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 Replies: 73 / Views: 8,733 |
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
now a question back to sorting, I have another box of lincolns to start tomorrow, while sorting, sold I put the pre 82 in a seperate container, it would make it a bit more difficult but atleast the copper is seperated. opinions please?
Thanks
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7629 Posts |
You can do that after you have sorted them. Just sort by the last digit first into ten containers, pick one, and sort it by decades. You then have all the zinc sorted from the copper except for 1982. When it comes time to toss off the junk, toss the zinc dates into a zinc toss container, and the copper the same. When you get to the 1982 cents, use the drop test to find out which metal they are and toss them in the appropriate bin.
BTW, probably not a bad idea to keep decent circulated 1982P small date cents, both zinc and copper. Those will end up being the coin to look for in another 20 years, and if you already have circ rolls of them, you've got a lead on the pack.
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
well I am using the 10 cup meathod, so for example in the "0" cup I might have 60; 70; 80; 90 2000. in the 1 I have 61-2001. there ia copper mixed in with zincs, now I resort the sorted cups?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7629 Posts |
Yes. Once you finish sorting the pile into the ten groups, you grab one of the groups - say, the fives. You will probably have 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, and 2005 only in this group. So you can sort this group into six piles by decade, which should be pretty easy. Once you've got those sorted, you've also separated the metals.
The part that makes this method better than sorting by decade first is that the groups you've sorted into are much smaller than the other way. If you sort 10,000 coins into decades, you could have a single decade with 4,000 coins. If you sort all of them by last digit first, you likely won't have any one group with more than 1,000 coins. The math proves that sorting 1,000 coins into six piles is much easier and faster than sorting 4,000 coins into ten piles. There's where the savings in time is. All the resulting groups of coins to sort are smaller than the 'conventional' method too, so it takes less time.
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
ok thanks, I understand now, though I probably should chill on boxes after this one, which I have not started yet because I do not have a scope or whatever to look through all the coins. I still have not decided what to get to examine the coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7629 Posts |
It just depends on how serious you want to get about die variety hunting. If you plan to go through anything over $500 per year in cents, you owe it to your eyes to get something a little more robust than a loupe or 'toy scope'. You'll thank yourself for it later.
Believe me...I started all this on a shoestring budget. I had no money, and I had no budget. It really hurt to spend $300 on a scope, but I'm very glad at this point that I did. Lighting can come later - for searching purposes. Just about any desk lamp will do. It won't work for photos, though. You'd have to go with something that fits well under the optics to do photos.
I bought my scope on Christmas day. I waited until March to buy the correct lighting. The camera had to wait until Fall. I spent another year searching coins one by one before coming up with the board, and the adaptor for the camera cost me all of $1. None of this stuff came easy to me, and none of it was automatic. It all cost as much as I had at the time, but I knew I was going to be serious about what I did with it, so I didn't waste any money on expensive stuff that wouldn't do the job.
