How is this most efficiently done...or can it be?

Dad gave me this bank 18 months ago. He stated as written on the end. It was absolutely full of US pennies; 70 ounces!

I have shunned pennies all my life as more trouble than they're worth. Now I see (partly from reading CT) that I may have been wrong.

This tub will either make me rich as Croesus or confirm my youthful suspicions, while soiling my fingers and fatiguing my ancient eyes.

Please offer some guidance to this unworthy about how best to organize the process of examination and discovery.

There's gotta be a better way than pickin' each one of these coppers up, reading the date & mint-mark, and consulting a reference.

In return, I promise to offer full disclosure of the results (fortunate or not) in appropriate episodes throughout the arduous process.

Thank you all sincerely.

 

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What a lot of people do is sort them by date, or possibly date and mint mark. Then consult the reference as you look through each year, instead of bouncing around back and forth between the different dates and all the possible varieties and errors.

 

Disclaimer - I've never completed a project like this.

When I was sorting my change I first started by decade. From there it went to year. Then I had to move so my work was undone, but that is how I was going to go about it.

 

I'm willing to bet there's a host of 1972 cents that are screaming "look at me for doubled dies"! I would have a field day with that group.

 

Great...Now I gotta learn to spot a doubled die!

Obverse or reverse? What mint? Where does the condition show most obviously?

Thanks, though...

 

trust me; you'll notice a 72 double die. You might want to check out The Lincoln Cent Resource for more information on what to look for.

 

It'll look like this.


Dusty

 

The easy ones to see will most likely not be there. The other dozen or so 1972 P DDO, are much more difficult to recognize and identify. Look on Coppercoins.com for photos.

 

Thanks, Dusty; that's just the kind of help I was hoping for...Great Pic!

 

So: DDO would be Double Die Overstrike; Philly was the responsible mint; there are a variety of these DDO's to be aware of. Next stop: coppercoins.com.

Sincere thanks, DesertGem.

 

No , DDO is "Doubled die Obverse", as the doubling was made during the hubbing of the obverse die used. A DDR is a "Doubled die reverse". The coin was struck once, the doubling is on the working die.