I was going through some pennies and came across this penny. I'm developing the habit of doing a quick drop test on the 1983s, and this one sounded weird. Zinc pennies normally have a very light ring when dropped, similar but not as nice as copper ones. This one has no ring at all. It's like dropping a steel coin. I put it on the scale and it weighs 2.7 grams. It's no thicker than a normal zinc penny, so I don't believe it's a rolled-thick planchet. I'm trying to assume it's nothing, but got any ideas?
It's a normal copper plated zinc cent. Just a wee bit overweight. US Minted coins sometimes have a +/- weight variation. Nothing really major. If it was copper it would weigh 3.11 grams
I would check to make sure that other zincs weigh 2.5 and if this one is really 2.7. If it weighs 2.65 it may be rounding higher. Put the coin on different parts of the scale and I bet other areas it will weigh 2.6. Also make sure the scale is on a flat hard surface. I have that same scale and it's been very accurate. I doubt this coin is copper. It may just be slightly heavy.
I know it isn’t copper. I was more curious about the dull sound it makes when dropped on a hard surface.
