First timer searching rolls of pennies.

My mother got me a 5X pocket loupe when I first started collecting. That would be sometime in the late 40's. I still use it today. It probably cost less than 50 cents then. So, you really don't need to spend much.

 

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You can by a 10x for under $10.00. Loupes are inexpensive and a good investment if you are serious.

 

If you are looking for die scratches and die cracks, or other similar types of die states or varieties, one should consider relative high magnification... possibly at least in the 10x to 16x range depending on eyesight, etc.... at least that is what works for me.

 

I'll definitely take a look into then if they're that cheap. Cool, thanks guys!

 

I found a 1970 S penny, but having a hard time with the large and small date. I understand it's a high 7 or a low 7, but my eyes just arent that good at noticing the difference yet. You guys have been awesome so far, thanks for sticking with me! Sorry for the dog hair.

 

Condolences. I recently lost my 13+ year old German Short Hair and am lost without him.

 

So sorry to learn of the loss of your fur baby. It's so easy to love them more than people!

 

The key to finding error coins is understanding the minting process. Here are some great sites on errors

Www.error-ref.com
Www.doubleddie.com
Www.varietyvista.com

These are good to bookmark

I also recommend buying a copy of A Guidebook of United States Coins. The pricing section may not be absolutely accurate, but it will give you an idea of better dates. It's also has mintages, weights, compositions and even some basic grading guidelines. It will be the best $10-15 you'll ever spend on the hobby

 

Whoa man. Great sites to reference here. I'll definitely be saving these to my home screen. Awesome info and advice! Thanks!

 

Thanks for your reply. He was definitely loved. I took a lot of videos of him when he was still playful and jumping around. Lucky I have those to remember him during the good times.

 

Get a nice one that you can carry in your pocket.

 

Printer loups are what i use

 

I still use the loupe I got when I started. That was about 1948. I think it cost about 39 cents. I carry it and use it everyday.

 

I still count this as coin roll hunting so I'll post it here and continue my collecting thread. I went to a garage sale and found a bunch of pennies in holders and offered the lady there $10 for what was there.

She was selling a bunch of her husband things who had recently passed away. I didnt care if I lost money, but the pennies looked really cool! Plus, I can now deeply appreciate the passion people have collecting coins so now his collection can live on with me.

Here is 3 cool ones so far! He has about 10 rainbow toned pennies, but I cant get a good picture with my phone.

 

Here's a couple more.

 

Yes the two are tricky to distinguish sometimes, but the more you see them the more you will learn to distinguish them. Just something that has to be kind of learned through observation. That's a large date IMO.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Pets are so hard to lose because you can just become so connected with them. My thoughts are with you.

That's a really good way of thinking about it. Remembering someone through their coins and passing on his love of collecting. Sometimes I spend a lot more money than something's worth for that reason. Glad you seem to developing that passion at an early stage of collecting, very cool pickups!

As for the loupes, I use 10x ones. They are usually pretty inexpensive. Some use 16x or 5x, but if you use one of those I recommend also having a 10x, which is kind of a good intermediate, meaning it has more variability. Oh and yes! Those websites @Oldhoopster linked are incredibly useful, especially when it comes to finding and identifying error and variety coins.

Here are some other useful sites:
www.lincolncentresource.com
www.coppercoins.com
www.cuds-on-coins.com

You might not need these or not need to use them yet, but it is useful to have them bookmarked until you do.

Happy collecting!