New guy on roll searching...

[Drmsharp]

I was just curious on how often I should find different varieties, rpm's, omm's, and error coins. I've just started roll searching. I buy boxes of $25 at a time and probably go through 2-4 boxes a week. I have a 10x magnifying glass and am becoming more familiar with what to look for all the time. My only concern is that I may be overlooking things, which I'm sure I am, but on the other hand I don't want to look too much into something and be waisting my time. Should I look at every coin under the microscope or just certain dates that are known to have other varietes and errors? I'm just curious on a more seasoned roll searchers opinion and their methods for searching. I've been advised the Cherry Pickers Guide and plan to get that book soon. Any other important books for beginners out there? Should I be finding rare varietes, rpm's, omm's in every box, every ten boxes, every hundred boxes? Thanks for any help in my never ending quest for knowledge.

[mustbebob]

Everyone has their own method for searching coins, but you brought up two very important points. First off, you do not want to get where you are searching too hard as things then seem to magically appear. As far as missing things, that is very possible and probable. I have been searching for 42 years, and I still miss things.
As far as the ratio you might expect to find things...that is almost impossible to say. No one knows if the coins you are searching today were searched some time in the past. You will find that persistence is the key here. There will be dry spells, and other times you will find quite a few nice varieties in a short amount of time. I would suggest you go to a site like coppercoins.com where you can see pictures of things you are searching for. As far as the Cherry Pickers guide...I wouldn't spend money on it...but that's my opinion only.
The most important thing is that you should look through everything. Because a date may not have many known varieties, there are still errors to be found, and there is also the possibility that you could be the discoverer of a new variety not previously listed.

[grnwavdav]

Hey Welcome! It's hard to say how many varieties and/or error you should find in a box. Sometimes you'll find two in one roll. Sometimes you might not find one in a whole box. As far as looking at every coin, I used to only look at ones I knew had major DDO/DDR's and RPM. Now I look at almost every coin in a roll. And yes it's very time consuming and sometimes you feel like your wasting your time...until you find something you might have overlooked before. That's my take on it. Let's see what everyone else has to say.

[Brad]

Here is an old list that we put together:
http://www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/showthread.php?t=179

[1sgret]

First thing is Welcome to the Forum and there is alot of information available here already: How you search and what you search should depend on you and your time and what you are interested in (Varieties, RPM's, Errors) etc.

There are some excellent sites to visit and the Home Page here on LCR by Brad has a wealth of information. What cannot be found on the home page can be found in the Links he has provided to other sites.

Here is a link to a thread on the Forum that will give you an indication of what material/References are used by members.

http://www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1094

You may have some more question after you review this thread above. Please ask if you have any other questions as someone will respond.

[Drmsharp]

thanks for all the replies, i appreciate all the information... grnwavdav, you said that you look at every coin in a roll. does that mean you look with a magnifying glass and examine everything, or do you just give a glance?
(http://www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/member.php?u=257)

[1sgret]

I used to only look at ones I knew had major DDO/DDR's and RPM. Now I look at almost every coin in a roll. And yes it's very time consuming and sometimes you feel like your wasting your time...until you find something


I will add to Dave's comments: I look at every coin in a roll or bag. It would be waste of my time if I did not as you may tend to overlook a new variety or RPM.

I use a 10X loupe and if I question it then I go to my scope for a better view. Others do it differently, as everyone has his/her own method of searching.

Be careful as stated in an earlier thread that you don't get to a point that your mind sees things that are not there.

[fugnchill]

Hi Drmsharp,

Welcome to the forum! I personally look at every single coin that comes into my house. I take my time looking at every detail on the front and back. The down side is that I don't get to look at as many coins as everyone else. Good part is that I'm almost gauranteed not to miss an error. I use my loupe for general searching and my scope if there is anything in question on the coin. Like the others have already mentioned, it's almost impossible to say how many per box/bag/roll you'll find. That's how I do my searching but I have a lot of time to do it also. This site LCR and Coppercoins.com are where I spend most of my time but Coneca is another. I personally love the Cherry Pickers Guide because I can take it with me where ever I go and do research/searching. Most of all have fun looking/learning and building friendships in the hobby.

Lestrrr

[grnwavdav]

thanks for all the replies, i appreciate all the information... grnwavdav, you said that you look at every coin in a roll. does that mean you look with a magnifying glass and examine everything, or do you just give a glance?
(http://www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/member.php?u=257)

I use a 20X loupe. Then I quickly look over the whole obverse and then the same with the reverse. I try not to waste too much time unless something catches my eye. When I find something eye catching I take it to my 40X microscope for a better look.

[1sgret]

This will be a new DVD reference coming out:

http://www.lincolncentresource.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2864

[AgCollector]

I was just curious on how often I should find different varieties, rpm's, omm's, and error coins. I've just started roll searching. I buy boxes of $25 at a time and probably go through 2-4 boxes a week. I have a 10x magnifying glass and am becoming more familiar with what to look for all the time. My only concern is that I may be overlooking things, which I'm sure I am, but on the other hand I don't want to look too much into something and be waisting my time. Should I look at every coin under the microscope or just certain dates that are known to have other varietes and errors? I'm just curious on a more seasoned roll searchers opinion and their methods for searching. I've been advised the Cherry Pickers Guide and plan to get that book soon. Any other important books for beginners out there? Should I be finding rare varietes, rpm's, omm's in every box, every ten boxes, every hundred boxes? Thanks for any help in my never ending quest for knowledge.

