Hi, so I recently found interest in coin hunting when I discovered a butt load of wheat pennies in my wife's old storage bins. Turns out her grandpa had been collecting and saving them for her for a long time, knowing they would one day be worth something. With that being said I started researching and sorting through them and low and behold, there are multiple errors in the mix. I have a few really old ones (1911,1919,1930) with no visible errors, but I have a lot of 1930-1958 with a few highly visible errors. For example; 1940 penny has a raised nose shaped piece right under the lincoln nose pointing to about 5:00, it looks like maybe it was double struck however; at a certain angle you can see that it isn't really another nose and there aren't any other flaws around it. Also I have a 1936 penny that is in all around pretty good condition, but in the reverse side it is missing the N in the word ONE you can see it very faintly there but it is 100% smooth and flat just looks almost as if it were slightly painted on, and seeing how the rest of the coin is I know it's not just worn off. It is also missing a tad of the E and the entire phrase located on the top except for E PL..... I have many more, those are just in my opinion the best two. I would really appreciate some advice from some of you guys that know about these things; are they worth messing with? Should I save them? Should I sell them? Could the two examples I listed be valuable? Where would I sell them? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Wheat cents from 1930 onwards, in average circulated condition will sell for maybe 5 cents each in bulk. Earlier ones for more. Those in above average condition will sell for a little more. There are a few dates, especially pre-1930 sell for much more depending on condition. Error coins are to be taken on a case-by-case basic. That is why dougmeister says we need picture to be able to comment further.
Alright, thanks for the reply. I was just about to take a few, I just realized I accidentally mixed up the two dates in my post, the one with missing letters and errored mint mark is the 1940. The double nose one is 1936, and I'm having trouble finding that one at the moment. But pics coming soon
Hey, welcome to CT. Great find. Don't quit your day job, because there are lots of old Lincoln cents out there (and old collectors collecting them). There are errors and then there are errors. Some can make you richer than you are (1955 doubled die) and some are worth whatever you can get for them. It is sometimes hard to know if it is a mint error from the mint, or Post-Minting Damage (PMD). Missing letters and numbers are often the result of a filled die (grease, dirt, or some combination thereof). People here are quite good (if sometimes sarcastic) and will help you a lot if you can post pictures.
