Finding varieties

I am getting into variety hunting and would like to know what the "good" sites are to use for reference. Variety vista is good for viewing all of the ddo/ddr/mms but I'm looking for something that may have those with rpm and other types. So a Swiss Army knife of varieties if you will. Thanks in advance!

 

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Here is a great website I want to share with you - http://doubleddie.com/

and for what I really love.. Mint Errors! - http://www.error-ref.com/

 

@paddyman98 yes! Thank you. The mint errors are what I'm really hunting for and I feel there has to be a few the RB is missing. I've saved over 5 rolls of pre63 nickels and am about to dive in. Unfortunately I just found that there is a scarce 64D that I'm now kicking myself for tossing them all back. Live and learn.

 

Wexler site is also a great site
Franklin lovers
bisecting die cracks
just Google what you're looking for IHC , Jefferson nickels, just about ever series has a site with references .

 

The first rule of Error and Variety searching is to look at the coins first, then look at the references to attribute your interesting finds. I know that sounds backwards from everyone else's "Read the book first", but really the coins are most important. Learn to look around the whole coin, and to identify RPMs, Doubled Dies, Chips, Breaks, Cracks, Cuds, Struck-Throughs, Off-Centers, Weak and Strong Strikes, Thin and Thick Planchets, Straight and Curved Clips, etc etc. What you want to do is to study each coin type, and learn what that type is "supposed" to look like. Then put aside anything that looks "different". Go back after looking through a roll and carefully examine each of these "different" coins, and figure out why they are different. Then look through the ones you thought were normal, and see if you missed anything. If you do this, not only will you learn quickly about errors and varieties, but you won't miss anything, and you may even find something that no one else has found yet.

 

@Paddy54 i like the layout of wexler. I did the google search and found myself page hopping and not finding what I was looking for so I figured I'd ask the neighborhood. Glad I did! Thank you

 

@rmpsrpms it does seem counterintuitive but I follow. My approach of book first was because my pile of "differents will be bigger than the "normals" because I'm working with circulated coins and I don't want every PMD to start looking like it's something. I figured if I had a list to presort with, then examples to compare I could be on my way. But I think your route will work well with my learning style. Hands on is absorbed the best, book when it's supplemented with hands on.
Edited to add- I also like the idea of finding a variety. Planting my flag on something would be pretty neat!

 

Separating the true errors and varieties from the PMD and fakes is the most important skill you will learn.

 

The only frauds I want to find and keep are a Henning Nickel and one of the original painted racketeer nickels.

 

A couple of books that you NEED to have on a shelf at home are both of the Cherrypickers' Volumes. These are the variety hunters bibles.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...efix=cherrypickers,aps,210&crid=2NQ8JV88UUHVA

 

Don't forget the 1930 D & 1923 D mercs-- Russian counterfeits

 

Nice! I didn't know about them. Were they a silver alloy or completely fake?

 

Would varieties like RPM be considered errors? If I have anything questionable I'd want to ask in the proper area of the forum.

 

No, they are not considered errors. Generally if the mistake is in the die, it is considered a die variety. This is true for things like RPMs, Doubled Dies, etc where every coin struck from that die exhibits the same mistake. More controversial are things like die breaks/cracks/chips and such that happen after a variable number of coins are struck. Some folks call these varieties, and some call them errors. Some folks will tell you definitively what they should be called, but it's best not to listen to them. Form your own opinion as you gain understanding of the minting process.

 

Thank you @rmpsrpms I wasn't sure but it makes sense with your explanation.
I came across this today and thought how cool! I found something (I think). On wexler I found the 2016P Roosevelt wddr-001 that I think is a match.

Am I seeing this correctly or is it a different type of error?

 

I don't really see anything, but I'm not a Roosie guy so am not sure. Can someone more familiar with Roosie varieties confirm if there is something going on here?

 

Center leaf of the three above RIB in PLURIBUS, east side. There's also a chip/gouge where the next set of leaves up, same side, intersects that I noticed after posting.

 

So the extra metal that looks like a 4th leaf sticking out behind the middle leaf should not be there? This is what I mean by learning to know what the coin "should" look like, because since I have not studied Roosie reverses, I don't really know what should or should not be there. If that little bump of metal isn't supposed to be there, then indeed this looks like a doubled die. Since there is just the one small area, it may be a type-3, where there are slight design changes that occurred during that year and one hubbing was performed with the older design, and one hubbing with the newer design, or vice versa.

 

Understood. That's really the only information I'm equipped with right now. I've had enough pass under my loupe that I noticed a difference, but I'm at an early beginning stage as far as causes, proper attribution, etc. That's interesting that an older hubbing meeting a newer hubbing would cause that. These are the things I want/need to learn about. What reference would you suggest for learning the different types and their causes?

 

Wexler's site doubleddie.com has excellent info on the different types of doubled dies and how they were careated.