I am fairly new to coin collecting, and when my grandfather passed away, he left his coin collection to me. I collect police insignia (badges and patches) so this is a completely new area for me. Majority of the coins are wheat pennies, I think 9000+ or so of them, I have majority of them sorted out by dates and mint, but I have no clue what I should be looking for compared to what is a common coin or something that is worth more. I am wondering if anyone has a website or a guide that I can look through that might help me know what key dates are. About 95% of the coins are from 1940-1959. Nothing too old or special, I did find a 3 cent coin, which I have never seen before or even known it existed, so that was pretty neat. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading. Justin
What is this Redbook? I found this on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-SPIRAL-OFF...goryZ530QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Is that what I want to make my move on? I like the line, It'll be a GREAT resource for me. I am going to see if there is anything that might be worth something. I have had a lot of fun looking through all of them by sorting them out. My dad told me he started collecting when my dad was young (1950s) and would keep wheat coins he found in circulation and never bought any. He had hundreds of bicentennial quarters, nickels, and thousands of pennies. He has a proof set from 1968 and some foreign coins, so I have my looking to go through. Thanks for all the help, and I am sure I will be back with more questions as time goes on. Justin
Yes, that is the Red Book. That's what you want. Understand that the values listed in the Red Book are not realistic and are way more than a dealer would pay you. But it is a good guide. It should help you to identify some of the rare dates and mintmarks that you may have. I hate to tell you but those bicentennial quarters are worth a quarter each unless you have some that are uncirculated. Modern proof sets (1968 and later) are not especially valuable except for a couple of dates. Check your Red Book. Good luck.
I knew about the bicentennial quarters, was going to keep a roll and put the rest in my savings account. He just saved anything different. I will get a hold of this redbook and do some looking. Many thanks for all the replies. Justin
Justy... Sorry to hear of your loss. Being in almost the same situation, I can vouch for the sage advice provided here. Get the Red Book, do some reading, and then begin enjoying what your grandfather left you. Also, spend some time reading in the various forums here on Coin Talk. It is literally a plethora of information... and you might just find that penny collectors abound. Take care...
Sorry about your grandfather, but it's nice that he was thinking about you. Keep in mind that he wanted you to have the coins, so think twice before getting rid of any. In the meantime, as you learn more about the coins, please don't try to clean any of them regardless of condition. Cleaning destroys the value of coins in the minds of serious collectors.
Justin, Sorry for your loss. Also welcome to the forum. As for coin boards this is the place to be. Great information and many people willing to pass on there knowledge. Let us know what you come across when you get the Red Book. Regards, S
First off, welcome to the forum! Second, I am sorry to hear about your Grandfather man, it was nice of him to think of you to give those coins too. :thumb: If you are going to sell some of them, I'd try to sort them, 09, teens, twenties, thirties, and S mints. Those are normally a little more desirable. The rest are considered common, the fourties and fifties non S mints, and are worth anywhere from 2 cents-5 or 6 cents, depends who you sell them too. Hope all this helps man! :thumb: Best of luck to you. :thumb: Phoenix
