Hello all...while iam waiting until paintball season is over i plan on just looking at pocket change lol....so when my dad just handed my a couple hundred of lincolns...i looked for key dates for my whitman book....now...i ran over some 1982's and in my whitman it gives me like 6-8 different slots with Lg. Sm. Dt......which i learned is Large Small date and i dont have much trouble with that as much as the whole iron zinc and that stuff what to do? Pete-
Do you own a scale Pete ? The copper ones are heavier. If you don't own a scale - find a popsicle stick and a pencil. Balance the popsicle stick across the pencil - place a pre '82 cent on one end & the cents in question, on the other end of the popsicle stick. The heavy ones are copper ( the ones that balance with the pre '82 cent ) - the others are copper/zinc.
That's quite alright The old school still has its uses now n then - and they don't lock the doors like they do on the new ones. Besides - I had to explain a method that you young whippersnappers could understand Sorry - devil made me say it
if they are circulated coins just drop them on a hard surface from a foot or so up and compare the sound that they make when they strike the counter. have a pre-82 and a post-82 for comparison. I find this to be much easier than trying to make sure I have my pencil/popsicle stick scale properly centered and balanced. Plus I don't have to go to the store for more popsicles ever time I get more pennies.
Here is what I always did with the 82's. If your hearing is ok, sit down in a quiet room with them and flip them. Yes, just like before a football game. Then you don't have to compare rings, because it either rings (copper) or it doesn't (zinc). You can probably do 1000 or more an hour when you catch on and never get one wrong. Be sure your thumbnail gives it a slight whack.
Rather than a popsicle stick, use a ruler, so you can use the measurements to make sure it is centered. Clear plastic rulers work best (IMHO).
