Some Coin for Thought

[junglistOn1]

Hello all, would like to know your thought on how bad the economy has become in our country. It must be bad when people are breaking open Unc/BU rolls or Mint Set and use them at FV. At the hospital I work we have a change machine that give SBA, Sacagaweas, and Presidential dollars. I change between $100-$200 every 2 weeks to look through and this weeks find was 4 2006 D Sacagaweas (MS-BU and rainbow toned, reg. or satin finish?) and a 2005 D Sacagwea (AU-MS, reg or satin?). I was amazed that I had found 1 but 5 in one day, that was a good for me. Can you image if it get so bad, that the next time you go to the bank you will be able to pick up DMPL/Proof Morgans at FV, or even a 1877 Indian Head Penny in MS 66+++ in pocket change. Well just some candy for the brain. Enjoy your day.
Edward M.

[wavysteps]

Nice thoughts, but could it happen? I do know that people are asking for half dollar rolls at the bank. The story has spread that silver is being found in some of the rolls and the banks that I frequent just do not have them.

BJ Neff

[Merlin8971]

My Experiences

I read in The Survival Guide To Coin Collecting that finding variety coins and others can be cheaply done by going to your favorite bank and purchasing rolls of coins. I started doing that two months ago. I buy 2 or three rolls each of quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies at least once a day. I go through them and return the coins I do not want to the bank for other rolls of coins. My initial investment was $35.00.

Since doing this on a daily basis I have found, on average ten or so variety coins and other special coins per week. The tellers all know me by now and they help me out by telling me about rolls that have come in I might be interested in.

One day I was behind a woman who brought in $750 worth of Kennedy halves and Ike Dollars. Over a weeks period I went through them all. I found 14 Kennedy silvers, 11 Kennedy varieties, filled my Kennedy Whitman album, found 9 Ike varieties including 5 "Peg Leg" Ikes.
Not a week later, I was given a total of nine rolls of uncirculated state quarters (mostly one state per roll), two rolls of nickles that came out of a collection album AND three rolls of "War Nickles." The next day I found a 90% silver Massachusetts "S" quarter in another roll. I was estatic for days afterward.

I bought 2 rolls of US Mint issue 2005 P & D Bison nickles on another day. I bought a roll of 2003-D Sacagawea dollars on another day. All of this bank visiting has allowed me to put together 10 complete sets of uncirculated and choice AU/BU state quarters of 112 coins each, two complete sets of 38 to 2010 choice nickles, two sets of Roosevelt dimes and the Kennedy circulated set from 64 to 95.

Just today I found a 1980 Shattered Die quarter, a 1985 DDR quarter, a 1989-D RPM quarter, a 1993 DDO quarter and a 1994 DDO quarter, a 1964-d over d nickel. Every once in a while I find a variety that is not even listed anywhere.

I dunno if I am just lucky or if spending my days looking at coins causes this many varieties to be found, but something is working right. I just know that piece of advice from the Survival Guide was well worth following.

[wavysteps]

Searching can be fun and profitable if you are dedicated enough to do it. It does sound like you are on a streak and congratulations on all your neat finds. I have a friend down here in Florida who is an avid roll searcher and he has found a 1992 closed AM Lincoln cent, a wide AM 1999 Lincoln cent and a D.C. quarter with the large doubled die reverse. He has also found some unique clashed dies as well.

BJ Neff

[3˘nicker]

And hello to you. I am just getting back to searching through an inch deep of a 5 gal. jug. I greatly enjoy numismatics and when I started out I was unemployed and on my daily walks I would pick up every coin I found on the ground. I repeatedly checked out the red book from the library I couldn't afford to buy one. That was 5 years ago and I've only had one real good job since, I have some work now it not great but it works, I'm in school. I have a collection worth a couple thousand maybe not huge but I onced was really immenced in it. The best way to profit in coins is knowledge, there is an almost overwhelming amount of information out there. when i first started buying coins I had my burns. I would leave the house with three single bills get a few rolls of circ. pennys go through them and trade them at the next bank. I think knowing what you are looking at and some luck you can do well if that is really your goal.

[Merlin8971]

Getting Out Of Hand

Sometimes I think this coin collecting is getting out of hand for me. I jumped into this with both feet back in September 2010. It was almost like an instant addiction. Now dishes are backing up in the sink, coins are everywhere, books are everywhere and my cataloging is taking twice as much time as it did in the begining.

I am to the point of getting anywhere from 10 rolls of coins to 25 rolls of coins per day. Although most tellers at banks are pleasant enough, I am sure several times I saw tellers wince a little when they saw me coming into the bank, probably thinking, Here comes that coin guy again.
It all started when I took a 1909 VDB penny in AU shape to a coin show and the professional grader looked at the coin and said, "You have a doubled die obverse version of the coin." I didn't know exactly what he meant, but I researched it the same day, and I was "off to the races" so to speak, with error coins.

BUT, to me, it has been worth it. I have just over two hundred error coins. It is possible that a fair amount of errors are "mechanical doubling" because I seem to find an inordinate amount of "In God We Trust" doubling errors on quarters.

I even purchased a scales that measures in 0.01 grams so that I can tell 1982 copper pennies from 1982 zinc pennies. I now weigh 1983 pennies hoping to find a copper one. I also am attracted to 1776-1976 quarters because I like the design and now I weigh them because I have found several that weigh 5.75 grams indicating a 40% silver possibility. I even found a 2000 Massachusetts San Franciso in a quarter roll that turned out to be 90% silver.

I was up until 2 am this morning going trhough pennies. Looking for those "Close AM" pennies. Of course, I DO do other things. Like I take breaks from looking at rolls of coins by going on to E-Bay and buying MORE ROLLS of coins. I do also look up information on the inter-web about coins to educate myself. Luckily I do not have family or pets that would depend upon me, because they would be in deep trouble if they depended on me.

But, I probably don't have to worry about walking into an intervention either. It keeps me off the streets and out of the bars, so it ain't all bad. And who knows, maybe I'll find a mule, a 1965 on a silver planchet, or a 1943 copper penny.

Happy searching.

[wavysteps]

Coin collecting can become addicting. I have gone from simple searching to writing about coins, doing research on coins and building sites for coins. But it is a great hobby.

BJ Neff