Not everyone has those ambitions. Some just want to mess around once in a while with a few rolls of coins. I certainly wouldn't tell those people they need to go out and spend $1000 on equipment...but for those who plan to make an extra income on finding and selling die varieties should definitely consider buying the right equipment for the job and skip the years of headaches I spent figuring it out.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1571 Posts |
Chuck, As I was reading this thread, and noticed the LMC as the base,, and theseparation of the metals. How did you do this, without separating the '82's by weight, or by sound, (for those with excellent hearing)? While I use a different method, I still had to separate the copper from the zinc, by one method, or another. In my case, I weigh them.Whikle weighing them, they are sorted into seven separate toube, accoeding to "P" LD Zn, SD Zn. "P", "LD" Cu, SD Cu. "P" LD Zn, SD Zn. "D" LD Cu. The rest of the coind are soeted by date, "P-D-S" as needed. Five boxes will cover the LMC, or the LWC. The '09 will fo into any none used tube, eg '59,in the LWC.There they stay until time to check them. I like to use the old quarter box for cent roll storage, as 70 rolls fit very nicely. Using the "sticks", particularily for '92, '98, '99, '2k, you will note very rapidly, if one is the wide, which shouldn't be, or the Close AM. I imagine the transition cents can be checked this way rather rapidly, as well. I used Chucks method for two sets of boxes for the Cent Project, and afterward I decided there had to be an easier way! So came the "racks" which sorted the dates w/o regard to mint. Then the mints sorted. Still a lot of repeated handling. Then the boxes of 30 tubes, compledet thr decade in one pass. Five boxes covered the whole series. Same for the Wheat cents. In the case of the 40's, and 50's, There qwere many more than the earlier years, so the full tubes were marked, capped, and set aside for storage. After sorting the box, or boxes, the tubes that remain are capped, marked, and go into a box of 100 tubes for storage, also by decade, and mint. As the partially filled tubes are filled, they are rolled into paper tubes, and boxed by decade. All my wheats, and Memoriaals are under this system. Some of the boxes are solid date rolls, either by there being so many, ('40's & '50's), or the BU new Memorials. I am twice Chucks age, abd have less than 1/10 his experience. Most of what I know, I have learned from him,and the members of this and other forums. What little I know, I am ready, and willing to share with anyone who asks, especially all you "newbies", or as one member says, "Noobs". Gratefully, Dick |
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Valued Member
United States
369 Posts |
As far as separating zinc from copper, the best way I've found to do it is to flip them. If they ring in the air, they are copper. If there is no sound at all, then they are zinc. Remember, though, listen while the coin's in the air. The drop test also works well, but I have a small space, so mine always ended up on the floor.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7629 Posts |
Well, there's only three ways to test zinc from copper...
1. By weight.
2. By sound.
3. By sight.
#1 and #2 are familiar to most here, but #3 is something that many tend to skip without thinking. If the coin has gas bubbles, it HAS to be zinc. The zinc cents are a slightly different color than most of the copper cents, and they definitely have a different texture. I have never seen a 1982 zinc cent with a perfect round cartwheel, while many of the very nice copper cents do. Once you see and know the difference in appearance between the two, you can spot them without dropping them or weighing them. It's not really hard.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1571 Posts |
#3. By sight. Needless to say, that lets me out! Dick |
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Valued Member
United States
322 Posts |
I'm getting pretty good at sorting Lincolns by sight. It's usually obvious to me. But I also like 1982 for some reason?
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New Member
United States
39 Posts |
Hey all,
Been at this for 10 months and I too am in need of a more efficient system.
Since a stereo scope is not gonna happen in the near future, I'm gonna take what I can and adapt it to my situation.
If I make Chucks penny holders and then set the filled holder on a stand thats at a covienent height, I can search more coins faster. I dont yet move enough coins to use the sorting method, but like the idea of the 9 cans, then the individual year bags. Maybe I'll get them $25 or $50 at a time sort them and then search them as I can. Actually makes sense, less time gathering, and the searching is faster. I also have many of the years info memorized but still need to turn to my cheat sheets for many years, thus slowing me down. I am in this for the long haul and agree its sbout seeing as many coins as I can. I just cant toss out the UGLY ones from several years, I'm still too new. Every time I see another 72 or 83, I cant help but think, "this one?"...
Off to the basement to see if the scrap pile has any coin holders for me.
Happy Hunting
Scott
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Pillar of the Community
United States
819 Posts |
Copper coins,
I am extremely impressed with your knowledge and fortitude in searching through penny rolls. It seems as though you have it down to an art-form or science. Cudos.
After having searched some rolls myself with limited finds, I wonder if someone who did not just love the game could play it profitably. I notice a high number of varieties, errors, etc in the pennies. Does the effort pay of monetarily? (outside the intrinsic satisfaction gained). Can one expect to make it pay?
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Replies: 73 / Views: 8,733 |
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Posted 12/12/2008 11:24 pm
