so about a month ago i recieved a huge coin lot from my grandmother including proof sets, mint sets and thousands of loose coins. i went through most of the larger coins, the Morgan's, old large cents, walking liberty, etc. and even the barber dimes(found an 1895O and dozens of other key dates, most only in G-4 or vg-8 condition) but i am onto the pennies now. i have read many posts and i am trying to learn as much as i can about the coins but i am struggling with some of the errors. i bought the redbook but i was wondering if most of the errors can be seen with the naked eye? for example there are about 5-10 rolls of 1955 pennies and i know there is a really rare double die error and i dont expect there to be one, but better safe then sorry. is a double die error one that can be seen without a magnifying glass? what about a number over another number like an 8/7? i was able to locate the vdb on a few 1909 wheats that i found but that was easy to see. i really appreciate any help you guys could provide. It is exciting to look through my grandmothers coin collection that i know spanned the last 75 years.. thank you in advance
Cherry pickers guide there are two depending on denomination of the coins , also have a look on amazon for used coin books on errors sometimes you can pick up a good deal on a used book. hope this helps you out. Paddy
If you find a '55 doubled die, you'll know it! Makes you think you're drunk while looking at it, and you definitely do not need a magnifying glass for that one. Do a search for "The big one" posted recently and you'll see, it's a beauty!. As for the other errors, lots of them can be seen with the naked eye such as die cracks, clashes, strong RPM's, and others. For lots of other errors you will need a loupe or magnifying glass if you want to find them.
You must get a book, The Cherry Picker's Guild or search the web site CopperCoins, Coneca - there are many plus get and learn to use a loupe. There is no other way to do it other than that or someone you trust that knows this stuff.
