So a while back I inherited my grandpas old coin collection. He had this thing about '82 copper pennies. I have more rolls than I can count. they range in condition from quite shiny to not shiny at all. (still working on my coin vocabulary) I just have 2 questions: 1. Being that 1982 was the last year for copper pennies does that make them worth more? 2. I want to go through them. How do I know they really are copper? TIA Jeff
1.Worth copper bullion when copper goes up. If you can find someone to melt them. 2. Popsicle stick scale (google it or look here)
There are 9 repunched mintmarks and 2 double dies listed for the 82 coppers. They don't command a large premium but can be worth $5-$15 each depending on condition. Richard
Q: How can you tell what the large date and the small date on the 1982 pennies are? What the 4 different 1982 pennies? A: The large and small date are pretty easy to tell when you have them both together. The other variations are based on the metal content. For a more detailed description, here is a quote from a site discussing that very issue: Partway through production of 1982 Lincoln cents, the U.S. Mint changed the coins' composition from brass (95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc) to one that is predominantly zinc (a core of 99.2 percent zinc and 0.8 percent copper with a copper barrel plating). Cents dated 1982 come in both metallic varieties - and to complicate matters even more, there are large-date and small-date versions in both compositions. Viewed side by side, the large and small dates are relatively easy to tell apart, and there isn't much money riding on the difference, since both are quite common. Distinguishing between the brass and zinc cents is easiest by weight, rather than color: The brass cent is heavier, at 3.11 grams versus 2.5 grams for the zinc cent. Again, both kinds are common. In all, there are seven different varieties of 1982 cents. Just one combination is missing: There is no small-date cent in brass from the Denver Mint.
How do you know they're all copper? We were just talking about these the other day on here. They switched in the middle of 1982. So that year has coppers and the copper plated zincs and large date/small dates from both Denver and Philadelphia. You could weigh them separately. A Red Book might help you with some of the info. You should be able to get this year's (the 09) pretty cheap right now as 2010 should be coming out in about a month or so.
My grandpa was a very obsessive person about these pennies. I just posted them as all copper for the sake of simplicity. I still plan to check them all out. My parents gave me a scale so weighing them will go much better.
If you have small date zincs in there as well make sure to search for the elusive (2 known) 1982 DDR. If the E Pluribus Unun matches my avatar you've got one!
