Errors?

the "sixth claw is not a real error, sorry.

For the most part 'errors' are only worth a premium if they are not the right size or shape. Those are the scarcest ones because they are usually caught by the riddlers at the mint and never circulated.

There is a difference between 'errors' and 'varieties'. Most varieties, such as doubled dies and repunched mintmarks, have at least some added value and many are worth saving.

Sherry - if you have a tripod and a digital camera, you can mount the camera on the tripod and then create a dark backdrop (from black felt perhaps). Set the tripod about 24 inches from where the coin will be sitting and use the telephoto option on your camera to move in closer. (I used some stryrofoam (available from Hobby Lobby or in packing materials) to create a tiered level for taking pics at different eights etc.

You will want to make sure your coin is standing on edge and nearly perpendicular to your line of sight from the camera. Some digital cameras actually have a "close-up" setting for taking pictures within 24 inches and therefore they do an automatic focus for you. Whether or not you use your "flash" option on the camera is up to you. It will change the way the pics turn out and under the right lighting conditions sometimes you don't need a flash to get a good picture.

I usually take several photos with different light settings and then discard the ones that aren't worth keeping. You'll be amazed with a little practice just how well the pics will turn out. I'm no expert but just recently posted some pics o 1928 Peace dollars on the "Classic U.S. Coins Grading" portion of the CCF if you want to check them out. CCF by the way is CoinCommunity Forum. Again, welcome from all of us and good luck.