Still going thru coins but thought I would share these: I'm getting a little overwhelmed on what exactly I am supposed to do with hundreds and hundreds of coins. Can anyone please give suggestions? I know to keep everything before 1965. I have separated them by dates and years and now do I just look for errors and then roll them up, I'm just a little confused, maybe I just need a little break, lol. But, this really is so interesting and I had no idea how many coins were out there and I LOVE the "red book". Thanks again. Cari
First. Why are you looking for "errors"? with that you will lead yourself to a line of thinking damage is errors. To really learn you need to understand the minting process then study the years of coins you are interested in and then the documented Errors of those years of coins. Then when you go searching for "errors" you'll quickly identify any, and discard all the damaged ones from damage, circulation wear, etc. There are so many threads of ppl posting "errors" that are nothing but damage because they don't want to learn about coins, just find "errors" because some youtube video said they'll get rich doing it.
That's a nice 1944-D quarter. Did you inherit these coins or are you going through your own change? If they are sentimental to you, then I would recommend to keep them. Otherwise, you could go through them, pull out the silver, and dump the rest at the bank.
Sounds like a nice collection . You can put them away and leave them to your own family someday. You could sell them to a coin shop or dealer which would not get you what they are worth . Of course those in the business of selling coins need to make a profit as any other business does. My suggestions are that you get some holders for them , learn a bit about grading coins so you can put a value to them and start collecting more. If you have children someday they would probably like these as a heirloom gift . Coin Collecting is good therapy for those who like an escape from the norm just to do something different to get away from the daily stresses in life. I would keep them , and put them away for the future. Dillan
This is so well said. This whole thing with mint errors is such a tiny part of what this hobby is about. Learn to enjoy the rich history that lies in your coins.... And when you feel as you do now, simply set them aside for a while. They will wait for you.
I really don't know why I'm looking for errors, to be honest. It is at the top of MY LIST. I must have read it or seen it somewhere, now I feel ridiculous. I have stacks and stacks of coins from the 60s-now, pennies to quarters, all separated out by year, by mint, waiting to start looking at each one with a loupe, looking for anything that might be wrong with it. OH MY GOSH, I HAVE GONE CRAZY AND LOST MY MIND, LOL. I guess I have just been overthinking this. I am learning a lot about the history of coins and it is really fun so I will continue reading and studying the "red book" Thanks for help
Coin collecting can be a very enjoyable and relaxing hobby, or it can be a search for the white whale, or anything in between. There is nothing wrong with error hunting, but it helps to know what to look for first. There are several books on the subject and at least one club. Consider joining CONECA, the club for error collectors. Finally, if you are watching YouTube videos, most of them need to be taken with a truckload of salt as they are just poo poo. Good luck!
For instance, this Canadian video shows how they Mint higher end silver coinage This is regular US MINT circulation coinage going through the process relate what you see in the videos of "what can go wrong" in the minting process to create an error. many of the things in relation to a Doubled Die is actually before the minting process in relation to the dies themselves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubled_die In the older days more steps were done by hand such as Mint Marks, where you can get "RPM"s. but here's a central list of many types of errors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mint-made_errors after that you can go to various websites for sepcific types of coins. For instance with cents: https://varietyerrors.com/category/doubled-dies/lincoln-penny/ or http://www.lincolncentresource.com/Errors/Lincoln_Cent_Errors.html be more aware of what you are reading too. There are plenty of junk websites out there and junk videos. As you learn more you'll be able to identify what is good to read/view and what isn't.
Grab a coin. Google Variety Vista. Then open up to its date. You'll see what your up against. Would be a great start. As far as cents are concern. I find Coppercoins.com helpful. You can do the same with each site. But please. Slow your roll. No hurry. They will always (mostly. IMO) retain their value. It's not a race. Thanks for sharing
Sorting by date is a good start, but just pull out key/semi-key dates and major varieties (ones recognized enough to be in the Red Book) and you're good. Most people don't collect errors and they aren't generally valuable. Once in a while you can find a decent minor error that is worth a couple bucks at best, which is fine if you're just glancing at change you get from purchases, but isn't generally worth the time to pour over thousands of coins. The errors that are worth real money are the ones that you can spot with the naked eye from 5 feet away. You don't need to use a loupe.
