1983 d penny heavy

Take it to a "we buy gold" or jewelry place that has a hand held XRF. Xrays from an XRF penetrate below the surface. Depth depends on a number of diff factors but if I recall correctly, it can be 100 microns or more. The standard plating is approx 8 microns but I would guess that a heavy plate would still be below 100 microns.

A standard copper planchet has approx 5% Zinc. While the algorithms in the hand handheld units may not be exact for small quantities of non-precious metals, if you're seeing levels significantly higher than 5%, you have a regular copper plated cent

FWIW, your coin looks copper plated to me, but that's just a gut feel looking at the pics

 

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Thanks for the help. I also feel like it’s probably copper plated. When comparing it to other copper pennies, I couldn’t find any that looked like it. The weight is the only questionable factor.

 

Welcome to CT @Mjam808. You had a valid question, to which I hope you got your answer. If you have been following CT posts for very long, you will see that some members seem rude, condescending, and just plain caustic. You need to just ignore those individuals and hopefully get the help you seek.
You obviously know your coins and had done the research on your question, which is what most of us like to see, so keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing more posts from you.

 

This cent was either stuck on a planchet derived from rolled-thick zinc stock or struck on a planchet that received an unusually thick coating of copper in the plating bath.

 

Definitely out of tolerance and a legitimate question. It's no wonder so many new members choose not to stay. Hope you hang around, we are not all bad!

 

We were all new members once.

 

@l.cutler . I still consider myself new at 7 months here . Just saying .

 

It's a fair and proper question. I've weighed a bunch of 1982 Zincoln's early on when I was completing my variety set and never saw an out-of-tolerance coin. Nice find! I with P-n-G: it probably holds a modest premium. I've never priced one, so hard to say for sure, but take a look on eBay Coins sold/completed auctions. You might get an idea that way.

 

Do these have different premiums. Is the unusually thick copper coating more rare than a heavy zinc planchet?

 

I don't know. The problem is that, unless a cent is struck out-of-collar, it's impossible to establish the proximate cause of the excess weight. In a heavy cent that is broadstruck or struck out-of-collar, the plating has an opportunity to split, revealing its thickness. If the cent is struck in-collar, the plating won't split.

 

Great find! I’m in the rolled thick camp

 

For homogenous plating, x-ray spectrum analyzers can determine plating thickness. I suppose once you find a heavy cent, the analytics would be able to tell you if it's the result of the substrate or the plating.

 

"I have not heard of the thick copper plating before just the thick planchets. I would tuck it away, until you get more information on the coin."

Since the zinc portion is punched out of a sheet . the weight is very close to each other, so thick planchet is equal to to thick copper plating in my mind. Jim

 

It's not uncommon to get to sections of a coil of material where it is thinner/thicker than other areas. I suspect that for coinage, the controls would normally be tighter than for commercial jobs/products. Coin operated equipment in part, relies on weight. Coils can be rather large relative to the optimal layout, determined hourly rates/yields, etc. So while the sample or outer bands may be sampled for inspection, inner portions not so much. It's possible, indeed likely, that at some point, the planchets are thicker/thinner...heavier/lighter than the others in that coil. Most will be in the tolerance range, but some will be outliers.

 

I found a 1982 & 83 d
One weight 3.09g other 2.54g

 

As in your other post, if the 1983 D is the one that weighs 2.54 then both coins are completely normal.

 

I got those too. Except I don't weigh them because I know nobody in their right mind gives a ship what they weigh.