What Do You Keep ?

well after 82 they started makinf cents out of clad, up until that time they were copper

What I keep:

Cents -- Currently about 50,000. Why? Not sure.

Buffalo nickels -- Few and far between. Why? Obvious.

JFK Halfs -- Must be BU. Why? My favorite coin.

Statehood Quarters -- Must be pristine. I save them to help others with their collections, first and foremost grandkids and other friends.

Sacajewea Dollars -- Must be BU. I save them because I really like the reverse, and also because I have met, talked with, and had my picture taken with the lady who posed for the obverse.

Westward Movement nickel series -- I like the designs, especially the Keelboat and the OIV.

Foreign -- On the average of about one a month I find a foreign coin in circulation. I like to look at them, perhaps look them up in my World Coin book, and then give them away.

I'll keep most cents before 1950 (yes, I regularly spend common circulated wheaties when I get them) and any coin with silver content. As for nickels, I rarely save any Jeffersons (except 1942-45, which I haven't seen in circulation for a long time), save perhaps for a few older ones in high grades.

I also keep 1982 and 1983 nickels, dimes and quarters if they are not complete junk.

Gary, Your penny hoard sounds really interesting. How did you estimate the number and what do think they weigh? It would be fun to make a sculpture with them or some sort of exhibit that would highlight their number or weight. Just having them in one container would be pretty impressive.

Well, if you've go by 50,000 cents and 155 cents make up a pound you would have a somewhere in the neighborhood of 322 pounds.

I think that's right. It's late and I'm tired, someone else do the math and see what you get.

I mostly look at quarters and they are mostly what I find. Errors and silver are set aside but these aren't what interest me. I'm looking to upgrade and expand my collection and to find the scarcer varieties. Mostly this means the '77 and '78-D type "d" reverse in any grade and the other '77 to '84 issues in VF or XF and better. I look for the rotated reverses and the major doubled dies ('65, '71-D, '72-D, '76-D) I watch for the '85-P small bust and the '84-D/D. I'll set aside any pre-'80 coins (except '76) in XF or better but don't always hang onto them. I save the '82 and '83 only in nice AU unless they're type "d' reverse. I do check for some of the less important varieties but I don't get excited about anything that needs a glass to see. I also set aside any quarter in MS-65 or better and have been doing this since the early '70's. I'll usually get no more than a few per year and frequently none.

I only collect Morgan dollars and only MS ones at that. I do however have some circulated examples that I bought when I first started collecting but 98% is MS-64 and above. I really do not keep any pocket change unless its just silver or maybe a Wheat cent every now and then