Learn how to weigh coins YOURSELF. What type of COIN SCALE to use. 5 newbie TIPS to accurately WEIGH COINS at home!
RELATED VIDEO: My Coin Collecting Playlist For Beginners
RELATED ARTICLE: Best Scale For Weighing Coins
Everything you need to know about weighing coins on a scale. Plus, 5 things you MUST do when weighing coins for the first time.
============================
⚡TIMESTAMPS FROM THE VIDEO⚡
00:00 – How To Weigh Coins: 5 Things You Need To Know
00:10 – #1: A Scale That Measures 1/10th Of A Gram
01:54 – #2: Weight Tolerances For U.S. Coins
03:47 – #3: What Your Coin Should Weigh
04:51 – #4: A Very Small, Lightweight Coin Scale Is Best
05:55 – #5: Don’t Spend Too Much On A Coin Scale
06:13 – SUMMARY: Best Features To Look For In A Coin Scale
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey everybody! It’s Josh with The Fun Times Guide to Coins and I’ve got 5 tips for using a scale to weigh coins for the first time. Now, first tip…
TIP #1… I’ve got a scale here that measures in weight differences of at least one-tenth of a gram. Why is that important? You know, one tenth of a gram… okay… Well, a lot of times scales like this measure in whole integer units. Or one gram, two grams, three grams, you know… and so on and so forth. That’s fine and dandy for measuring mail perhaps or how much fruit you have. But when it comes to weighing coins, you’ve got to be able to really get really finite differences in weights reflected on your scale — so you know what you’re looking at. Why is that important? Look at these two pennies here. We’ve got a bronze Lincoln cent and a zinc Lincoln cent (or rather a copper-coated zinc Lincoln cent). The bronze cent should weigh about 3.11 grams. And the zinc cent should be about 2.5 grams. Now, on this scale here which measures in increments of at least one-tenth of a gram (this one does), you’ll see that the bronze cent comes in at 3.1 grams. It might be rounding down a little bit from 3.11 grams, but at least we’re in the ballpark of where it should be. We know it’s a bronze cent, and that’s about on par. This zinc-base cent weighs in at 2.5 grams. We know that’s correct. If we had a gram scale that measured only in whole units, it’s likely this zinc cent would be rounded UP to 3 grams and this bronze scent rounded DOWN 3 grams. So the scale itself would never really tell you what you’ve got. You wouldn’t be able to tell a bronze cent from a zinc cent on a gram scale that measures only in whole energy units. So make sure you buy a scale that has at least one-tenth gram increments.
TIP #2… You need to know about weight tolerances. Now, a lot of us know that a penny made from bronze should weigh about 3.11 grams and a zinc cent about 2.5 grams. And you know, that’s that’s the standard weight that coins about those types should weigh. But in reality, not every coin weighs exactly… Or not every NEW zinc cent weighs exactly 2.5 grams and not every uncirculated never-worn bronze cent weighs exactly 3.11 grams. Why is that? Sometimes when the planchets are cut out… (the planchets being the pieces of metal that coins are made from). When they’re cut out, the thickness can vary a little bit. There could be differences in the way the coin’s cut. Maybe very minute differences in the alloys and that can account for some of the weight differences or variances in those metals. The U.S. government actually allows for those differences. They have some leniency in the weight range in which a coin should weigh when it’s struck. So you need to know those differences — because a lot of times, for example, at The Fun Times Guide we get a lot of questions about… You know, “Why does my 1948 Lincoln cent weigh 3.2 grams? Is it an error because it weighs more?” Or… conversely, “Why does my zinc Lincoln cent weigh 2.6 grams? Is that an off-metal error?” NO. Those measurements are within the tolerance of those two coins. And every coin type has this tolerance. You need to know what these are as you weigh coins — so you don’t get too excited. You think, “Oh my gosh, my Lincoln cent weighs 0.05 grams more than it should — so it has to be an error!” Probably not. It’s just within the range of tolerance and you need to know what those are so that you don’t get too excited about so-called false positives or negatives on the scale when weighing your coins.
That’s why TIP #3 is important… Make sure you know what your coin should weigh. I’ve got here a Guidebook of United States Coins from Whitman Publishing. They come out annually. This book… I’ll tell you… if you buy ONE book as a coin collector, buy “the red book.” Buy a Guide Book of United States Coins. It has in it ALL of the basic information you need to know about coin collecting, about coin weights, grading coins. It has full-scale, full-size color pictures of each coin. Buy this book and make sure that when you’re looking at the weights of your coins… Let’s refer back to the basic data in the front. Like, for example, we’re looking here at Lincoln cents — the wheat cents. And it shows you that a Lincoln cent should weigh 3.11 grams. Again, that’s the standard weight that’s not the tolerance. For example, a bronze cent can weigh between 2.98 grams and 3.24 grams and still be kind of within the actual standard for the weight that the coin should be.
TIP#4… You see I’ve got a small scale here, right? Buy a SMALL lightweight coin scale. You don’t need to buy these big machines. Unless you’re a coin dealer or you’re dealing in bullion or whatever and you have to have a commercial-size scale… don’t do it. This scale here is more than adequate for what I’m doing. It’s actually very, very lightweight. Weighs maybe a couple 3 or 4 ounces. It fits in the palm of my hand (more or less). I’ve got a deck of cards here (I’m not going to play with… I’m just wanting to show you the difference here in size). A deck of cards… my coin scale… the scale’s a little bit bigger in terms of the surface diameters and such (or dimensions), but it’s about the same thickness. And it weighs about the same, more or less. It’s very easy to handle It runs on a battery — so you don’t need to have a cord plugged into the wall to operate it. Buy yourself a portable, small, lightweight coin scale — so it’s really easy to tote around with you to coin shows and coin deals and such. And
TIP #5… Don’t spend too much on your scale. Yes again, I’m gonna go back to the point if you’ve got a coin shop or you’re a bullion dealer and you’ve got to have a commercial grade scale, I get it. You know, buy the best you can buy. Usually, I do buy the best I can afford for different things. And this… I won’t say this was the cheapest scale. But it’s a moderately priced scale. It cost me $13. I bought it online. It’s lasted me now at least 2 years. It’s not the “best” scale out there, but it’s pretty good! And it weighs my coins accurately. It’s easy to handle. You can see here, it opens up… flips open… it’s still small. Fits in a small area. And it does the job just fine. So those are my 5 tips for using a coin scale for the first time to weigh coins.
SUMMARY: #1 – Make sure you buy a scale that weighs in at least point tenth of a gram increments. #2 – Make sure that you know about weight tolerances for coins so that you don’t get too excited if you get a coin that’s just a little bit off one way or the other. It most likely is not an error, it’s just within the tolerance of what the coin should weigh. #3 – Buy yourself a great Coin Guide Book for knowing what the coin weight should be and for knowing a lot more about coin collecting to help you become a better collector. #4 – Buy a small, portable scale. #5 – Don’t spend too much. This is Josh with The Fun Times Guide to Coins. Thank you for watching. Please like, share, and comment. And I’ll catch you later!
