If it was me - about 2 - 3 cents each. So $100 - $150. You have to consider that the majority of the coins will be well worn with most of them grading G or F at best. You'll find a few VFs and maybe even an XF or two but that's about it. In my opinion you are better off to collect your coins 1 at a time - when you can pick them out one at a time and get coins that you like. There's nothing worse than having a coin that you are not happy with - for you will just sell or trade it at a loss and buy another one. That just ends up costing you twice as much as if you had bought one you liked to begin with. If you're on a limited budget or don't have access to shows or dealers - then search rolls that you buy at the bank for face value. You'll find wheaties in there - and you'll be much happier with the price. You need to remember something - in numismatics there is no free lunch. As a general rule there are no great deals or steals. Yes you may come across one once in a while - but they will be few and far between. Your best friend in this hobby is knowledge - so that you can recognize a fair deal when you see one. And know when to walk away when you should. Spend your time looking for fair deals - not great ones.
What types of errors might I find, and please only submit realistic errors, that I have a fairly good chance of coming across in a bag of wheats.
I was a talking to a small dealer who said that he got these bags for next to nothing from other dealers who got tired of hauling them around. Remember that at a show the dealers do NOT want to carry those around.
In my opinion you are better off to collect your coins 1 at a time - when you can pick them out one at a time and get coins that you like. There's nothing worse than having a coin that you are not happy with - for you will just sell or trade it at a loss and buy another one. That just ends up costing you twice as much as if you had bought one you liked to begin with. Exactly! That's how I'd do it myself.
What do you think would be a fair price for a bag of 5000 wheat cents with all mintages and dates You have just got to be kidding. ALL mints and dates. Let us know how many 09SVDB's there are in there. Let us know how many 14D's, 22 plains, 10S's, 55 DD's, 72 DD's, etc. I think someone is kidding someone with ALL dates amd mints. How about lots of old, well worn, pitted pennies would be better. However as already noted check out coppercoins.com and note the creater of that web site has two books out on Lincoln Cents. They list virtually hundreds and hundreds of errors. The name of the book is Looking Through Lincoln Cents. I have edition 1 and Edition 2 is also now out. You can either buy one from that web site, at a coin store, at any decent coin show.
I agree with GDJMSP. Wheat penny lots are worth 2-3cent each. However someone posted a while back about the entertainment value of searching lots. You’ll have to decide for your self. I’d say the most common errors would be die cracks, chips and mechanical doubling, all minor with little value. There are some good books you can get to learn about errors and cent verities. *The Official Price Guide to Mint Errors, 6th Edition *The Cherry Pickers Guide
I completely agree. However, excluding EBay, is it reasonable to get this price on bags of wheat cents? The few local (KC area) dealers I have come across have them at $.04-$.06 each so, $200-300 per 5000. So the question I have is, if you have bought bags of wheat cents like this do you find that dealers tend to be in a negotaging mood about these bags of coins? I guess I would just have to make an offer and see what they say.
Some errors that I have found in a bag of wheats are BIE cents, Double MM's, and a 1917 DDO (lucky). Realistically of course.
BIE cents are coins where there is a die cud between the B and the E of LIBERTY. The effect is a coin that looks like there is an I inbetween the B and the E. It is a relatively common occurance and you should find a few in every bag, assuming that a previous owner didn't already search the bag for BIE's.
So, back to my original question. Joe Public walks into a coin dealer with a bag of 5000 wheaties, all rolled, and wants to sell them. John Dealer looks at the bag, figures there is no way he can sit there and go through them right then, and he really has no idea if it is all wheat cents or what is really in there. So, he offers $.015 each, or a cent and a half a piece for $75. Joe Public takes the deal. John Dealer then has this bag of wheat cents. The dealer goes through a couple of rolls, sees nothing special and decides for him the best is to just turn around the lot. So, he prices then at $.05 each or $250 for the bag. So, John Doe walk in the door and sees the bag and wants to purchase it. But he thinks, wow, $.05 each seems a little steep! So, he offers the dealer $.03 each or $150. So the following questions 1. Would the offer the dealer made for the lot be in line with what a real dealer might offer in a similar situation? 2. Would a dealer evaluate a bag of wheaties in this way, look at a small sampling and then just try to turn the lot if it seemed there was nothing special? 3. Would the dealer likely take the $150 offer? That still puts him at a profit double what he paid.
