Finding Coins By Sound...

i was never around when silver was common in change. well at least I wasn't old enough to care about it. I'm 22. but I did get my first silver quarter in the cash register at work a few months ago. I was counting the quarters and I heard something weird. I figured it was foreign so I looked and found nothing. I eventually started counting the coins and heard the sound again. turned out to be a beautiful MS 1964 washington. that was a great experience even though its not rare.

You can ask any of us here, though, what's in our pockets without fear of retaliation or robbery!

I cracked a roll of cents last year and it split and fell on my wooden coffee table. 50 cents fell at the same time and I heard rather than saw the single Canadian cent in the roll. That's when I knew I was a real roll hunter.

One time, I had someone make a purchase and heard the person go to their pocket for change and I immediately heard a silver jingle and knew he had silver before I even saw what he had! He spent a silver Roosie and it soon became mine!

The Coin Community forums ask you that on every page.

Yes, a person can learn to differentiate different metals in coinage from the sound they make. A think most coin searchers have the skill and a lot of them don't even realize it.

I can tell silver from clad from nickel Canadian.
I can tell cupro-nickel from .999 nickel.
I can tell copper from zinc.
I can tell copper Canadian from copper U.S.

As mention, it is not an exact science, especially in pockets.

As far as asking somebody to look through their pockets, bad idea, enough reasons have been given already...

The best you could do, if you're desperate, is just casually tell somebody you think you heard the jingle of a silver coin in their change. Mention that when they get the chance, to check their dimes and quarters if they're interested. Tell them the dates to look for, let them know the silver value and leave it at that. Let them feel you're just doing a small favor, no strings attached

If you're lucky, their curiosity will get them checking there on the spot. If they don't care about PM's, you might have a window of opportunity to buy it from them.

You could just ask them if they have change for a dollar.

I know back in the 70s some quarters were struck on dime planchets (I have some of them I found back then). It was puzzling the first time I heard one of them b/c as tipping the batch of quarters onto the glass, it sounded like there was a silver one. But there there was no silver. It finally came down to taking a handful at a time, dropping them (not from very high!) until the piece in question was found.

The only thing I remember being confused by is that sometimes a quarter and a nickel (I am guessing slightly off composition) can sound very similar to a silver quarter).

Michaeln1306 said:



Just get one of each denomination in silver and normal metal (don't forget War Nickels!). Play a game with someone. I'd think it would not take too long to ID the sounds b/c they are very different.


Muddler said:



Good practical use. It amazes me how many people cannot name who the people's likeness is on the OBVs of our coins let alone how to count them by sound.