Im new at this and have what I believe is a good group question. Are all the error coins gone??? For one are there still some 1942/41 Mercury Dimes still out there to be found or are they accounted for? Or what about the 1937 Three leg Buffalo? And the many other mint error coins. I know that other collectors have them but whats the odds of finding one in a coin roll? Do they know the exact number of them that got out from the mint? Thanks guys and have a great night or day whatever your case may be. LOL:hail:
Well, I think the estimated that the 1955/55 penny was struck up to 20,000. YOu can make educated guess, but it is difficult to pinpoint exact numbers.
If you're talking about roll searching, yeah, I'd say they're gone. I'd say you have about the same chance of finding a $20 gold piece buried in your front yard as you would finding one of those in a roll. You have to consider the fact that you could search hundreds of dollars worth of dimes, maybe thousands, and you may or may not even find a single silver dime from any year. Let alone a 42/41, that was probably rare in 1943! Now, both those errors are somewhat subtle. Especially the merc. Still long odds but there's always the chance somebody overlooked one and threw it in the bargain bin at a show for a few bucks. Both being common dates. That'd probably be your best chance of scoring something cheap. It sounds like many dealers don't know about and don't look for errors. Especially the real unique errors that are not as common. Though rare, some people here have found errors by ebay pics that somebody didn't realize what it was. Non-collectors selling on ebay have no idea about errors.
I would have to disagree... I work at a convenience store and I find silver Dimes, Quarters, and nickels quite often. yea there are long odds but I think it is still possible. Especially lately it seems like because of the economy people have been dumping coin jars that have been forgotten for years even decades into coin stars. there has even been some OBW mixed rolls that have ended up at my work that came from the bank.
I have a dealer friend who just found a 1901-S Barber 25c. (low grade- not even a G04) while searching through a big, what he thought had to had been searched, $500 junk silver bag (These bags that are sold on eBay with a premium included). He figured that since they were being sold on eBay that they had been searched through numerous times, but to his surprise he made nearly $2000 off of the bag. That's 4x the amount he purchased it for, and not counting the other junk silver which I am sure he soon resold for a profit. They're still some hidden gems in the rough, you've just got to know where to look. -Brian
I found a unique die crack error searching through about 10,000 penny's. I don't think its impossible I think you just need to have the patience and diligence to look at EVERY piece of currency. I even check my bills just to see if i have a radar note or other rarity's. So to recap, its possible but I wouldn't hedge my bets on it either.
I would never have the time to go through 10,000 pennies to maybe find one that is worth 20 -50 bucks.
Roll hunting from the bank? Chances pretty much infinitely small unless someone steals a collection and the thief dumps it in a Coinstar machine. Finding something unrecognized in a collection or in someones hoard of coins that gets brought into a shop or passed down to a collector in a family, then yes that's possible. Stuff still shows up all the time. Does the mint know the exact number that got out? No. They may have records that show how many coins were produced by each die, they are unlikely to know which die a given error came from. If they knew at the time the error was produced they would try to make sure they didn't get out. If the error was discovered shortly after it was released they might be able to check their die archives and find out which die it came from and the number made but that seldom happens. (I don't believe they keep die archive coins anymore so this method of checking is no longer available) If it isn't recognized until it has been out for awhile there is no way for them to determine a number. About the only way to get an estimate as to the number produced it an estimate based on how many are showing up.
Hate to say it but if your thinking of finding varities of the older types from bank rolls you will spend a lot of time doing nothing. Even many of the silver hunters are giving it up. Spending your time mowing the lawn can be more prductive.
On a whim I bought three broken rolls of various golden dollars/sacajawea yesterday. There were two die trail Sac's in those broken rolls. Moreover, if you buy fed wrapped rolls from the Atlanta area. you will get MANY 1989, 89 D cents. Even some which look like the RDV 6. There are great errors still out there, but ya gotta go get them. Good luck.
