I started in 1948. I was 5 years old. I didn't have a transistor radio, a TV or a cell phone. I searched everyday for coins. I regularly found Indian Head Cents, Liberty Nickels, all the Barber coins. Buffalo Nickels were very common as were Mercury Dimes, Liberty Walking Halves and Standing Liberty Quarters. There were several mom and pop grocery stores close to the house and all the mom and pops knew me very well. I would stop in and search their register and trade them. Most times they didn't bother to look over my shoulder. I went to the bank every Saturday and sat in the vault and roll coins for the tellers. Other businesses that had large coin traffic got my visit and didn't mind at all. The Twenty Cent piece came from a fruit and vegetable vendor who pushed a cart down the alleys in town. All this was shortly after WW 2 and money was tight. People spent the cookie jar and piggy bank money. And I hovered around and waited for it.
Storage is a problem. If you are interested in how I it impacted my collecting you can visit my link https://www.cointalk.com/threads/sorting-my-70-year-accumulation.330231/
I did most of my roll searching and looking through change in the 50s, and I found lots of good stuff: Buffalo nickels, key and semikey Lincolns, Mercury dimes, Standing Liberty quarters, Jefferson nickel keys (38-D and S, 39-D and S, 50-D). I got some interesting Barber coins but probably bought them (often at face) rather than finding them myself. The same is true for Indian cents. It was a great time to start collecting because you could really find stuff.
Cleaned and real on the flying eagle. As to change I used to go through a lot back in the mid 80s. Got a lot of wheats and a decent amount of silver. I’ve gotten ihc and buffalos on occasion in the last few years as I’m sure someone spent a collection or accumulation. I hardly ever see silver lately though
The was a 20-cent piece, and here is an example. The coin was minted from 1875 to 1878. I wrote an article about this series a couple of years ago. I am going to post that article in the U.S. Coin section for those who might have an interest in this short-lived coin.
I couldn't find it... unless it wasn't posted yet? Ooooops... I just saw it as I scrolled down today's CoinTalk list. Nevermind! LOL.