Hi everyone!

[abuttram]

Hello! My name is Angie and I am from Birmingham AL. The only thing I know about coin collecting is what I've been able to read and/or watch online. My step-father passed away recently and collected coins so the family split those 3 ways. I'm not sure if he collected them for the value or just so he could have a safe full of coins, but I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the information available. I have about 70 BU rolls of pennies (at least that's what the plastic cylinders say) tI am attempting to make my way through (with gloves of course). I have a large collection of $1 coins which include Morgan Dollars, peace Dollars, Ike Dollars SBA Dollars Sacagawea Dollars and Presidential dollars. What I call collection, you may call junk but since it's my junk, I should know as much as possible about them. I lost count of the 50 cent coins I have and haven't even attempted to count the other denominations because I thought I just needed to STOP and attempt to get organized with how I'm going to go through them. I'm not a member yet - but do plan on filling out the application. So! I'm basically a coin collecting "baby" so please be kind. There are several groups on facebook, but I haven't really gotten any reliable information from there. I sent an email to variety vista and was referred to the Coneca forum as a good starting point, so here I am.

[MintErrors]

Hello! My name is Angie and I am from Birmingham AL. The only thing I know about coin collecting is what I've been able to read and/or watch online. My step-father passed away recently and collected coins so the family split those 3 ways. I'm not sure if he collected them for the value or just so he could have a safe full of coins, but I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the information available. I have about 70 BU rolls of pennies (at least that's what the plastic cylinders say) tI am attempting to make my way through (with gloves of course). I have a large collection of $1 coins which include Morgan Dollars, peace Dollars, Ike Dollars SBA Dollars Sacagawea Dollars and Presidential dollars. What I call collection, you may call junk but since it's my junk, I should know as much as possible about them. I lost count of the 50 cent coins I have and haven't even attempted to count the other denominations because I thought I just needed to STOP and attempt to get organized with how I'm going to go through them. I'm not a member yet - but do plan on filling out the application. So! I'm basically a coin collecting "baby" so please be kind. There are several groups on facebook, but I haven't really gotten any reliable information from there. I sent an email to variety vista and was referred to the Coneca forum as a good starting point, so here I am.

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Welcome aboard.

Some of the suggestions I can give is, get yourself a pocket sized version( its about 6 inches by 8 inches) of the Red Book. That should help you identify where the mint marks might be on most of those coins. A mint mark can make a big difference. If there is no mint mark then it was more than likely minted in Philadelphia.


The website

https://www.money.org/official-grading-standards/

can give you a basic understanding of how to grade some of them coins. It may not be absolutely critical but, it will give you an idea what each coin can bring.

VarietyVista is a good point to learn about Varieties that some years may have.

These can include:
doubled dies ( either obverse or reverse)
re-punched mint marks (D over D or S over S)
and over mint marks D over S or S over D) - 1944 or 1946 Lincolns

Some coins may have other varieties, like the Morgan dollar might have over dates which can be researched over at
VAMWORLD

http://ec2-18-221-104-31.us-east-2.compute.amazonaws.com/wiki/Morgan_VAMs_by_Date

There are quite a few varieties in the Franklin and Kennedy halves, especially the 1961 Franklin Doubled Die reverse w3hich can command some decent cash in the higher grades. 1964 Kennedy halves have quite a few doubled dies and some repunched mint marks as well.

Although I am just a regular member just like you, I like to let new people that the CONECA staff frowns on talking about grading raw coins.
They don't seem to mind the chatter about the graded ones from a third party service ( like NGC, ANACS, PCGS or CAC).

They also frown on talking value of any coin, but that is understandable. Prices can vary wildly between people and regions of the country. A collectible is only as valuable as the collector is willing to pay for it.

CONECA also wants one coin per post to cut down on confusion.

Be careful around some dealers which will only offer close to 50% of the value of the coin and several may not even tell you about the mint marks or will belittle the coin trying to talk you down to near nothing when the coin is actually worth more. Knowledge is power and in the coin hobby its essential.

I hesitate to say this but, be very selective if you are ever thinking of sending any coins off to a third party grading service to be graded. Its all about return on investment, so make sure those coins are worthy of sending in. Third party grading services can offer specials or discounts. Some will require more than one coin for a better discount. The average cost per coiun would vary, but a single coin sent it will cost about $60 or more - depending on the service, coin and year.
Although I am a dealer - I try to teach and make offers on coins with a level head and try to educate people on coins as much as I can.

There are some good folks here to help you on your adventure.

Hopefully you have some bell ringers in the collection.