1983 D Copper Penny Weight

The 1983 bronze lincoln cent was discovered in a roll of lincoln cents in a 25 box from a bank in washington d c.

1983 d copper penny weight.

In the case of the rare 1983 d copper penny it weighs 3 0 grams which is within the 0 13 gram plus or minus tolerance permitted for the traditional copper pennies. Images courtesy of anacs. If your lincoln memorial penny has a date before 1982 it is made of 95 copper if the date is 1983 or later it is made of 97 5 zinc and plated with a thin copper coating. When copper lincoln memorial pennies were being minted for circulation before 1982 they consisted of 95 copper 5 zinc.

Few coins from the memorial cent series have caught the attention of non collectors or even the media s. In late 1982 the composition changed to a copper plated zinc format and virtually all 1983 pennies are made from the zinc composition except for a few rare off metal and transitional errors like the 1983 copper penny. Given the discovery of the 1983 copper cent the existence of a 1983 d copper cent is also possible. Since the new zinc alloy cents weigh approximately 2 5 grams imagine billy s excitement when one of these 1983 cents weighed in at 3 1 grams the weight of a 95 copper cent.

However if any coin in this series should the 1983 copper cent would be a very good candidate. Cents were struck on solid brass planchets a coin with a potential value of 15 000 20 000 or more based on past sales. So if you find a 1983 copper penny that weighs say 3 05 grams don t spend it thinking it s too light to be a copper penny it just might be the real mccoy. The switch to copper coated zinc lincoln cents was supposed to be complete in 1982.

Regular production 1983 d cents should be copper plated zinc. Crawford set aside all the 1983 cents to be weighed later.