In 1982 the US Mint made 7 different types of penny varieties for the Lincoln cent. This doesn’t include proofs and errors. The Philadelphia and Denver mints first we started with copper then the Mint changed to zinc with copper plating. After that we had two different sizes of date, large and small. Now you may be thinking, that’s 8 varieties. That is true, well almost, if all of these varieties were covered. We’ll get to that later.
From 1909 to 1982, the Lincoln cent was made from copper. Actually, ninety five percent with the other five percent being zinc. In the early 1980’s there was a big price increase on copper. It actually took about 2 cents to make 1 penny. Because of the economics the mint moved to a zinc (99.2%) penny that was plated with copper (0.8%). The look of the penny was pretty much the same. So how do you tell the difference? It’s by weight. The copper penny weighs 3.1 grams and the zinc version weighs 2.5 grams. If I’m sorting them I can actually feel the weight difference after working with both versions, but I would trust that.
Now we have to deal with large and small date. This isn’t a new issue for the mint. The first time this came up was with the 1960 penny, then on the 1970-S proofs. In 1982 both the Philadelphia and Denver mints had both large and small dates. I won’t go into the 1982-S proofs just because they only have one variety, the small date and was only made in copper.
To visually tell the large and small date apart is very subtle. The big indicator is on the number two in the date. In the image below look at the small date and how the number 2 is curved as the line goes from the top arc to the base of the number. On the large version it also has a very distinct tail on the bottom of the two. With a good microscope or magnifier you can also check the alignment of the date.
For the coin mintage of the 1982 Lincoln cent the only numbers that were available were for the total minted by each mint. There was not any information that was available for the breakdowns in copper, zinc, small date and large date.
Date | Mintage |
1982 | 10,712,525,000 |
1982-D | 6,012,979,368 |
1982-S | 3,857,479 |
Most coin albums and folders have spots for the following types: 1982 copper small date, 1982 copper large date, 1982 zinc small date, 1982 zinc large date, 1982-D copper large date, 1982-D zinc small date, 1982-D zinc large date. There isn’t any large cost to making a set of 1982’s but there’s a great opportunity to make a really cool set for that year. The price list below is from the retail estimated value at the time of this article.
Date | Copper/Zinc | Verity | MS-60 | MS-63 | MS-65 | MS-67 |
1982 | Copper | Large Date | $0.35 | $0.85 | $8.10 | $260.00 |
1982 | Copper | Small Date | $2.60 | $5.40 | $16.20 | $290.00 |
1982 | Zinc | Large Date | $0.35 | $0.85 | $4.10 | $38.00 |
1982 | Zinc | Small Date | $0.35 | $0.85 | $4.10 | $68.00 |
1982-D | Copper | Large Date | $0.35 | $0.85 | $4.10 | $34.00 |
1982-D | Zinc | Large Date | $0.35 | $0.85 | $4.10 | $47.00 |
1982-D | Zinc | Small Date | $0.35 | $0.85 | $4.10 | $47.00 |
Set Price | $4.70 | $10.50 | $44.80 | $784.00 |
As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t addressed the 1982-D copper small date. That’s because this is a very rare coin. So far there are only two that have been authenticated. Both of these were by NGC and were graded as AU58. As a second source, this was confirmed by the book “Strike It Rich with Pocket Change” by Ken Potter & Dr. Brian Allen. Each of them were sold at auction in 2019 for $8,400 and $10,800. You might want to keep a lookout out for this one.
There are several errors in this series so I won’t be going through all of them but here are some of the more notable errors:
1. 1982 Copper LD (Large Date) DDO (Double Die Obvers) FS-101. This one brings a good value from Red MS60 ($70) to MS66+ ($900) according to PCGS.
2. 1982-D Zinc SD (Small Date) DDR (Double Die Reverse) FS-1801. This one is pretty rare and has a PCGS population of one. The estimated value for this MS62 Red is about $3,000.
Another copper penny to watch for is the 1983 and 1983-D struck on a copper planchet. If you come across one of these in good condition it’ll probably net a nice five figure amount. The 1983 in MS condition will bring you between $18,000 and $23,500. The 1983-D on a copper planchet has only one in the PCGS registry at AU-58 and sold for $17,625 in 2018. Remember to check the weight to look for these.
1982 was an interesting year for the penny and there was a lot going on. It gives us collectors a lot to look for and if you’re really lucky, you may find a big hit and add it your collection.
Comments