Hi Im about to purchase a lot of error wheaties that are mostly DDO's and DDR's problem is, i cant find anything in the redbook that states that these are supposed to be errors why? I trust the seller, but I want to know where I can find info on these coins and why they arent in the redbook thanks, stainless heres the list of the coins in the lot I'm about to buy: CENTS: 1940-P "DDR" Cent (2-R-VI) in EF-40 1940-D "DDR" Cent (1-R-VI) in VF-35 1940-S "DDO" Cent (1-O-VI ?) in F-15 1941-P "DDO" Cent (3-O-V ?) in F-15+ 1941-P "DDR" Cent (1-R-VI) in F-12 1941-S "DDO" Cent (unlisted - best for Date & Mint) F-15+ 1944-P "TDO" Cent (2-O-VI but is a Class III, Class IV & Class VI Tripled Die) in VF-20+ 1944-P "DDO" Cent (1-O-III) in EF-40+ 1944-P "DDR "Cent" (1-R-VI) in F-15 1944-P "DDR" Cent (not listed) in EF-40+ 1946-P "DDR" Cent (3-R-VI) in EF-40 1951-D "DDO" Cent (1-O-V) in VF-35+ 1957-P "DDR" Cent (2-R-VI) in VF-20 1957-D "RPM & DDO" (RPM #5 and WDDO-002) in EF-45 1959-P "DDR" (not sure which Die # or is not listed) in EF-45 DIMES: 1943-S/S "RPM" Dime (RPM #1) in VG-10 1960-P "DDR" Dime (WDDR-005) in MS-64+ 1961-P "DDO" Proof Dime (W-005) in PF-65+ Cameo
The Red book, aka: The Guide Book, only lists major varieties (these are varieties, erros are offcenter double struck, etc). For more listIngs you need to go to Cherrypickers Guide (for popular varieties) and to individual guides for each series.
Anthony - Have you seen this lot or are you planning on buying this lot sight unseen. There is a couple of things that should be noted - first, are these true double dies or do they have mechanical doubling that someone is calling a double die. I have made this mistake several times and thought I had some "valuable" coins until I really learned the difference. Second, I have also found in my limited experience with DD that the poorer the quality of coin (i.e. - good, very good, fine) the harder it is to see the double die unless it is extremely pronounced. Also, with this normal wear there is typically dirt and other stuff deposited on the coin that sometimes prevents the person from seeing if it truly a DD or something else. Just my two cents.
well, this guy is a cointalk member so everytimg should be ok but I will ask him for scans though... thanks for the advice, stainless
IMHO, be careful with error coins. They've become popular recently because everyone is trying to find something that is unusual or unique or valuable. If you're really into it, fine. But I personally wouldn't buy any "error" or "variety" unless it was really, really obvious in hand. I think as time goes on, the stuff that you need a microscope to see with fall by the wayside. Just my 2 cents.
Since they are specifically identified by a catalog reference(number O or R and class of doubled die) they are probably real doubled dies. Most sellers of doubled dies that aren't don't get that specific.
The redbook is basically useless when it comes to varieties and their prices. As others have mentioned, the Cherrypicker's guide is a good source of info but the cent edition is now quite old and even so it doesn't list many of the varieties out there. A good combination of pricing and variety info is, as Lou mentioned, the coppercoins.com website; on the other hand, they are not as exhaustive as the CONECA listings (which is how your varieties are organised- 1-O-IV, 2-R-II, etc.) but they don't have any price info.