1982 Pennies
Devin Nielsen
I am looking for some info on the 1982 US Pennies. What is the easiest
way to differ between the Sm. Dt. and the Lg. Dt. Also Do the Cop. and
Zn. pennies both look the same? Any help you can offer is appreciated,
thanks.
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Devin Nielsen
Andrew R. McConnell
On Tue, 25 Feb 1997 19:37:48 -0500, Devin Nielsen says...
> I am looking for some info on the 1982 US Pennies. What is the easiest
> way to differ between the Sm. Dt. and the Lg. Dt. Also Do the Cop. and
> Zn. pennies both look the same? Any help you can offer is appreciated,
> thanks.
The United States never issued a 1982 penny... I'm assuming that you are
referring to the different varieties of 1982 Lincoln cents. If that is
the case, then here's your answer... (I'm not trying to be mean by that
penny remark, but they're really not called pennies!)
You will probably get a variety of answers on how to determine whether
that coin is a large or small date. Personally, I think this is the
easiest way:
1982 Lg. Date: On a well centered coin, the "2" from 1982 almost reaches
the edge of the coin. Also, the top of the "2" is slightly lower than
the 8. (This will not be very noticeable if the coin isn't in decent
shape) The "8" in 1982 is also higher than "9" on a large date, but you
need a definite specimen of both to make that comparison.
1982 Sm. Date: The tops of the "982" are almost perfectly aligned. The
"1" is slightly higher.
If you use this information, you should be able to get a good idea. I
believe there is also a picture of the different varieties in The Redbook
if you have that. It should be under Small Cents...
As for the copper vs. zinc, the easiest way to tell which is which (in my
opinion) is to weight them. If you have a decent scale or balance, the
copper will weigh more (3.11 grams) than the copper plated zinc (2.5
grams)... The weights will vary depending on the wear of the coin, but
in everything but extreme cases, the copper cent will always weight
more...
Hope this information has helped. I had this explained to me by my local
dealer, and this is most of the info. he gave me. If you are still
having trouble, you can always ask your local dealer for assistance...
Good luck!
Andrew R. McConnell <dr...@nji.com>
US Coins & Numismatics
http://www.nji.com/~drew/Coins
Dan Masters
Andrew R. McConnell wrote:
> (I'm not trying to be mean by that
> penny remark, but they're really not called pennies!)
>
I would hate to start this up again, but you should go out into the
strees and talk to a few people. Find out if they are called pennies or
not. It seems only (some) US coin collectors insist on "one cent
pieces".
Dan Masters