How do you tell the difference between a 1982 copper penny and a 1982 zinc penny?

Answer by  worker4018 (16)

by the colour of the coin the diffence can be find. more over the weight of the 2 coins are differnt as the material is different. copper is more weight than zinc for the same amount as the density of the copper is comparitively more than the desnsity of the zinc. both copper and zinc are not a pure metal there are alloy.

Answer by  Mac44 (479)

Copper pennies weigh more than zinc pennies, so if you have a very accurate scale, you can weigh them to find copper at roughly 3. 1 grams and zinc at 2. 5.

Answer by  avi143c (5)

copper penny weighs 3. 11 grams and Zinc penny only weigh 2. 50 grams there shows zinc penny weighs 20% lighter than copper penny so you can easily handle this difference for finding the coin and it is difficult if you gone through dates on them