will make it balance.
The Red Book has a real great photo of the large and small dates.