I am new to this and I have been enjoy doing it. However, time consume is main factor issue on searching roll. I have been using 10X magnifier to check coins from roll. I can find two or three interesting coins per roll, but maybe only one that consider as a hit. It may take me three rolls to check out within 40 minutes to 1 hours. I think it's too long. Maybe you have better way to look at and what not need to look at? What's limit time to search a coin before it consider nothing special with the coin? What's your method to speed it up, is magnifier a necessary to search the roll or it's waste of time? My visual is good, but sometime I missed them by look at it using naked eyes. Your inputs are welcome. Thanks.
It really depends on what you are looking for. currently, when I roll-search cents, I am only keeping wheat cents, proofs, foreign, and major errors I might happen to find. For an entire box of cents, it might take me 1 1/2 hrs. tops. All I do is flip every cent over, pull the wheats and foreign, and sweep the rest into a jar to be re-rolled. Using a magnifier is not going to find you enough to make up for the time you spend... I say just skip it. Hope I helped, scouter35
When I do a box of cents, any memorial reverses showing I toss in the bag. Any face up cents I check. Coppers go in the copper bin. I check for WAMs and CAMs, but again, only cents that end up face up when I open the rolls. And of course I keep wheats and such.
scouter: I wasn't able do it, but how can you see AM wide, closed without magnifier? Also, there are some variety relate to double "FG", etc. I can't see it by naked eye. Lon Chaney: I am new in this forum and not familiar with term. Can you explain what do you mean by "any face up cents", "WAMs" and "CAMs"? When you said any face up cents, it mean you don't check back of penny? Thanks.
Well, I'll answer both sets of questions. WAMs and CAMs are Wide AM and Close AM. Those are fairly easy to see without magnification, and I don't need a loupe to tell the difference. The other variety you may be looking for is the 1988 reverse of '89. You'll likely need a loupe for that one, but I don't check for those. And regarding the "face up cents." I like to run through a box quickly. I open two rolls at a time, and dump them on the table under my desk lamp. If a cent is on my table showing a memorial, 2009, or shield reverse, they go straight into the bag. I don't flip them over (unless it's a proof, but that's only happened once). Don't save those copper ones, don't check those ones for varieties. If I see ol' Honest Abe showing his face, I'll check the date, save the coppers, check 98/99/00 for WAMs, check 92's for CAMs, and of course look for wheaties and such. Also, if I see something that looks BU, I'll give it a closer look. I may miss some WAMs, possibly, with this method. But I save a lot of time per box by not flipping over the every cent. Worth it, in my book.
Lon, if you don't mind me asking, what do you do with the coppers, after your 'bin' fills up? Also, when I cent search, I check dates, and look for any errors I can spot with my eye. To me, if you need any type of magnification to find errors, it isn't worth it.
Lon: Ah, W for wide and C for closed. Got it. Also, I realized that maybe the light is factor why I use magnify as it has led light with it. I can't see it very well with stand lamp in my room. You said something that I didn't think. A desk lamp. It's my next item to buy from staples. Splinter, scouter: Thank you for explain that it's not worth to find errors through magnify but though naked eyes.
I roll them up, put them in a brinks cent box. Then i set it aside and forget about it. I'll probably stop after I get a few of them, don't want to fill my house will cent boxes. Yeah, I search at my coffee table while watching TV. I sit on a pillow on the ground, and I have a desk lamp on the table. Close light makes it a lot easier. And dump the change on scrap pieces of white paper. Doesn't ruin the tabletop that way, with the sliding change all over.
