1982 zinc and copper

KlectorKid

My cousin is a very new collector and has a book of lincon cents from 1970-present he has a few spots that he needs to fill and they r 1982's because it says u need a zinc 1982 and a copper how do u tell the differance without cutting the coin to peices.

1jester

hello again, Kid!

Copper ones weigh 3.11 grams, and copper-plated zinc ones weigh 2.5 grams. Do you have a Redbook yet? It's a great book and you can spend years reading it.

1jester

If you don't have a good set of scales (I don't either), you can build a sort of tester, using simple materials: it will look very much like a see-saw when you're done. Take a flat ice-cream stick (about wide enough for a penny to fit on it), and glue a zinc penny to one side, at the end. And to make the fulcrum, glue a round toothpick, or very small dowel to the other side, and in the middle, so that when you place a penny in a certain spot on the other side, opposite the penny you glued on, the penny you are testing will either tip the see-saw down (that will be a copper penny), or it won't tip it down (then that penny is zinc too). Have fun building one of these; you might have to try a few times to get the placement of the glued penny and the spot for testing the other pennies in the correct positions. And the fulcrum must be large enough in diameter for the see-saw to work.

KlectorKid

thx, thats a much better way than cuttin them, i have yet to buy a red book but i have a black and a blue one

JohnsCoins

If you want a set of the 7 coins, let me know. I have about 25 sets for sale. All are red BU and are from orginial rolls. The price is $3.00 plus $1.00 for shipping. The coins will come in 2x2's and will be marked with which one they are.

John Graf

indianabyron

Awww give it to them for free . think of it this way if you give it to them free now they might be more likley to buy from you in the future


Byron

jtryka

At my local coin shop the owner showed a kid an easy way to test the weight. He took a carboard 2x2 holder for cents (you know the ones that are cardboard and fold in half with the clear windows) and he put in on a pencil in the middle and put a new zinc cent on one side and the 82 in question on the other side to see which was heavier. If they were the same it was a zinc 82, if the 82 was heavier it was copper.

KlectorKid

thx for ur help guys

1jester

You're welcome! Welcome to the wonderful world of coin collecting!

dddangerousdan

For all those who have been wondering YES you can stick a copper one on the end but if the 82 in question rises it is zink, and if it stays equal it is copper

DAN

raredeal

I know this will be sacrilegious to some, but if you don't care about nicks & marks you can drop them on a hard surface like a counter top. They will sound different.