1982-D Penny, Copper Small Date (error) Value

1982-D Lincoln Cent, Copper Small Date (error)

ErrorTest first

1982-D Penny, Copper Small Date (error): front (type example, 2005-D Memorial cent) — Type example: 2005-D Memorial cent and 2005-D Memorial reverse. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ.
Photo credits
United States Mint image (PD; front, back)

1982-D Penny, Copper Small Date (error): back (type example, 2005-D Memorial reverse) — Type example: 2005-D Memorial cent and 2005-D Memorial reverse. Your coin's date and mint mark may differ.
Photo credits
United States Mint image (PD; front, back)

Often fakedWeight and photographs alone cannot confirm this transitional error. Have it authenticated by PCGS or NGC before buying or selling. Check the signs below and weigh it.

Value by condition

Penny Value estimate · values as of Q4 2026

Rarely sold — check with a dealer. Coins like this are priced one at a time after authentication.

Check your own penny

Take a photo of each side. Penny Value reads the date and the mint mark, tells you if it could be a 1982-D Copper Small Date (error) and what to check.

Check your own penny

Penny Value is an Android app for now, so it isn't on the App Store. The values and checks on this page are free to use.Penny Value is an Android app. Open this page on your Android phone to check your own penny with a photo.

How to identify it

A 1982-D Small Date on a copper-alloy planchet, normally about 3.11 g; weight alone does not authenticate it
Check the Small Date, D mint mark and composition together; have a suspected example professionally authenticated

What to check

What a genuine 1982-D Copper Small Date (error) shows:

Weight test (copper 3.11 g vs zinc 2.50 g): CopperUser-only physical test: the coin's weight. A photo cannot tell copper from zinc.
Small Date or Large Date (1982): SmallCompare the 1982 date with references: Small Date numerals are smaller and the 2 has a curvier base; Large Date numerals are taller. Which is it?

To check yours, photograph

Date close-up
Mint mark close-up
Weight in grams

Specs

Series: Lincoln Memorial Cent
Year: 1982
Mint: Denver
Mint mark: Below the date, on the front
Metal: Brass (95% copper, 5% zinc)
Weight: 3.11 g
Mintage: NGC reported a bronze Small Date 1982-D discovery in 2017; that report is not a current survivor count.
Source: NGC
Designer: Victor David Brenner (obverse), Frank Gasparro (reverse)

Other varieties of this date

1982-D Copper Large Date
Denver · Part of the 6,012,979,368 1982-D cents; US Mint figures don't split copper from zinc or Small from Large Date.
4¢worn
1982-D Zinc Large Date
Denver · Part of the 6,012,979,368 1982-D cents; US Mint figures don't split copper from zinc or Small from Large Date.
1¢worn
1982-D Zinc Small Date
Denver · Part of the 6,012,979,368 1982-D cents; US Mint figures don't split copper from zinc or Small from Large Date.
1¢worn

Other 1982 pennies

1982 Copper Large Date
Philadelphia · Part of the 10,712,525,000 1982 Philadelphia cents; US Mint figures don't split copper from zinc or Small from Large Date.
4¢worn
1982-S Proof
San Francisco · Proof · 3,857,479 made
Proof

1982 penny values · Every Lincoln Memorial Cent · Penny value chart