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 Replies: 11 / Views: 1,143 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
737 Posts |
So I bought a $20 gram scale that goes down to 0.00 to verify that my silver quarters were silver
I decided to use it to check my 198 pennies
In my first roll I had 45 pennies that weighed 3.05-3.15 and5 pennies that weighed 2.50
That seems like a very high copper to zinc ratio
Am I wrong?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3848 Posts |
That ratio isn't consistent with the mintages, although it isn't mind-blowing. Just means you have a lot of copper.
Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
737 Posts |
I averaged about 5 zinc pennies per roll
The weights were consistant
Zincs were always 2.50 +/- .01
Coppers were 3.11 +.04 / - .10
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
A 0.001 scale is better and not much more money. You also have to factor in mint tolerances of +/- .10 grams. Maybe that particular roll was a collectors' "dump"? John1  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2049 Posts |
Quote:
A 0.001 scale is better and not much more money. You also have to factor in mint tolerances of +/- .10 grams. Maybe that particular roll was a collectors' "dump"? A better scale and factoring in mint tolerances won't mean much when comparing zinc versus copper cents. It's usually pretty obvious even visually, but a scale that only goes 2 decimal points is more than sufficient for making this distinction, no? Or am I missing something because it's early and I haven't had any caffeine? Edited by CoinHunter53562
04/25/2022 07:42 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3328 Posts |
A two decimal point scale has always been good enough for me. 3 decimal point scales are useful for really fine measurements which is better but not necessary for comparing a copper and zinc cent imo.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19118 Posts |
My opinion... I wouldn't draw conclusions about copper vs. copper/zinc population ratios after weighing fewer than 200 coins. I agree with jacrispies (above). I apologize if I'm missing anything.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Agree, just means you have a lot of copper.  |
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
If you plan on being in the hobby 0.001 would be the way to go. What if in the future you want to weigh a 1943 steel cent for example, or bullion coins? Why buy a 0.01 now and then down the road buy another scale that is 0.001, they don't rot and the price will most likely be more years from now. John1 |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19118 Posts |
Well yes, a .001 scale won't rot, but it could become a parking lot scale...
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Moderator
United States
94786 Posts |
Just remember getting a scale that measures out to .001g, you loose the amount of max weight you can weigh
I can find scale that have a MAX/MIN of 20g/0.001g - and another scale that can weigh up to 200g/0.01g. So getting the proper scale for your needs should also be included in your decision.
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
Edited by John1
04/26/2022 04:16 am
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Replies: 11 / Views: 1,143 |
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Posted 04/24/2022 11:07 pm
