1980 Silver Penny

Snick

Can someone help me with this? I have a 1980 "silver" penny. Everything I can find talks about 1982 or 1985 "silver" pennies (excluding the war-time, of course) that someone owns but I've only seen a 1980 mentioned once. The "expert" says that because of the make-up of the pennies in 1980 that if it is not coated (which it does not appear to be or else it is a fabulous job) then it would be very valuable. Can someone give me some insight as to what steps I need to take to find out what I have and has anyone every come across these before?

MadMarty

Is it the same size as a regular cent, is it the same weight as a regular cent, and can you post a picture?

rottnrog

The first thing you should do is have it weighed. A normal 1980 cent should weigh approx. 3.11 grams. If it weighs that or more it is probably plated. If it only weighs around 2.27 grams it is on a dime planchet and is worth around $200 give or take a little!!

Snick

Yes, it is the same size and I need to have it wieghed. Where's the best place to find someone with a unit that measures in grams? I'll try to get a picture.

MadMarty

For about $15 you can get a nice little scale at Office Depot or Office Max. Does weight in grams or ounces. I picked on up last year and it works great!

nwcs

Definitely weighing it is the first step. If it passes muster, a specific gravity test would be next to determine what metal it is. It is possible it was struck on a dime planchet. Is the size of the coin the same as a regular cent? If so, it's probably plated. If all of these things seem to pass, send it in for authentication to PCGS, NGC, or ANACS. They have good equipment to determine if it is real or not. Odds are, of course, that it is not real.

BTW, The 1982 and beyond cents you referred to are copper plated zinc. Sometimes the copper plating is missing or removed (by acid). The 1943 cent was steel with a coat of zinc.

Dog97

Look at the edge. If it's a dime planchet you will see the clad layers.

Shamika

I'll bet it's a nickel coated penny. These show up at coin shows from time to time.

Many freshman chemistry coarses in college have a lab experiment demonstrating a "reduction reaction".

In the experiment, you take a penny and coat it with nickel. Inevitably, these coins make their way back into circulation.

If the coin has the correct wieght and size, take a knife and scratch the rim. You'll find copper underneath the "silver" coating.

Conder101

If the weight is correct don't follow Shamika advice about the knife. Do follow Nwcs's advice about the specific gravity. The Mint was still striking coins for other countries in 1980. You would hate to cut into a cent struck on a foreign blank and greatly reduce its value before you exhaust all simple non-destructive tests.