What is your best (cheapest) way of attaining valuable coins? My guess would be using a metal detector because there's tons of valuable stuff buried in the ground. You also have to be kind of lucky to strike a good find using a metal detector though. I am yet to try using a detector but it doesn't seem too hard. I've been reading up on it at http://hobbies.parxy.com/metaldetectors/ If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks.
Well, one cheap way is to search through rolls for coins. Halves are good for this (finding silver). You can also find plenty of good coins in other rolls. Metal detectors are prolly ok, but I think you have to go at it pretty hard to find good stuff.
the problem with a metal detector is, that: a) the detector itself is/can be fairly costly b) you mostly find clad if you want a fairly good starter, you can buy one for 200$ - but if you want a really good detector, you'd have to spend around 1500$+(!!!). so sometimes it wont pay itself back! (note: "really good" ones vary from 800$-3000$)
Best way I've found is to get boxes of coins at local banks and search through them. I've found all but 28 cents in my US cents (1900-2000) collection, a full set of Jefferson Nickels, a full set of Roosevelt dimes, about half a set of Mercury dimes, many buffalo nickels, almost a full set of Washington Quarters, and a full set of Kennedy Halves, along with many Walking Liberty halves and some Franklins.
Took Me I've searched 200,000 pennies since November of 2005 - This is what I've found so far. 847 Wheats - The best a 1931 D in F condition I sold for $4.50 Of the 847 we're talking an excellent mix. No key dates of course, but several worth $1 or more. 3 Indian Heads - 1902 not really even G it was close to smooth but readable with a loupe - an 1868 and a 1907 in BU condition My greatest find - 1984 Lincoln Doubled Ear (MS 62-3 condition I might add!) 1 - 1995 Doubled Die 1- 1998 and 2000 Wide AM 15 dimes! 2 very nice CUD errors - one of which I sold on E*Bay for $3. 14 foreign Coins - one of them being a 1942 Danish Penny of sorts that lists at $2.50 Plus a JAR of BU pre 1982 coins - I'd say about 500, but I just started saving them recently. Wished I'd of started sooner on that. So as you can see out of 200,000 I've found a lot of treasure! I will say that I think searching through rolls and bags of pennies are the cheapest - best - and most enjoyable way of prospecting for coins. Get yourself the redbook on coins or the Cherrypicker's guide to searching - as you MUST have an idea what to look for. There is so much if you don't study up, precious coins could pass through your hands and you'd never even know it! I only do pennies of course, but I agree with the others, halves and nickels are a lot of fun too. One note of advice though is if you are going to SEARCH for coins, you must have a lot of patience - it's many many many hours of long boredom and tedious repetition, all for that few seconds of lightning when you find a great coin! It's a lot like fishing a lake that you know has big fish, but they're so difficult to catch!! The other bit of advice I have is, work with your banks ahead of time. What I do is strictly buy from some banks and cash in at others. You will run into your same coins if you buy/cash in at the same banks. Tellers will get very upset with you (buying or cashing in) unless they know what is going on. Simply asking and getting permission relieves a lot of that tension - also when asking - ask the manager not a teller and ask them how much you can do before it gets frustrating to them. Of course it's wise to have an account with that particular bank and the more $$ you have in savings, the more they will work with you on keeping you happy. Still, they might get frustrated, but once you put some time into this kind of treasure hunting and you hit paydirt - it is extremely satisfying. I've done 200,000 pennies. I hope I can get to 1,000,000 before the abolish the one cent pieces forever. When the abolishment comes, you know ole Eskychess will be doing some heavy crying! Take Care - Esky
200,000! wow! that IS amazing. I like searching through rolls too... but I don't quite go to that extreme. I think I'm going to get a metal detector. It takes alot of searching, and time, but I think it would eventually pay off. I know a guy who has actually had alot of luck with his metal detector. Its all about location.
Probably $2,000 worth (80 boxes @ $25 per box). By the way, it took only 2 years to get that far along in my collection, and for those of you who are curious, that's also 200,000 cents.
It takes great effort to find many valuable coins for no cost or at face value. It can be done but it usually requires more time and effort than the results are worth. You can buy rare and valuable coins and this is far easier though a little more costly. There are many ways to do this but my favorites are to seek them among mint sets, accumulations of world coins, and tokens/ medals. I also keep an eye out in circulation for any gem and for scarce varieties. Generally the difficulty in this is in learning to spot the difference between the rare and the mundane. One can have great fun seeking them in unusual places but you probably have little better luck finding a '14-D lincoln among the thousands of coins on a beach and the thousands of coins in an "unsearched" lot.
I guess you didn't see the thread I posted last week.... I found a 14-d in circulation here in Arizona!
I think the reason I do this so much is because it's like fishing - without having to get the boat ready or pay for any licenses or really even driving out to the lake!! LOL ... Every now and then a lunker comes in! hehehe - If you're going to find good coins in this fashion you are going to pay your dues. I bet I have a couple hundred hours in on searching - and yes, even at minimum wage, I could have earned $500 or so and just bought the coins I've found much more easily and actually had a choice in choosing what I buy instead of taking what is found. Not to mention the stress of bringing all those coins back to the banks - trust me bank tellers HATE it - but if you have an account - they can't do anything about it as long as you don't go overboard, which I don't... but it requires a LOT of effort. I guess I don't mind sitting on a Saturday Night - while my wife watches TV and just sorting the coins. I do it because I enjoy it - when I strike gold - that's all the much better! I can't tell you how many $50 bags I've gone through where I get like 3 measely common wheats! You WILL find the coins if you stay persistent enough - but it will take effort, patience and love for the hobby to do it. Having great eyesight is also a tremendous boost to making this go! How I see some of those error coins is beyond me! Esky
I musta been sleepy when I wrote that. I meant to ask how long it took to search that many boxes (or something of that nature).
Take me about an hour and a half to do a $25 box. By the way - I did $50 worth of pennies... NOTHING of significance 24 common wheats ... but that is an above average % on wheats. Eskychess
ajm229 That is awesome sweet that you found a 14 D!!! I wonder if it's the one that guy in New York put into circulation?? Recently the guy at the coin shop told me a guy found a 14 D on the floor in the lunch room at the hospital. He initially told the coin guy it was a 13 D - so the coin guy didn't really care. When he saw it in person he was much more surprised! However, he said it had some corrosion on it making it only worth $100 or so. Still - even though I hate corroded coins - a corroded 14 D is better than NO 14 D right! I came into a large pile of cleaned Indian Head cents. I was thinking of putting them into circulation as they must be damn near worthless. Whoever polished them made NO SECRETS about it and my dad ended up paying $34 for them. Thank god there was an 1891 in AU condition in there that wasn't cleaned to salvage the deal. The coin guy I was telling you about puts old coins into circulation just to get a rise out of some people... Of course, nothing worth too much.... but one story goes.... he spent a 1925 Buffalo Nickel at a McDonalds.... The cashier looked at it, took it... as he was eating his food he watched, and the next guy in line seemed to have got the Nickel ... He stared at it, gawked at it, had a little smile on his face and then plugged it into the donation aquirium filled with coins and WATER!!! lol ... I bet someone could write a column off of stuff like that. I think I'll start putting those Indian Heads into circulation and keep notes while I do it. Nice Find ajm!! Esky
I was at a coin show in St. Louis last weekend. An older couple had a huge display of coins and precious metals they had found with metal detectors. Many very valuable old coins in good condition, solid gold jewelry, etc. They told me it took patience and alot of work. They have been doing it for like 28 years though. They said they've found about 500,00 items, over 40,000-50,000 of which were coins.
