A bucket of loose change

My neighbors have a bucket of mixed loose change, and I mentioned that I'd like to search it.

Can any of you give me some major coin features/dates to look for?

Thanks,

Rosethe

 

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yup, buy the red Book.

Great lists in there.

 

Thanks. I didn't have any idea that the Red Book had such information.

I'm still trying to get that book to fit in my budget. Maybe in 2-6 more weeks.
Tough times.

 

not specific lists.

but, you can learn a lot from the book.

 

There's a book titled 'Strike It Rich With Pocket Change' 2nd edition, authored by Brian Allen and Ken Potter. It's $17.99 at Barnes and Noble, but might be found cheaper online.

 

I'm afraid that the bucket won't yield $17.99 in results, above face value.
I'll look online for key dates and errors.

Thanks!

 

What will you do if you find a valuable coin?

 

I will let my neighbors have it and their probably make me dinner!!
And I'll let them know they'll probably need to buy a shotgun now.

 

If you don't have a book, the first thing I would look for is any wheats, pre '65 dimes, quarters and halves, which are 90% silver. also '65 to '70 halves (40% silver). From there the list is large as to varieties and errors.

If you know where a used book store is, you could pick up an old red book pretty cheap. The red book is about the best starting point unless you want to google coin varieties.

You could also go here.

 

The GoodBook Sez

Many approaches for this:

Sounds like Time is On Your Side~

A good day starts with:

1) 1 large hard surface/ 1 large soft place

2) a pair of clean cotton gloves

3) a silent place

Dump out the entire lot, as you listen, onto the hard place.

Keep one hand dirty and pick out The Big Ones.

Place them on the large soft place as you check the dates.

ANYTHING prior to 1964 is special. May even require you start using the Clean Glove when the spirit hits.

Anything Pricesless will suffer little further damage from this as it most likely has had it happen to if already.

By the time you get done with trying to make two piles you will discover you have about four piles.


Then you will start a fifth pile of some just too ugly to see again and as you decide which is the "Just Spend It at Face Value" pile, this will give you about Six to seven piles.


Take off your gloves now and go read the book.

That's how I do it.

 

Indeed, you can find, say, a used 2006 version for 4.00 (inc shipping). I found one here.

OTOH, the advice above is pretty good.

Or, you can go to http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml and look at the price guides. Anything that "sticks out", price-wise, is a key, or semi-key date for you.

 

When I was a kid, we used to have these places where you could get books for free. They were called LIBRARIES!!! For heaven's sake, people....

Any library worth its salt will have the Redbook.

 

and any collector worth his/her salt will own a recent copy.

 

Hey -- nice outside-the-box thinking!!

 

Sweet. That sounds like a fun ritual.

And I'll check and see if the library has the Red Book as well.

Thanks all!

 

I am now aware of that. And I am just getting started.

Does anyone know about those CoinStar machines? Are they privately owned like candy vending machines and such?

Seems like a sweet way to find good stuff, possibly not circulated in years and years. :kewl:

 

I have no idea why anyone would want to dump a bucket full of potentials into such a machine unless they were trying to hide their tracks at almost a 10% surcharge.

Not a bad deal for some. But I see no fun in it. Get a Lib. card and explore the potential bucket. Or don't.

(What is the sound of one coin clacking?)

 

I think he was talking about looking though it . . . not dumping them into it.

 

I think he is a she.

But of greater interest, How do you Look Through a Coinstar Machine?

 

I think that was sorta the question . . . or leading up to it . . .