New To The Hunt! Need Some Guidance

Welcome!

1. Save Yourself time, effort, and disappointment...

Most odd looking things on coins are just post mint damage. So looking for random anomalies on coins and hoping they match up to something collectable will take you a lot more time, wasted effort, and disappointment repeatedly finding out you have nothing but post mint damage or useless Machine Doubling, Die Deterioration, etc.

Spend some initial time at places like error-ref.com, doubleddie.com, varietyvista.com, conecaonline.org, coppercoins.com etc. to find what actual and collectable coin errors look like.

A good way to start is, for instance, separate a bunch of pennies by date. Go to varietyvista.com and, date by date, use the reference there to see what errors are known for that specific coin/mint mark. Look for those specific errors/varieties using the pictures provided. After doing this for awhile you will KNOW what an actual error looks like and not have to waste time on face value and damaged coins. :)



2.
In the coin hobby a "double stamped" (actually "double struck") coin is one that was struck twice when being minted, while a doubled die is one where the die itself has a doubled image. I am not sure which you were referring to. The "plan of attack" above, using varietyvista.com, will show you the legitimate doubled dies (DDOs for OBV and DDRs for REV)) for coins. If you find one that is not there, then look into the idea (search online here and use error-ref.com) for " Machine Doubling" (MD) or Die Deterioration Doubling ( DDD)).

3. And probably the most valuable advice: The more you understand HOW coins are made, the easier it is to eliminate what can and cannot be an actual mint error when you find something odd. I highly suggest the following link about how dies are made (interesting also!):
https://www.coinnews.net/2014/01/06...oduce-coins/

4.

Simple answer...DON'T! A "cleaned coin" is one where someone, not knowing better, thinks shiny coins are more valuable. So they end up ruining the value of the coin by introducing micro scratches across the surface by trying to polish/clean it up...or even just rubbing it down with a Kleenex or paper towel. Those items leave scratches.
Any process which alters the actual metal of the coin is considered cleaning and IS detectable. Although since the grading companies say a difference cannot be, when a person knows what they are doing from experience (easy to overdip the coin), coins are sometimes dipped into a product called E-Z-Est, or people use a product called MS-70.

"Conserving coins" is a term used for when someone removes a surface contaminant such as if you would spill Pepsi on the coin. In that case it is OK to rinse the coin off and then PAT it dry with a cotton cloth (won't scratch it).

Another method is using PURE acetone (labeled as such) which can be had at Walmart in the health and beauty section for a couple of bucks if you don't want to buy the much larger can in the paint section. If acetone does not work, then xylene can be used (different solvent for different contaminants). You can research this also here on the forum.

Check out the top of this page link to this forum for the best way to learn faster on my CoopHome pages. You can get there by the blue link here, or on the top link on this page:

A lot times these links will answer questions you've not even thought of yet. Start with the last pages then go backwards. I keep adjusting the way I present and list these links better as time goes on. But that is where to find the link the next time you want to continue. We are so far on page 23, soon to hit page 24. If you have a question, post a link on that single page and it will come to the top of the list. If you add a question on the 23 page area, I might not see if for a long time. Thus post questions on the link page. We will all see it faster there. And other can also help out with their thoughts on your question. Welcome to the site. The more you learn, the better your eyes will be train to know what you are looking at. And it it is valuable or not? So let the learning begin.

note a double struck coin, one that has been impacted by the die multiple times, is generally considered inferior to others, in part because such Machine Doubling is common

rarer and more valuable are coins struck with dies that have been improperly prepared such that the dies have doubling of the devices (the letters, the images), such doubled dies produce coins that take practrice to distinguish from the undesirable machine doubled examples

as mentioned above, damaged coins outnumber error coins, below are the 12 types of damange we see most often here, even though there is no premium value to these, you might try to find a nice example of each for reference purposes

1) discoloration - stains from coffee, or environmental damage from being buried, heated, etc.
2) scrapes over much of the coin - damage from sliding on pavement, a parking lot coin
3) coin bent or edges not round - it has been smashed with a hammer
4) coin blank on all or most of one side - someone sanded it down
5) mirrored lettering - a vise job, a coin squeezed against another in a vise
6) rough, pebbly surfaces - coin that received an acid bath
7) smooth rims, smaller diameter - has been trapped rolling inside a dryer, a " Dryer Coin"
8) clear mounds on coin - glue that has dried transparently
9) small indentations in the shape of the letter D - marks left by the impact of the reeded edge of another coin
10) large blisters - coin exposed to high heat, such as in a campfire
11) shapes, often letters or numbers, not indented or raised - Pareidolia (like animal shapes in a cloud)
12) a circular scrape just inside the rim - " Ring of Death" caused by a coin rolling machine

Don't despair! Error coins remain ready to find from circulation, but they are outnumbered by unusual looking coins that merely have been damaged. If you can imagine a way to change an undamaged coin into one like you see, that's probably exactly what happened to it. Changes to a coin after it leaves the mint's striking chamber are considered post mint damage, or PMD, and have no premium value.

to the Community!