Errors And Varieties Found Pocket Change

I'm sure I speak for the whole community-TNTM (too numerous to mention.)

Tim,

I can empathize with what you are trying to do here, and I understand your question - entirely...but Numismo is correct. many of us do this as a sickness...a part time job. We find stuff worth over face value every single time we look through a few hundred coins. We don't often find anything worth a great deal of mention - maybe one in ten thousand coins or more, but we do find a lot. I, for one, have been doing this for over 30 years, and to list all the stuff I have found, even if possible, would take more time than I am sure either one of us would want to spend.

Now, I can see the reason for your question and request as well, and I can tell you that while your effort is to be commended, your reasoning is inherently flawed for a couple of important reasons, if I may:

1. What I have found in my change could easily be something you would never find, and vice versa. Any specific variety, you name it, could be one that I find five of in the next year, and you might never find one in your life. It's just how the chips fall.

2. Constraining your search to any particular "list" of stuff other people have found would automatically preclude you from finding something you are passing by that doesn't happen to be on our collective lists. Comprende?

Here's your best bet...

1. Pull a big batch of coins of any one denomination...most stick with cents because they are inexpensive, produced in large enough quantity to create a wider range of varieties, and have by far the most published help and information. A big batch would be $25 face value.

2. Sort the coins by date. Really...there's good reason for this. Looking through 350 cents from 1985 all in a row will train your eye to recognize what's normal for 1985, and you will more likely alert when you see something that's different....and THAT is the key to finding goodies! You don't have to memorize any books, you don't even have to know any rules. Just look through the coins with some attention to detail, and eventually something will come out of them.

3. Take your time. It's not a race, and there's a lot to be learned along the way. Be patient with your learning curve, and you will go a long way.

4. Buy a couple of good references on the subject, read through them, look at the pictures, then put them away to search. Remember, you are not searching for what's in the book, you are only using the book to identify what you have found! If it's not in the book, never fear....most of the books list fewer than 10% of all the KNOWN varieties, and then there are far more that we have never seen before!

I hope this helps.

Tim, I have found a 1962 quarter and a 1943 Mercury dime in my pocket change over the last few months.

Thanks to all of you Especially coppercoins, your advise has been very helpful and I am begening to better understand the world of coins---
Is it safe to purchase "unsearched" coin rolls from ebay, ( or are those just scams from other coin collectors, who have taken the good coins and put the unwanted back into a roll ) ?

where would be my best bet to purchase (fairly cheap) unsearched rolls ?

I was told not to purchase coin rolls from the bank from someone else. They said I would be better off to find good coins, getting rolls from a convienant store. Why was this ?

ya, I actually went by the bank and picked up 10 cent rolls today on my way home, I've only been through 5 rolls, just sorting them by decades, and I have at least one error already, maybe 2, plus like 10 AU cents in 70's. But sadly, no wheats yet.

I agree with coppercoins bank are far better!