Possible 1969-S Error

The searching process around here works much like Tighe said - I take ten containers large enough to split my pile into ten equal parts (usually gallon jugs with screw-on lids) and sort the coins by last digit. I always sort wheats and memorials separately, so for instance in my memorial #6 container would go all coins ending in 6 - 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996, 2006. Once I've sorted that far, I'm ready to search them, but I could go the extra step and sort the decades - I rarely do.

I look through the coins using a 3/4" fluted piece of ash 1x2 that's long enough to fit 25 coins. The flute is just about half as deep as one coin. With the coins laid out across the board, I can look at all 25 coins without touching any of them. I have a second identical piece of wood that I lay on top of the 25, flip the whole thing over, and voila...I have 25 reverses to look through.

When I lay out memorials, I lay them in four groups - all the bronze cents at one end, zinc cents to 1988 in the next group, 1989-1992 in the next group, then everything after 1992 in the last group. This allows me to look for transitional reverse cents as I go through them without getting confused.

The system works for me - I can go through cents at the rate of a roll every 2-3 minutes (until I find something, of course). The primary time saver is that I only have to 'touch' the coins once to lay them face up on my stick. I use the two sticks together to flip the coins, then when I'm done, they go into two discard bins - one for bronze and one for zinc.

I'll look around for some images to upload.

I have been searching probably about 1 year. I have found quite a few Doubled Dies. My best Doubled Die found would probably be my 1972-1D0-008. All the letters in "In God We Trust" are clearly doubled. I have only found one WAM (Its a business strike with a proof reverse. I have filled an entire 1975-Present Lincoln Cent in MS60+ condition. To me it was a great year and I really don't search as much as alot of people do here. I definitely am hooked. I have a small excel sheet I keep on my computer while I search. It has every year of coin and a hyperlink to photos of that years errors/varieties.

The best thing I have done is register for this site. It really is a wealth of information that is great for someone just starting and also for experienced collectors.

Happy Hunting!

Being as busy as I am, I don't look through the bulk of coins as many of my counterparts do. My method is a couple of rolls at a time. I'll roll it around once to inspect the edges, looking for minor clips, reeding or lettering errors (if that applies), etc. Then flip to one side, check lettering, date, and MM. Check design elements -- facial features, etc. Check the field for anything unusual -- clashes, etc. Then flip and repeat. There is definitely an advantage to sorting first -- being able to compare features from one coin to the next, but when I'm only looking at 2 or three rolls in a sitting, I may only end up with one or two coins per year, or 4 or 5 per decade, so the sorting ends up taking up time.