When I first started checking my coins I had no idea how many errors and other varieties there are. I've found that the more I check, the more I remember. My advice to anyone just starting out searching rolls is to open a few website windows such as this one (among others) http://www.lincolncentresource.com/doubledies/doubledies.html and just check it as you are sorting your coins. At first I had to keep looking up at the monitor as I was sorting, but now I know a lot of them and don't have to check as often. No "studying" needed. Just repetition and it all eventually enters your long term memory. lol Sorry, I just felt the need to post something this morning as I was searching through rolls of pennies.
It took me some time, but you can also start to learn (by interweb sites or by the cherry picker's guides), which years tend to have issues (varieties or errors) and then easily start looking through without having to constantly refer on each coin to the reference. And if you are unsure, just put your unsure coins in a container or envelope marked "possible errors" or 1972 lg date/sm date???? or something like that until you get the knowledge to go on without that. For example, All cents from 1993 thru 2008 are close AM on the reverse, and all have the same type/style of FG. Learn what that is, and when you have a cent from one of those years, look at the 1998-99-2000 to see if any are Wide AM's. Also while you are looking at those, if you have a 1992 that is Close AM, save it. Now, if you have the Philly issues of 2001 and 2003, be aware that the word Liberty can be doubled, and the 2004 reverse E Pluribus Unum can be doubled. This is how I started looking at coins. It makes me visually check all the portions, sometimes without actually being 'concious' of it, and draws my eyes to the lettering and to the initials and other PUP's as I learn them. Sometimes I can give you the date of the coin (or the series of dates it has to be in) just by looking at the reverse of a lincoln memorial cent now. Because there are small differences in styles of the letters (fonts) and the spacing of those letters that are recognizable. One thing I would do if I had to from the start is to simply put all my 1988 in a separate pile and examine them later for the reverse of 1989. I want to find one of those babies. I did put all my 1972 in a separate pile and examined them for small dates, but no luck on that one yet. Will be a killer day for me when I find mine.
There are lots of good sites to study up on errors: http://doubleddie.com/ http://koinpro.tripod.com/ http://www.coppercoins.com/
