So not sure if I'm going about this the right way or not. One of my weaker traits is memory...so its hard for me to look at a book and remember a specific year and mm has a certain possible varieties for it...I tend to retain stuff after I experience it. I.e. I know when I get my change back to look for 1992 and 1992 D close AMs and 1998, 99 and 2000 wide AMs because I've looked for that variety, I understand the details behind it, etc.. So this is a two part question.... A. What's your method of looking through a $20 pile of cents... B. I'm first separating them into decades, then into years and will methodically look through each year\mm in Cherrypicker's guide to see what I can find for that year. Is this too much work, am I over complicating the hunt. Looking for suggestions if there are better ways of doing this. I'm not really looking to get rich quick...its just an area of collecting that I'm trying to familiarize myself with. There have already been things I've picked up just by looking at each cent...you get an eye for things and when something doesn't look right it causes you to stop...things like that...but I'm not sure if I could be spending my time better while doing this. Obviously at the end of they I have to look at each cent to make sure its not a special one...so again I ask is there a better way of going about this hunt.
LOL - I sort out the 92's. Then I go look up on the web if it is wide-am or near-am I need to look for. Then I basically just look at the dates looking for what I consider major doubled dies. Like the 1983, etc. Only if I think I see something do I set it aside - then search the web for what it might be. I don't try to memorize the CPG, but I do know a few of the classics and varieties to search for. Like 1858/7 - never know when one of those might pop up.
The only thing you need to memorize is what a normal coin is supposed to look like. Anything that differs from the norm, you should set aside for further examination and research. Chris
I get what you're sayin' but examining a cent in hand unaided by loupe or microscope they all look the same to me, not sure I'd be able to see doubling or RPMs or RPDs...those take magnification. In fact I'd probably say quarters is where I'd be able to start seeing stuff like that unaided and that's even questionable.
If you need to use a microscope to see an RPM or RPD on any coin, then you might as well throw it in the wishing well. A 10x loupe is all you need. About 90% of the "so-called" varieties that others post here aren't worth squat. Chris
I have a 10x, Even have a 16x and a 20x, that just takes more time using my dino-light on a stand that I can slide each cent underneath really quick. My thought was to break them down into years and since I don't know the varieties to go through year by year looking for them...
My point is that any variety that requires magnification greater than 10x is not worth the money that some bidiots think they are. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who sell this dreck because they don't care about the hobby and have no conscience. Chris
Copper in one pile, 82-83 one pile for weight, and DDR check...look for 84ddo, 92s close AM...95 DDOs and wide AMs...repeat. I do $100 a week.
I make myself a cheat sheet for each denomination. so, for ex., for 1 cent I make a grid of boxes the size of a cent. then I mark the boxes that have possible keepers. All wheats, they don't need a box. stack them at the top off the boxes. All copper they don't really need a box, They actually go in a little plastic tub to be rolled. but there are some copper dates that stand out so for ex. dates where I mark the box are 71P, 72P, 82DP, 83P, 84P 92DP, 95P ... and so on. up through 09. I actually write in the dates and mint marks on those boxes. So I wind up with rows of boxes, with 2 marked in the 70's row, 3 marked in the 80's row, 5 in the 90's row, and so on. Also, if there is a coin in my album that could use upgrading, I write that date in and also the word "book" in that box. (for example 1971P dime.. mine is crummy. You would not believe how rare those stinkers are on the west coast. : ) I put that piece of paper on a rigid clip board, so I can pick up the project and move it if I need to Also, I have coin tubes for my groupings, I have a tube for each "keeper" in the denomination Ex I have a tube for 2009, one for wheat, one for copper, one for S mint. I roll them each time the tube gets full. The error years I look through as a batch so all the 92's I check as a batch when I get to the end of a bunch of rolls. (For me with my eyes, I have to do this with a little microscope that I set up on my computer, so it's easier to do as a batch) So, that's my plan, but there is no one way to do it. Everyone finds their own way of doing roll search. Do what works for you. Hope that helps
