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 Replies: 20 / Views: 3,720 |
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
I guess the value of a variety coin depends on two factors:
1. How much the variety varies from standard, and
2. how scarce that variety happens to be.
For most, how much time spent overall searching for them depends on:
a) how much the potential value motivates you, and / or
b) how numismatically motivated you happen to be, in the study of them.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4809 Posts |
It takes me 2 to 3 weeks to go through a box of cents spending an hour or two most intervals to a few hours on a Saturday evening. I do a quick sort under low magnification; a second or less to identify a date or date/mm combination with a noted variety that I'm interested in. This leaves around 30-35 cents to search under higher magnification. Those cents might take me 15-30 minutes to process. If I find something interesting, I set that aside for further study. Sometimes something is readily identifiable (a WAM for instance) but others require looking up and identifying markers. I'd say I get around 20 of these a box where 10 will require significant study. So maybe 15 minutes or more per candidate. Net investment is hours, not minutes for me. It's fun to find a valuable coin, but most significant error/varieties I come across are the $8-12 variety and find their way into a flip with lower value finds getting a post-it with identification. For me, it's more the challenge of the hunt than the $$. Interest in finding, cataloging, and sharing a picture or two provides the kind of return I'm looking for. |
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
I've spent entire weeks - and more - on a single coin.
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
I roll search cents. One box takes me 7-10 days at 5 rolls per day,minimum. 5 Rolls in less then one hour. I look for errors and varieties,high grades,wheats etc. I used to be a lot faster when I was younger. John1  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
I guess the value of a variety coin depends on two factors:
1. How much the variety varies from standard, and
2. how scarce that variety happens to be.
Three factors, third is how popular (or how much hype) the variety is. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2563 Posts |
I search through wheat cents, for non-pop out at you coins, 30 seconds max, for minor DDO / DDRs or errors, usually takes anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1005 Posts |
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Forum Kid
Canada
1074 Posts |
yes remember, if you look on both the obverse and the reverse, and see nothing like a struck through clip die crack or missing beads, then no one will buy it for an error purpose. Check if it is a year with a known variety then look for the variety but don't be using a microscope to see if there is an error, if there is an error you will see it. Remember the bigger the error the more value, such as a clip or brockage, especially a Struck Through Grease. |
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Pillar of the Community
1325 Posts |
Never found a VAM or anything like that, the only variety I know I have is proof when it has an S and shouldnt have an S, like many a half from several boxes, or the funny rim variant of the SBA just to give me something to look for in boxes of dollars since so few are needed to look before you can spend them unlike pennies. The most common error I have found is MAD and they jsut get stuffed back in rolls most of the time because they are so small difference I wont really be able to tell them apart. I do have some SBAs that are blobish and I cannot tell if they are S or D, or both and have several times taken them out and just stared at them over and over to see if maybe sticking them in a closet for a month makes them easier to read the next time.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1314 Posts |
Usually 1-4 hours, but like SsuperDdave sometimes weeks. If you are filling a folder with wheaties, that might seem excessive, but if you are comparing a die scratch on a photo, and hunting for a match, maybe longer. Add time for conservation, re-holdering and photography. Some require shipping to experts for additional opinions. I don't doubt that there is one I've given 40 hours. But that included a little writing to share my findings.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1599 Posts |
I have spent three/four hours or more over several days on some coins, particularly RPM's. I frequently put a coin down for a few days before looking again. Occasionally after a few days a problem coin will just jump out at me.
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Valued Member
United States
245 Posts |
I sort into year, then look up varieties, then sort into mints under med mag, then for mint varieties and doublings under high mag... ~ 150 Mercury dimes in 1hour or so. I could be faster but I check all mints under high mag, even though I can tell under medium mag most of the time what is going on. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2133 Posts |
shadz Quote:
The most common error I have found is MAD and they jsut get stuffed back in rolls most of the time because they are so small difference I wont really be able to tell them apart.
I do have some SBAs that are blobish and I cannot tell if they are S or D, or both and have several times taken them out and just stared at them over and over to see if maybe sticking them in a closet for a month makes them easier to read the next time. What does MAD and SBA mean, please ? Perhaps you would like to add them to the glossary ? |
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Moderator
United States
188213 Posts |
MAD = Misaligned Die SBA = Susan B Anthony one dollar coin |
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Replies: 20 / Views: 3,720 |
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First Page
Posted 11/25/2014 11:30 pm
