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 Replies: 15 / Views: 2,386 |
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Valued Member
United States
68 Posts |
Hi There! I inherited my grandmother's coin collection. There are a few coin albums, but most of the collection seems to be of circulated coins in bags. I need to start somewhere, so a Red Book is on order, and I have separated all the denominations and types. I will start with the pennies... There are several (1/2 gallon sized) bags full of pennies. Each bag is already sorted by decade. The coins all look circulated. What would be the best approach to sort through the pennies for potentially valuable ones. My plan is to sell all the pennies I don't keep and use the money to buy other coins to complete the other coin albums. Any advice would be very welcome. Thanks! *** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. *** |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
73579 Posts |
 To CCF! My advice would be to look at all of them carefully for possible errors and varieties. Study these websites and compare your coins to known Doubled Dies to see if you have them. For Doubled Dies, RPM's, and other varieties: www.doubleddie.com www.coppercoins.com www.varietyvista.com www.crdievarieties.com. For errors: www.error-ref.com Errers and Varietys.
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
Wear thin gloves, otherwise your fingers will be dirty.
Sort by type into main groups, pick out the earlier type coins that appear to be in higher condition
Divide into smaller and smaller grouping as you sort them, so that smaller groups can be looked at in closer detail.
Separate Zincolns.
I think Errers and Varieties approach would be made easier with the above preliminaries.
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Moderator
 United States
15381 Posts |
to the CCF We get this question on a regular basis. The answers provided generally depend on the perspective of the responder and often fail to consider the posters experience and time availability. Do you have the time, patience and knowledge to follow E&V suggestion of closely examining each coin? That is, an 8x loupe exam while comparing anything you find to the myriad of website dedicated to identifying the varieties? I suggest most folks do not. Another approach is to use your new RedBook and identify any 'valued' cent by the decade bags you have and then going through each bag to pull those out. The remainder, even if all pre-1959, have minimal numismatic value - unless you have the time, patience and knowledge to search for the varieties. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Very much depends on the probability of finding something of significance. Personally, I'd only go through the coins dated before 1940. to the CCF! Edited by Coinfrog
08/17/2023 08:47 am
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Moderator
United States
94636 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5391 Posts |
Coin frog nailed it .
Time is too valuable a resource to waste
going through anything later .
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Valued Member
 United States
68 Posts |
Thanks for the tips. I am finding that sorting through 1000's of pennies to be overwhelming and not much fun. This is what I have decided to do to keep things fun and engaging for me: Purchase Red Book2024 Red Book is on order. Should be arriving soon. Focus on Building Existing CollectionComplete existing coin folders and albums. Most are Dansco folders for Franklins, Walking/Standing Liberty, Mercury & Buffalo Dimes, etc. (There are no modern/clad folders.) Work on Dansco Type AlbumGrandma had started a Dansco Type Album which is about 50% full. I will make this album my primary focus Sell/Trade the Rolled SilverThere's a bunch of rolled silver, mostly quarters and dimes. I will check dates and sell/trade the rest Those 1000's of Pennies?Pull the minty looking ones to check later Separate the pre 1940s to check at a later date. Check the post 1940s for obvious double die varieties and take what's left to my credit union I'll post updates and questions to the forum. I'm sure I will have many! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19108 Posts |
Aurelius... Sounds like a plan. If you have a coin shop nearby, you might want to consider dumping unwanted wheat cents there. Good chance you could get 2-3 cents each.
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Valued Member
United States
450 Posts |
GL with that Dansco Aurelius. Looking forward to to some pictures of that partially completed set.
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Valued Member
United States
450 Posts |
BTW, I suggest trying to build a set of the Lincolns if you have a load of them. Identify the keys, and seek. GL.
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Moderator
United States
187446 Posts |
Quote:
This is what I have decided to do to keep things fun and engaging for me... An excellent plan!  |
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Valued Member
United States
354 Posts |
A plan is always a good thing. Set aside, say, 30 minutes a day to work the collection. If it turns out to be work, you've lost the game.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
24878 Posts |
Aurelius, hang on to that silver until you have the requisite number of posts to be able to sell here on the CCF. You'll probably get a better return than from your LCS or ebay. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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Valued Member
United States
68 Posts |
Quote:urelius, hang on to that silver until you have the requisite number of posts to be able to sell here on the CCF. You'll probably get a better return than from your LCS or ebay. Will do! Thanks! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
24878 Posts |
I inherited gallons of wheaties from my grandparents. I separated them by decade, looking for the key dates (there were none). I then made mixed batches with proportionate representation from each decade, and salted in a few IHCs. Never claimed unsearched - just said MawMaw's hoard, which was true. Hey, I was unemployed at the time! But got many repeat customers and everyone was happy. Still have a bunch more - might be time to offload them. Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
Edited by HondoB
09/21/2023 02:34 am
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Replies: 15 / Views: 2,386 |
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Posted 08/17/2023 04:10 am
