I just got done skimming through Wexler's coins for sale... I thought doubled dies were worth more than that.. that was pretty surprising. I didnt look much at all but I just scrolled thru the memorial cents and what cents and the most expensive one I seen was 99 bucks. I know I said I would probably never buy any coins cuz i like to look for them myself, but idk.. I might get a couple, if I can find out how
Most are minor and not worth much. The only ones worth decent money are the big ones and you will notice that those aren't for sale on that link.
Minor doubled die coins have always been a niche collectible. Most dealers do not even have the slightest idea about them. They do not move easily so they do not stock them. The only way to really capitalize on them is when a new one is discovered, get them on ebay ASAP and hope for the best. It's been hit and miss for me for years on ebay. I seem to do best in the early spring with flea market buyers who want to add something different to their items and mostly on the east coast.
Although a book probably could be written on the highs and lows of Variety Collecting, I’ll leave that for another author. I will offer this though: Variety hunting appeals to a smaller segment of the coin collecting hobbyists. It requires good eyes/equipment, patience, and perseverance especially when it comes to less mainstream varieties. These hobbyists often collide with mainstream hobbyists that don’t have an interest in Variety Collecting (never mind hunting) unless it’s one of the ‘biggies’ (1922 Plain LWC, 1955 DDO LWC, 3-legged Buffalos, etc.). It usually happens when the variety collector posts for help on some minor variety. You won’t get rich Variety Hunting. As noted by the OP (or realized), most varieties don’t hold a lot of value. But CRH enthusiasts hunt for common LWCs, Jefferson Nickels, West Point Mint Quarters…just about anything you can think of. And there are the Silver Hunters…stacking silver. Is anyone going to get rich doing any of these? Especially regarding the return on investment of time, effort, money (gas, wrappers, donuts, etc.)? Clearly not. But there are always exceptions and we hope and pray that it’s one of us. We understand the toils of our hobby. Some varieties have value/interest. As @furryfrog02 points out, unless a variety has mainstream collector interest (i.e., the big ones) their values are normally curbed. Normally. The biggies are things like the 1922 Plain LWC, 1955 DDO LWC, 3-legged Buffalo nickels. But there are a few uncommon, but valuable Varieties out there. This week, it was pointed out that folks’ search for the 1995-1DO-001. And for good reason; it’s considered a biggie. But it is the 3rd most valuable DDO for the Lincoln cent for that year. 1995-1DO-002 and 1995D-1DO-003 are more valuable. 1995-1DO-001 is more readily available which holds down the value…but also makes desirable because it’s ‘plentiful’. This holds true for other key biggie dates; 1972 DDOs come to mind. There are tons of minor/very minor varieties. Value-wise, these are negligible unless you find one in a high MS state…and arguably, it’s the grade of the coin and not the variety that give it an appreciable bump. Perhaps from a few cents to a couple of dollars…maybe a little more. What’s the value of a 4-leaf clover? People collect these too. So, can variety hunting/collecting be justified? Of course; people do things that they are interested in doing. They are motivated. I don’t stack silver; it’s not my interest. There is nothing wrong with stacking silver. And I don’t ask permission of folks to variety hunt nor should anyone who has interest. Just do it whatever your motivations are. But it’s also fair to point out that many folks have trouble setting realistic expectations…especially when ‘motivation’ is being challenged by ‘movement’ (a much deeper discussion), i.e., getting rich. A person’s time is precious to them, or at least, it should be. If the trade off on time for a find is not justified, perhaps buying is a better means to that end. Expectations, like goals, can be reset. Anyway, enough rambling. It’s been building up for a bit, so I decided to release my thoughts.
This is a great point, Tommy. Dealers can't tie up capital waiting for a niche buyer. Minor varieties don't have the proper ROI.
In my opinion variety collecting is more or less a sweat equity endeavor. You can take an average circulated wheat or memorial cent worth two to four cents and transform it into a coin worth two to four bucks.
Kinda blows up all those YouTube videos eh ? Now if you evaluate your time invested to searching, to the resultant worth of coins found ... well, let's just say you're probably under minimum wage. For instance, I bought a 1955 DD PCGS rather than searching for one. The odds of finding one in the wild wouldn't make it financially worth it for me. Plus it's been 65 years now, I'd really would have to target buying old estates to have any chance of finding one versus in "pocket change".
What does Wexler list 40 to 50 different 1955 D RPMs. Mintage for this coin about 550 million or so. Assuming 500,000 coins struck per die - gives odds of about 1 in 20 of finding one.
I'm not sure how you calculate your numbers, plus I never stated "D" for Denver, nor did I state an RPM. In 1955 there were (rounded numbers): 330 million Philadelphia 563 million Denver 45 million San Francisco I think your statistic of 1 in 20, other than for the wrong mint, would assume that not one has been pulled from circulation (not one put in a Dansco album, nor in someone's collection, or in a jar somewhere, slabbed or damaged and removed, or simply lost from circulation). You can ask pocket change collectors here if they get a 1955 D in 1 of 20 that they search through. I certainly don't especially when pocket change contains all the other years before and since. Whereas with the 1955 DD (Philadelphia) there were from 20,000 to 24,000 believed to be minted. All from one, singular pair of dies. Some found and destroyed (and subsequently the dies). It is believed that 10-15,000 survived with many certified (ie, out of general pocket change circulation). oddly, many originally found in cigarette packs per this PCGS article: https://www.pcgs.com/news/the-1955-doubled-die-lincoln-cent-and-its-price-performance The probability of finding one in "pocket change" is substantially lower than 1 in 20 considering that most have been pulled from circulation a long time ago. Since one wouldn't be able to find it in general circulation that leaves "collections" to find one if one just doesn't want to pony up and buy a certified one already (to cast out the fakes). Oddly I didn't smoke back then, of course, I wasn't born either ... but hey, it's coin collecting nirvana ...
A few years back, a CRH enthusiast in another forum found a 1955 DDO searching rolls. A true lightening bolt moment. They happen, like the article of the 1969 S DDO being found in circulation. Buying is the most advantageous method for those. Many/most were pulled close to the point of discovery. But I enjoy the hunt...turning a few finds in on some sweat equity...and good luck!!
There are still people feeding inherited coin collections into CoinStars every single day. The rate of finding rarities in circulation drops, but it'll never drop all the way to zero. In fact, with the "convenience" (for a small 11% fee) of CoinStar, we may be seeing more rarities fed back into circulation now than in the previous generation.
