1983 D copper cent?

Is this a copper cent? It weighs more than the regular cent.

 

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I think I see zinc on the reverse.

 

You can see the zinc...

 

It looks like zinc because it is silver looking. But why would it weigh more than the regular zinc cents? I'm curious about that. The scale goes between 2.9 to 3.0 depending on where it is on the scale.

 

There is a weight tolerance. I'm not sure what exactly it is. But I'd put a paycheck bet on it that yours is within that. I can't see yours being a copper cent with all that zinc/silver showing.

 

What does the crud on it weigh? The thing is it's overweight for a zinc cent and underweight for a copper cent, however not all of these cents tip the scales right on the button. I don't know what the tolerances are, but if this cent is anything, it's a zinc cent out of the tolerance, not copper cent.

 

You need a better scale.

 

Agreed. Here is something I found on another link. To answer your question about tolerance ranges, the tolerance for the brass cents was .13 grams and for the copper plated zinc it was .1 grams So a brass 1983 cent could weigh anywhere from 2.97 grams to 3.23 grams. A copper plated zinc 1983 cent could weigh from 2.4 to 2.6 grams so there is no overlap at all between the two weight standards. Even an over weight zinc and an underweight brass would still be .4 grams apart in weight. So there would be no confusing the two.

 

You can PM me for my address to send me your paycheck lol. The tolerance for a zinc cent is 2.5g +- 0.100g according to my 2016 Mega Red, p. 1442.

 

Do you have any suggestions about a better scale? What brand?

 

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ok, so I'm awful with numbers. What would those numbers suggest my cent made out of? Zinc and what?

 

You don't really need any specific brand. Anything in the way of a jewelry scale or reloading scale will work well. Just make sure it can display readings in milligrams. I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012IJCI1Y

 

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Lady, you are getting to be a true numismatist. One of my teachers told us that a good education it is not always about what we know; it's about the ability to find answers to what we don't know!

 

Still no way that is a copper cent

 

I'm inclined to think your scale is out of whack, or that maybe it's accumulated enough crud to read 3.0g. That reading is literally just a hair outside tolerance for a copper cent, but it's obviously not copper because the zinc is showing.

 

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I
read something about a transitional cent. I know it would be nearly impossible to find though.

 

Yep, it exists. 1983 P copper cents also exist. I'm unsure how many of each there are.

 

Check how much a nickel weighs. Tells you if the scale is right or not. Should be 5.000 g. And a dollar bill will weigh 1.0 g.

 

Great idea. I forgot the trick of using a nickel as a quick and dirty check. It also has a tolerance of 0.194g, so a good nickel could way anywhere from 4.806-5.194g, which your scale will probably display as 4.8-5.2g, @Sheila Ruley.

 

Here they are on the nose.