One way to tell which is 82 is copper or zinc is to study the surface of the coin. If it is all bubbly or looks like you could 'peel' off the surface it is usually a zinc cent. I have found that it is quite difficult to get an 82 set together if I want it to look 'normal'. jeankay
flip the coin in the air, if it makes a ringing sound, then it is copper. if it makes a clunk, or no sound at all, then it's zinc. practice learning the sound by using a pre 1982 cent and a post 1982 cent.
wow. I would have never thought to listen to the sound of the coin to determine whether it is copper or zinc. As for the Canadian cents, does anybody know what year they stopped using mainly copper?
Tried the "dropping it on glass" method until I broke this glass saucer. So I found an easy to make scale. Just use a 1960's cent to calibrate for copper and a post 1990 for zinc. EzPz. Here's mine and here is the link
I still get close to 1/2 as copper cents from bank rolls. Even from circulation, I average about 20% copper. Maybe no one else searches them up here. I wish I was as lucky with silver.
Get a scale they are under $20. Weigh each roll if under 131 Grams less then 10 copper pennies. 155 Grams is all copper.
I got a gram scale off of Ebay for 6 bucks... It is well worth the money and there are a jillion of them for sale...
Recommend any particular model of digital scale? I see there are many to choose from and they all seem to be about the same in my eyes..
Howdy folks, Just got $10 worth of cents at the CU. Found about 25% copper and 6 wheaties. I'll get some more today. peace, rono