I was reading over a few a the threads here, it's hard to keep up though, this forum is amazing with the amount of responses that are received. Anyway, I am two questions for anyone. First, I was reading about how some of you buy halves from banks and then search though them for good years, and then exchange them for different ones. Is this really a good way to collect? I know when I read I thought to myself, "Wow, that's pretty d*mn clever". I mean it would really make the act of collecting more fun because you'd never know what's coming to you. I used to collect cards, (baseball, basketball, etc.) and that was the feeling I'd get when buying a box set, but the great part with coins is it's generally accepted currency, so you can just exchange it for more and more if there's nothing you need. Anyway, secondly I only read about people doing it with halves, would it be effective with other denominations like pennies, nickels, etc.? Actually I think I have just a few other questions. If you do go about collecting this way, is there some sort of way to prevent from getting the same rolled coins from a bank that you've already sorted through? And I think lastly, when looking through halves, because other than nickels they are one of my favorites, what do you typically look for, as far as years go, or are there possible double dies you can find too? Oh, and one more thing, I apologize, I'm still new to collecting, and these online groups, do you think that collecting in this manner is better than say buying gem condition, or uncirculated from dealers? I know buying and sorting is more fun, but then there's no way to be certain you'll ever get coins that are in top condition. Then again maybe I'm just missing the whole point of collecting, I'm not too sure. Anyone who could enlighten me with any info on any of these questions I'd be greatly appreciative. Bill S. new member and collecter
Welcome to the forum Bill. You should collect whatever you want to. If searching rolls is what you like to do, then you should do that. If you prefer collecting Gem Uncirculated coins, that is fine too. All of the halves minted before 1971 were silver. There are lots of double dies and varieties in the Kennedy series.(Foundinrolls can give you more info on those) One of the reasons people don't search smaller coins as much, is because they are harder on the eyes. Charlie
Here are the basics on what to look for in boxes of halves: Anything 1964 and older is 90% Silver 1965-1970 is 40% or silver clad (By the way 1970 was issued only in special sets, so they're not easy to find in circulation) 1987 Issued only in special sets Proofs 2002-Present also were not issued for general circulation. As was mentioned above, there are tons of DDO's, RPM's, and other oddities in the Kennedy Series. I love roll searching, so I search Pennies, Nickels, and Halves. I don't usually bother with Dimes or Quarters because, in my experience, there isn't a heck of a lot out there. Ususally you'll get a handfull of Wheats from a box of pennies, 30-40 Pre 1960 in a box of nickels, and 10-20 40% Halves per box. These are just averages though! Some boxes will be much better and others will have nothing. You can also find some very uncommon coins while roll searching. Here are a few of my unusual finds: Halves 1974-D DDO Kennedy Several Walkers in the Teens 1907-O Barber Half 1893 Columbian Expo Half Nickels 1896 Liberty Heaad (Just found it this week but it won't go any higher than G4) 1913-S Buffalo 1935 Buffalo (2) 1937 Buffalo 1938-D Buffalo Pennies 1900 Indian 1906 Indian 1943 Steel In addition to US coins, I have found many coins from foreign countries. While I don't collect "darkside" material, they're still neat to find. I hope this was at least a little help. Best of luck!
I've been doing just that with the bank thing for almost 30 years now. It's a great way to have something to do on a cold winter knight if you live in an area that has them. If your basically new to coin collecting, that is a great way to get started for a very cheap price. However, you may want to invest a little and buy a Red Book on coins. It's really a great investment. If your limited in what to spend for such books, try yard/garage sales, flea markets or used book stores for a one or two year old edition. I've seen them for as little a $1. For pennies, try coppercoins.com web site and if you have the money buy his book "Looking Trough Lincolns". There are other web sites available for free to determine the value of coins. I've always had great luck with going to a bank and buying a $50 dollar bag of pennies, looking though them, returning the rest to a different bank. I live in an area where there are so many banks it gets rediculous trying to figure out which one to go to next. With other coins such as half dollars I usually get about $100 worth but spend them because it's fun to watch the look on people's faces that have never seen one. I do that with $2 bills also. I now have 10 complete sets of Lincoln Cents and only recently had to purchase a coin to rather complete one of the sets. I do the same with nickels, dimes, etc. I've been putting coins in Whitman Classic Albums for well over 50 years and sure is fun doing it the cheap way.