Tell ya what. For the 60's and above CENTS. Go to coppercoins.com. open on lets say. 1960. On right down a little you'll see boxes for DDO. and DDR. CHECK BOTH, also philly and denver. At bottom click on enter. Will give you all varieties of DD"s. Front and back. Will have prices of worth also. If you follow prices all the way to the right. You'll see the higher valued varieties worth. I look for 50 dollars and above and check my coins for them. I leave the under 20's alone. You can do that for every year. P+ d's. Hope that might help
I started CRH looking for errors hoping to hit the big one well it didn't take me long to figure out that wasn't happening. But what it did do was create a interest in coins I still look at my change probably always will but now I collect coins it's my passion. I can't image not having my coin collection and I'm still buying and adding to it every week I do it because I love it. It's a hobby that I can't image ever getting tired of every coin is like Christmas for me but it all started with CRH looking for errors. Dave
Keep in mind. 99.9% of "different" is Damage. Learn how coins are made, what errors there actual are, and it will make the hobby more enjoyable. So many ppl come here thinking they have a Million Dollar penny that for some how has stayed away from a million other collectors and landed in their stash. Only to find out it's just damage, after they support their damaged coin as something special.
@caristeele ...Obviously you cannot or should not try to save/collect every coin you have there. 95% are going to never be worth more than face value. After a while, you will get into a pattern of collecting that suits you. Reading about a coin series you are interested in will help you focus on what is most pleasing to you. If you haven't already, go to John Wexler's website "doubleddie.com" and read the section on "How dies are made". It will help you understand why the damage you see on the coins you find could not have happened at the mint and therefore cannot be mint errors. Having said that, I don't want you to fall down the "rabbit hole" of the dark side of doubled dies. Looking for them has its place, but, as mentioned, is a small part of the hobby. Personally, I look for coins that have survived the ravages of circulation and "rescue" them with conservation actions. Since 1962 I have collected many coins that I should not have. Thanks to CoinTalk, I have implemented a paradigm shift into the way I collect coins so that I avoid keeping "spenders". Explore the CT forum and you will discover the wealth of knowledge contained within. THEN turn to your hoard armed with information. It will help you establish your collection and help remove that feeling of being overwhelmed. By all means, post pictures and ask questions about the coins you discover. It's why we are all here. Spark
You don't clean coins. This is a problem. Coins do get dirty from handling, circulation etc. If a coin is only worth face value, you aren't going to hurt the value by cleaning it. But if a coin is worth more than face value you can permanently damage that coin by improper cleaning. Proper cleaning is very tricky also and should be reserved for experts, as well as "conserving" a coin. Experts. Now back in the day, coins were routinely cleaned. People were proud of their collection and wanted to show them off. So they scrubbed the grime off of their coins down to a shiny finish. Before it was known and decided that this is a form of damage. When you scrub a coin harshly, you can get it to "shine", but that is because you have stripped off an outer layer of metal and you are underneath that to the metal below it and it looks shiny. But any original patina, or luster or even a thin layer of surface metal has now been stripped off and that coin is permanently damaged and irreparable. To beginners or non coin collecting people, this shiny coin seems more attractive than a dirty coin. But it is damaged goods and they will learn a harsh lesson if they pay a lot of money, and then later try to sell it.
Why do so many new collectors search for errors? Thank you uTube. Don't get me wrong as I love errors and I have my fair share of them. I also add them to my collection as I can. But errors are a small part of the hobby. Collect what you like and go from there. Enjoy the coins and the rich history they provide.
