So I was doing some CCS measurements recently for the first time and had to get together a bunch of pennys. Seemed to be some conflicting info in the CCS website/articles on after what year to use - saw 2000, I think 1989 and I 1983 I think it was. Anyway, I looked up at the time when copper pennys changed and went with 1983 as that’s what I found in when they changed the makeup.

Well for some reason I was looking it up again today to get the weight specifically as the table in the article didn’t go high enough (I eventually just extrapolated the table) and found the link below

[cointrackers.com]).

This indicates the newer “shield” pennys are quite a bit heavier relative to a 1983 penny - 3.11 grams Vs 2.5 grams - almost 25% heavier. In the collection of pennys I got in rolls from the bank I’d wager >50% were newer shield pennys.

So….. not sure how valid my CCS measurement taken recently is…. Guess I’m going to have to go get some more pennys and sort for all shield or all >1983 Lincoln’s and convert accordingly.


I’m guessing those of you that do CCS all the time and live by it may be aware but I didn’t recall coming across it so thought I’d share….

Buy a scale, then you won’t care how much a penny weighs. They also come in handy for other non-CCS things.

Norm

Michael Ward Wrote:
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> This indicates the newer “shield” pennys are
> quite a bit heavier relative to a 1983 penny -
> 3.11 grams Vs 2.5 grams - almost 25% heavier. In
> the collection of pennys I got in rolls from the
> bank I’d wager >50% were newer shield pennys.

You have that backwards...the shield penny weighs 2.5 grams.
Pennies before 1982 weigh 3.1 grams
Pennies made during 1982 are a mixture of both (it was a transitional year)
...anyway...thats my two cents.

From what I have learned, post-1986 pennies (2.5g) are the one to use while conducting CCS measurements. While that may be all fine-and-dandy for us here in the US, obtaining the PROPER pennies in other countries might pose a problem. I propose that IP measured in grams (g, not grains = gr) is the best UNIVERSAL solution.

Mark Talmo
FISHING IS NOT AN ESCAPE FROM LIFE BUT RATHER A DEEPER IMMERSION INTO IT!!! BUILDING YOUR OWN SIMPLY ENHANCES THE EXPERIENCE.

Norman Miller Wrote:
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> Buy a scale, then you won’t care how much a
> penny weighs. They also come in handy for other
> non-CCS things.
>
> Norm

This!!! Just measure in grams and get the IP. Zero reason to do the whole penny thing and convert to ERN IMHO. I use BB's for no other reason than I had a huge tub of them and the kids haven't touched the bb guns in years (and id rather grab one of the .22 cal. lol)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2023 03:24AM by Matt Ruggie.

110 grain bullets work well, 42 of them is 299 and a fraction grams. Two bags of them + a few bags of the right pennies and it's easy to measure most of the rods we deal with. Small electronic scales are as low as $10 on Amazon.

Norman Miller Wrote:
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> Buy a scale, then you won’t care how much a
> penny weighs. They also come in handy for other
> non-CCS things.
>
> Norm

Yes, then you can be anal (as my wife calls me) and weigh every new lure that comes into the house. :)

Chris Catignani Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Michael Ward Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This indicates the newer “shield” pennys
> are
> > quite a bit heavier relative to a 1983 penny -
> > 3.11 grams Vs 2.5 grams - almost 25% heavier.
> In
> > the collection of pennys I got in rolls from
> then
> > bank I’d wager >50% were newer shield pennys.
>
>
> You have that backwards...the shield penny weighs
> 2.5 grams.
> Pennies before 1982 weigh 3.1 grams
> Pennies made during 1982 are a mixture of both (it
> was a transitional year)
> ...anyway...thats my two cents.

Not according to the article i linked - it says the shield pennys are the heavier of the two



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2023 08:20AM by Michael Ward.

And yes - I can get a scale and it appears that’s what will need to be done given the variety of pennys in circulation. Was highlighting this as the literature out there has some ambiguity on what “standard” to use when the whole point was to make it easy (ie not need a scale) to get the measurements…. And the fact that data collected by others may not be comparable - perhaps “close enough” but a 25% diff in the current and “previous gen” penny is substantial

Per the actual CCS instructions, you should use pennies minted after 1986.

………..

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> Per the actual CCS instructions, you should use
> pennies minted after 1986.
>
> ………..

A couple of references say 1986. One (in the “simplified” article) says “shiny pennys minted after 2000)

The shield penny which is apparently 25% heavier was introduced in 2010….

As per usual different websites say different things. When I did all my CCS measurements recently I did not have a scale and I used pennies minted after 2000. Now I have a scale, so I will check all my bagged up increments of pennies to see what they actually weigh. Will report back later.

Below are some other references found on the inter webs...
[tasks.illustrativemathematics.org]
[www.usmint.gov]
[whatthingsweigh.com]
[www.allaboutcoins.co.uk]
[www.thesprucecrafts.com]
[en.wikipedia.org])

Bottom line, sounds like to be sure use a scale.

@ Tom Kirkman maybe this would make a good article topic for upcoming magazine article and eventually addition to the CCS references. Lots of union shield pennies out in circulation at this point. I know my bagged up sets have some. Now that I have scale will do some back checking. I agree with @ Mike that 25%+ could make pretty significant difference. The measurements on my stuff is likely off if the Union Shield pennies do in fact weigh more...

I will put a note in the magazine that pennies need to stay within the 1986 and 2010 years. They're still out there in droves and not hard (nor expensive) to stockpile a few hundred for use with CCS measurements. At this rate there might be a future in selling those year pennies for 2 cents each...

..........

The Philadelphia mint made the first (copper-covered zink pennies (2.5gr) Jan.7 1982....Denver mint was October 21 of that year.
I read that article Michael and its alost like it was written by some kind of AI.

This is the last sentence that contradicts the first
From 1944 to 1981, the U.S. minted several coins composed primarily of copper (95%) and zinc (5%), that weighed 3.11 grams (0.109 ounces), with a bronze penny minted from 1947 to 1962.

Somebody could weigh each and be sure. But weigh 10 of each and take an average, instead of just a single cent from each.

........

Use about 1000 of your questionable pennies to buy a scale and weigh every bag of whatever you use to be sure of its weight.

Michael Danek Wrote:
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> Use about 1000 of your questionable pennies to buy
> a scale and weigh every bag of whatever you use to
> be sure of its weight.

This!!

Did some measurements and it appears that the union shield Penny having a different weight is a Myth. I’ll post my pics…
This picture is 10 cents between year 2000-2009 with no union shield.

Here is a close up of the 10 - 2000 thru 2010 pennies