How Many Are Still Around?

PCGS Coinfacts gives survival estimates. Note that copper estimates are divided into BN, RB & RD.

I didn't know that the coin facts actually had estimates. I checked and the 1877 has around 6000 still around. While the 1928 has about 30000 still around.

I'd say no one really knows at all. How could anyone know how many of any coins are in jars, boxes, safes, safe deposit boxes, home Albums and Folders, bottom of wishing wells, bottom of Rivers and Lakes, etc., etc. Any estimates would be complete guesses. TPGS's can only guess based on the amount sent to them. And for example I have 10 of the 1916D Mercury dimes and no TPGS knows that. This is just one of the reasons so many go through bank rolls all the time. Just in case.

Not old ones. Unless you count modern error coins or nit picky varieties you won't find many "rare" coins in circulation. Back in the 1950s I used to search bags of cents and nickles. I think I might have found ten Indian Head cents (all common) and a few liberty head nickles in MANY MANY hours of searching. The only really valuable coin I ever found in circulation was a 1942/41 dime in VF. So another 60 years have passed since then and all the old stuff has gone into collections. You would be lucky to find a few 40% silver halves.

I think just about everybody realizes that some old coins are worth a lot so they don't turn loose any they have. Once in a blue moon somebody scores big at a garage sale, but with the Internet, most folks have wised up.

In my opinion, coins are the hardest collectible to make field finds of vintage items. One reason I buy coins from dealers or on ebay. And save my field search time for old fishing tackle where I do score big once in awhile.

Your best bet is to specialize on a few old coin series that you like. Learn all the varieties and you might pick up some rare ones that a less knowledgeable seller or auction house offers at a common price.

Having actively collected coins for over fifty years now, I have yet to cease finding "really rare" coins. Virtually all of them were obtained from dealers, online, at shows, in local coin shops, flea markets, auctions & even ebay.

I personally don't regard most key date coins as rare, unless it's by virtue of being "condition rare." There are well over 200 1916-D dimes currently up for purchase on ebay. There's but one 1873-CC quarter for sale .... Now, that's what I call a rare coin. I found one, a VF, in a dealer's junk box many years ago at a Cleveland show. It cost me but five bucks, as it had a small hole, and some letters had been engraved on it. I figured I could trade it as a love token. It wasn't until I got home and checked the Red Book that I realized what I had. I als realized that I could find rare coins if I cultivated more general knowledge.

At another Cleveland show, I bought a double-denomination coin error; originally a cent and overstruck by nickel dies. At a flea market, I bought a rare Condor "kneeling slave" token, struck in silver! I bought a 1797 NC-2 large cent at another Florida flea market. At a local coin auction, I bought a 1799 large cent in VG-F! I bought a 1796 NC-2 at an antique shop. Earlier this year, I purchased a rare counterstamped Bust half on ebay, being the fifth now known. I've found countless, genuinely rare tokens, counterstamps and other forms of exonumia over the years.

From my perspective, numismatics has been akin to treasure hunting. New material is constantly reentering the marketplace. Just this weekend, I had occasion to purchase at auction three pieces of unlisted, obsolete scrip that I've never before seen. I've been collecting this "stuff" for decades!

To me, this stuff, but a small portion of what's out there, constitutes genuinely rare pieces. I've long been a book buyer and actively sought to learn about many aspects of numismatics. While I've made some misteaks along the way, the successes, the opportunity to discover and learn, has long overshadowed the mistakes.

Lots of coins in the ground and/or water. All you gotta do is find them.

I have never found a "rare" or key coin in circulation. I define "the wild" as any unexpected find/discovery. The 1873-CC quarter and the 1799 large cent are key coins in their respective series. The greatest finds I've made have been "off the radar" for the collectors of modern coins. To me, making great finds means getting outta the box, extending one's collecting knowledge and looking beyond pocket change. Getting outta the box will improve one's luck and improve the odds of making great finds.

How does a collector then get "outta the box?" Invest in coin books, other than simple price guides (library visits work, too). Join a club to network with fellow collectors. Attend coin shows. Try to establish a good relationship with one or more dealers. Participate in online forums (love CCF). Explore online websites. Acyively seek out coin venues. Just my Two Cents ....