Large date. Worth 1 cent each. Maybe they should take 30 seconds and explain the small and large dates in the You Tube videos. And that no one is going to find a small date 1982-D copper.
There was a potential second example, but I haven't heard anything recently, so I guess it wasn't authentic
Yes there has been 1 that was found. It was an interesting story how the guy was actively searching for an off metal error in a transitional year. AND FOUND IT. Now the way coins are minted, you would have dozens (or more) of other copper planchets. However none have been discovered since. There have been a few others with different years. (All Denver I think.) Mid and late 80's and one in the 90's. The scenario that was proposed here by a member was this: A cleaning crew finds a lone copper planchet stuck in a machine. You can't take anything out of the mint, so he just tosses it in a bin of zinc planchets. If that was the case, there won't be dozens of these things (or more). Perhaps 1 or 2 more. Perhaps none.
I agree, it could be a one-odd, and not one of several or more. The problem comes from someone being able to find one, and if say there were even a thousand minted (inadvertently), having any found by collectors would be statistically hard to find, because most people don't sort and weigh their coins, or use a balance scale to look for one. The number of people who would do so in the off chance that they would find one is relatively small, and most only occasionally come across the 1982D small date in change. Finding one out of over 6 billion minted where none were thought to be copper is difficult when most people don't have a way to differentiate between them.
When I heard the cleaning crew theory, I liked it. I used to work with coated glass. And there were times they would take the machine apart and clean it out. I would use a vacation day. But, when I got stuck doing it, pieces would end up in the oddest places. I am sure these copper planchets can bounce and roll, and when you are doing mass production at high speeds, these things are going to end up in all kinds of crevices inside the machine. Even, years later you can find one stuck in a weird place and just toss it in a bin. (Explaining the late 80's early 90's cent struck on copper planchet.) I imagine someone will find another 1982-D small date copper. But what people don't realize is the sheer numbers involved. You could look for this for 30 years and never find one, even if there is one floating out there in the coinoverse. In fact, it is most likely that anyone searching for one of these things, never finds it. I'm not being negative, that's just the reality when you are dealing with 1 in billions (or 0 in billions) odds.
