A Lot of Wheat Pennies

I have inherited about 5,000 wheat pennies mostly from 1909 through 1929. I also have probably 800 steal pennies. These pennies have been in a closet, in glass jars for over 70 years. I have looked at all of them under magnification, separating over 2,500 of the best. There are many coins that could be error coins, but the five I have attached are unusual and I can't find any information about coins with these issues. One from 1955 has been, I believe, zinc coated, three from 1919, 1920 and 1956 have been stamped, and the last from 1917 either has a major error, or damage, but I can't see how. Please let me know if you need any additional photos, or information. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

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Welcome to the wonderful world of coin collecting. As you have discovered, it can be quite addictive!..... I'm not an error guy. I focus on historical content myself, but I can tell you that the pieces with the "5" and the "X" are not error coins. Those are called couterstamped coins. Usually done by an individual to further his own personal interests or pursuits. But there are a number of keeper years/mints in the 09-29 years. Pick yourself up a Redbook at the bookstore. They are very inexpensive and of immeasurable value to the collector. I been collecting over fifty years and still refer to mine almost daily... Welcome and have fun!

 

I don’t see any errors in the ones you posted. Mostly damaged as it was done after it left the mint. Two of them are counter stamped as stated above.
Welcome to CT

 

They were stolen?

 

Welcome to CoinTalk.

 

Welcome to CT. The advice on obtaining a Red Book is correct, a must have. Someone else will know this better than me, but I think we went through a period in our history where the counterstamping of coins was fairly popular. Possibly during the depression.

 

Do the counter stamped coins have any value? How does a coin get damaged that badly without damaging the ring or other parts?

 

The typical coin collector considers that as damage, but there are folks that do deep dives into counter-stamped coins. Copper is a very soft metal so it’s a popular coin for counter stamping. Just takes a die and a hammer.

 

Also, I downloaded the PCGS Coinfacts App that seems fairly thorough. And my deepest apologies for using steal instead of steel (in God we rust). Sometimes it is auto correct, and sometimes it is me. I will soon post photos of the error coins. Thank you for the kind information.

 

Hello and welcome!

 

Here's some counter stamps I've found roll searching.


You can see the freemasons are apparently drawn to counterstamps.

 

Counter Stamping coins was free advertising. It was very popular during the 1800’s.

 

the tough years

 

Here are some of the potential copper errors. I'll post some steel errors later.

 

Two of those coin with date missing are from grease filled dies. Very common and it still happens today.

 

I have about 10 of the steel pennies with the four missing in the date. I have 1 missing the I in LIBERTY. I know the 4 is a common issue, and the I is a little less so. The blob on Lincoln in photo 20 is very strange since it is an raised area, not an impression.

 

The one with the two digit 19xx is actually a 1919. You can just make out the year if you hold it up to the light just right.

 

Will you click on "Full Image" and not on "Thumbnail?" It will save us a click. On your coins thus far, some are damage, some are errors too minor to warrant any premium.

 

I actually did click on the full image icon. I'm not sure why it is putting the photo in thumbnail. I will admit to being new to this forum, so I might be doing something wrong. I'll see if I can figure it out. Thanks.

 

Good advice