| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
n/a
deleted
81 Posts |
 Posted - 09/29/2006 : 20:01:56
|
i know some are zinc but are the rest copper or bronze. someone in their break down of sorted pennies called them bronze. are they bronze?
i keep em separate from the pre 82 pennies anyway but if they're bronze are they worth holding onto? if not those are extra rolls of pennies i could be exchanging for more rolls to sort through.
|
|
|
pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 20:15:29
|
It is really all linguistics, copper pennies are in reality bronze pennies. Any time copper is mixed with zinc it makes bronze. We just call them copper since they are 95% copper, and we are so used to thinking of pennies as copper that calling pennies by their true name, bronze cents, just seems out of place.
We think of bronze as in the bronze age, a long ago time, not current day.
Only purists insist on calling pennies bronze cents. They are copper any way you slice it. |
 |
|
|
n/a
deleted
81 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 20:45:18
|
ok cool. is there any real reason to keep 82's out of the mix with the rest of the copper pennies?
would someone make a stink about 82's being in with the rest? i know the 82's i have sorta out as copper have been tested as copper. amazing how fast a file will show zinc on the edge of a penny. every 82 has been file tested and the ones i beklieve are copper are copper and i'd bet my life on it. it isnt hard to find the zinc.
|
|
|
|
pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 20:51:31
|
I keep my copper 82’s in with the rest of the copper pennies I find. I doubt anyone but a coin collecting purist would object to filing pennies. Of course, such a purist probably has an electronic scale to distinguish between the copper and zinc 82’s, but such purists are of no concern to those of us more interested in hoarding for copper than searching for perfect specimens.
|
|
|
|
pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 20:53:52
|
| If you are hoarding with the intent of melting or selling for metal content, a file mark doesn’t make any difference. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
81 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 22:01:43
|
thats why i'm filing them. i dont feel like buying a scale to tell me if a penny is copper or zinc.
i have the fiel for my lawn mower blade so i didnt have to pay squat to find out which 82's are copper, and so far about 90% of the 82's i've gotten are copper.
if they're like the rest of the copper i'll thrown em in with the rest.
just out of curiosity. know anything that will brighten pennies up? i wanna thrown something in the container i have them to take the crud off. i heard white vinegar works. wouldnt any vinegar work? |
|
|
|
pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 22:12:44
|
White vinegar is usually the cheapest to use, any vinegar will work.
I seem to recall from my metal detecting days that adding a little regular salt to the vinegar cleans up nickels, dimes and quarters. It might work for pennies.
I decided to try the salt/vinegar trick on a copper cent. Shined it up in a few seconds.
It’s a chemical reaction of some sorts, but I can’t recall exactly how it works.
Adding salt to the vinegar is the secret, will clean up just about any copper-nickel coin too. |
Edited by - pencilvanian on 09/29/2006 22:18:28 |
|
|
|
pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 22:31:10
|
| Footnote: Don’t bother cleaning the Wheats, they have a better value as dull brown than shined up. Coin collectors are funny that way. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
81 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 22:58:34
|
| i keep all my wheats away from my regular copper. and i would never clean them up, even i know thats a no no. |
|
|
|
pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 23:13:27
|
It’s like the “Antiques Roadshow” clean it up, decrease its value.
Leave it dirty and let the new owner ruin it by cleaning it.
pre 82 coins/Lincoln Memorial Pennies don't exactly count as Antiques, of course. |
Edited by - pencilvanian on 09/29/2006 23:15:35 |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
81 Posts |
Posted - 09/29/2006 : 23:25:58
|
i use apple cider vinegar and kosher salt.
my copper is clean as a whistle aside from a few that were just nasty. |
|
|
|
cakesea
Penny Sorter Member
51 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2006 : 21:06:34
|
| Penicilvanian is right. i am a coin collector ad have been collecting coins for upwards of 12 years now which is a lot being thta i am 17. i am hording copper pennies forthe collectible value they will be just like the wheaties some day you wont find any in circulation except zincs. when i hear about anyone cleaning coins it makes me cringe. i cant stand finding a cleaned penny and yes there are ways to tell |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
81 Posts |
Posted - 09/30/2006 : 22:09:16
|
| its only 10 bucks in copper pennies. im not really concerned and i doubt any of them would be worth more than their metal value anyway. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
73 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2006 : 06:59:40
|
I cleaned a few pennies with salt and vinegar a 2 or 3 years ago just for fun. They were out of my jar of spare change, long before I ever thought of collecting coins or smelting them. Anyway, looked at them a few months ago as they had been sitting on a shelf in a glass jar (open to the air, no lid and definitely not vacuum sealed), and they are now as dull as they were before I used the salt and vinegar.
Not sure why, just thought I'd throw that in...I'm thinking if you're going to smelt them whatever turns them brownish rather than shiny probably smelts away, but I'm just making wild guesses so don't quote me on saying that's what will happen. |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
78 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2006 : 10:24:02
|
I already had a small, accurate scale, so it's quite easy to tell the differance in the 82's.
As for the corrosion (oxidation), as far as I know, during smelting the oxygen is driven off and the corroded copper is turned back into pure copper. If you dissolve it away with vinegar (acid) or whatever, you're just wasting it down the drain.
Same thing with iron that's being recycled, it doesn't matter if it's rusted, it'll all get recycled, including the rust. |
|
|
|
Metalophile
Penny Collector Member
USA
320 Posts |
Posted - 10/01/2006 : 21:20:50
|
I'm re-posting my instructions for constructing a makeshift balance to distinguish '82 pennies:
It's pretty easy to put together a makeshift scale using a hexagonal pencil and a ruler (for example, a cheap, plastic 12-inch ruler). Balance the ruler on the pencil at the halfway point (6-inches mark). Then place a known zincoln on one side and the unknown on the other. A bronze cent will easily tip your makeshift scale. A Zinc 1982 should just balance with the other zincoln.
I use the "ring test" as a quick screening tool. Try throwing bronze cents and zinc cents onto a hard surface. I've found that my kitchen tile counter works pretty good. Bronze cents usually have a higher pitch ring to them. Zinc cents sound more like a thud with less of a ring. It takes some training, but out of 70 1982's I only misidentified 2 of them for about 97% accuracy. Any corrosion on the cent can throw off the sound of the ring. After screening I use the weighing method to confirm my findings.
Metalophile |
|
|
|
n/a
deleted
478 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2006 : 17:20:19
|
quote:
Originally posted by pencilvanian
It is really all linguistics, copper pennies are in reality bronze pennies. Any time copper is mixed with zinc it makes bronze. We just call them copper since they are 95% copper, and we are so used to thinking of pennies as copper that calling pennies by their true name, bronze cents, just seems out of place.
We think of bronze as in the bronze age, a long ago time, not current day.
Only purists insist on calling pennies bronze cents. They are copper any way you slice it.
Bronze is an alloy of copper and TIN. Brass is an alloy of copper and ZINC. Pre-82 pennies are actually brass.
|
|
|
|
pencilvanian
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2209 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2006 : 18:18:44
|
Thank you for pointing that out.
An oversight on my part,
although calling our pennies ‘brass’ only adds to the confusion.
Pennies are still copper any way you slice it. |
Edited by - pencilvanian on 10/21/2006 18:20:43 |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
about 82 pennies
Forum Locked
