Wheat Pennies And Other Coins- Inherited

Have fun, you got a lot of work!
Good luck!
Taylor

Welcome! As you are not a collector now,,maybe this effort will change you!..I would get a reference book and work on one denomination at a time...Hopefully you'll have a couple key dates,,,if so, consult this forum for advise...Then you can decide whether or when to sell off your silver , and go from there.......Good for you!

Some practical advice for the Lincolns:

Separate into two groups, prior to 1934 and after 1933.

Then take the after 1933 and divide into two groups:
Before 1959 and after 1958. (If any after 1958)

Then take the after 1982 and BEFORE 1982 and separate into two groups.
Put the 1982 into a separate group.

When you have finished this, other members will guide you further.

I am talking about the wheat cents

If they aren't searched or common ones it's very highly recommended to check them all out! The chance of finding a 1955 double die is very rare, but yet possible. There's some other cool errors like the 1944 steel penny. I would just love to find one of them. If you have more questions you can always ask us. If you can maybe dump some Wheat cents out on the floor and take some pictures that be great! In order to upload to this website you need a hosting site first. Such as; Photobucket, photoshop, gickr, etc. All you do is copy the link then use [img] and [/ img] without the space from the slash.

Hi Penny,

I am new to this forum but certainly not new to coin collecting. As you can see there are a lot of very knowledgeable people on this site who are willing to share a wealth of information. From the replies posted here you should have everything you need to begin your project. I cannot add anything more to the advice already given except perhaps to break down and simplify the choices you have. (should you choose to dispose of your hoard)

1-Sell your coins to a dealer.
This may be the simplest and quickest way to dispose of your coins because you just haul (or truck :) your coins into the shop and walk out with the cash. The downside is you will also make the least amount of money. Most dealers will not sort through large amounts of coins (especially the pennies) but will generally purhase your entire collection for one lump sum.

2-Sell your coins to a collector
You will make more money but will need to put in a bit more work because you will not only need to have more knowledge about your coins but also need to find a collector for the specific coin types you have. However, if you can find a collector who is interested in most if not all your coins, they would probably be willing to pay top dollar.

3-Sell your coins on ebay
Potentially the most profitable and for sure the most labor intensive of the three. You will have to have a very good understanding of what you own and their values. Plus you will write the ads, take the pictures, ship the orders and write the feedback for every coin or lot of coins you sell. (whew)

So you do have options. It will depend on how much money you want to make, how much time are you willing to spend and maybe the most important, how much 'clutter' can you put up with :). In all probability, from the little I know about your collection you are looking at several hundred dollars worth of coins. Unless of course you come across a key (ie. rare) date or variety in which case the sky's the limit. You never know what you will find in an old coffee can!

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

Welcome PennyFinder,
What ever you do, DO NOT just take them to a store to sell. I made this mistake with some of our inherited collections. Once I learned more and joined here, I could have pulled what little hair out I have left when I learned what fair market was for those coins.
Be patient, listen to the advice here, learn and start cataloging and seperating out what you have. You will have a lot of fun learning and sorting out what you have. Congratulations.

Before you get excited about the steel pennies, check their dates. If they say 1943, you aren't looking at a goldmine. You're looking at around a dollar.

To the OP, how did you make out? Did you sort them or just end up getting rid of them? Always curious with finds like this :)