It can be somewhat overwhelming in the beginning, trying to figure out what to look for and how to do it. Since you're already going through a fair number of boxes, you're comfortable with looking at a large number of coins. How do you currently screen them?

As for the frequency of rare varieties, I think it's safe to say that geography plays a large role in what you will find and how often. For example, I've found around 20 1997 "Doubled Ear" cents out of about 1 million cents searched, yet another member here had not found any out of over 2 million searched. I'm in Maine, he's in Alabama. Yet, he has found several 1992-D Close AM and I've found none.

Also, I'm probably in the minority here in that I don't search every coin but rather look for known varieties, and even then only ones I am interested in.

[Drmsharp]

How do you currently screen them?



I guess I've just been searching for "major" differences found by the naked eye. When I find one in question I look at it through a 10x loupe.
after the advice I've been given in this thread, I'll probably start looking closer at every coin with a 10x loupe and look into investing in a higher powered magnifier to get an even closer look when I question something.

[fugnchill]

Hey Sharp,

Like Ag mentioned, your location will determine what you'll find for the most part. Where are you from? I'm in Washington State...not DC and I don't find any major DDO/DDR's but mainly minor RPM's but I keep looking.

Lestrrr

[dvn]

Also, I'm probably in the minority here in that I don't search every coin but rather look for known varieties, and even then only ones I am interested in.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,

and thank you ..... that leaves more for me to find!

..... sorry, I couldn't resist. :tinysmile_hmm_t:

Billy

[fugnchill]

So what are you trying to say Billy?...LOL


Lestrrr

[Drmsharp]

Hey Sharp,

Like Ag mentioned, your location will determine what you'll find for the most part. Where are you from? I'm in Washington State...not DC and I don't find any major DDO/DDR's but mainly minor RPM's but I keep looking.

Lestrrr
I live in Indianapolis

[AgCollector]

I guess I've just been searching for "major" differences found by the naked eye. When I find one in question I look at it through a 10x loupe.
after the advice I've been given in this thread, I'll probably start looking closer at every coin with a 10x loupe and look into investing in a higher powered magnifier to get an even closer look when I question something.

Have you seen pictures of all the "big" die varieties? If so, you can start to get a sense of what to look for; for example, on the obverse, almost every kind of doubling will show some effect on the lettering and date and after a while you can "just tell" when something looks different. I would suggest looking through these and clicking on each one to see the individual images:

http://www.lincolncentresource.com/Top50.html

[dvn]

.... that it leaves more varieties for me to find!!!!

The last Coin Show I attended I was talking to a person at a dealers table. He asked what I like to do. I briefly told him and that I search circulated rolls of cents obtained from my local banks. He told me I was NUTS!

I replied .... THANK YOU!!!!! Because that's one less person out there searching which leaves me more goodies to find.

Billy

[Drmsharp]

Have you seen pictures of all the "big" die varieties? If so, you can start to get a sense of what to look for; for example, on the obverse, almost every kind of doubling will show some effect on the lettering and date and after a while you can "just tell" when something looks different. I would suggest looking through these and clicking on each one to see the individual images:

http://www.lincolncentresource.com/Top50.html

Thanks again for the great advice. I can't thank everyone enough for all your advice. For the past 2 hours I've been looking at pictures on coppercoins.com. I didn't realize how many die varieties there were out there. If I were to guess with all the varieties out there, if I search hard enough and have the right knowledge I should find at least a few varieties per box. Is this fair to assume this? Now I understand every box is different but I just want to go into a box with an ample amount of confidence. Would you be disappointed if you went through an entire box and didn't find one variety?

[JeanK]

Welcome to LCR Sharp.
Looks like everyone has said just about anything I would recommend to a newbie.
Except... do not give up if you don't find any good stuff right away. In the meantime you can start a Lincoln cent collection from circulation and upgrade it as you find better coins.
Good luck,
Jean

[AgCollector]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,

and thank you ..... that leaves more for me to find!

..... sorry, I couldn't resist. :tinysmile_hmm_t:

Billy

Yeah, I know... I probably shouldn't admit what I do! For me it's about efficiency of time.

[1sgret]

I search them before they get to you in Maine (I THINK). (LOL)
If not send them back down as Billy and I will go thru what you don't look at. (LOL)
More good luck to you on your hunts.

[dvn]

Yeah, I know... I probably shouldn't admit what I do! for me it's about efficiency of time.

AgCollector, I'm just playing with you. I understand where you're coming from.

Anyway, Drmsharp, I wanted everybody to give you their inputs and advice. And the members gave you a lot of excellent pointers.

All I can add for you, is start slow, do what is comfortable for you, and most of all ... if your having fun, then you are doing it right.

After all ... it's a hobby and that is what a hobby is all about ... to have fun.

Welcome Aboard LCR! HAVE FUN!!!!

As always ... Good Hunting!!!

Billy

[Drmsharp]

much thanks and much appreciated! I'll keep everyone posted on my progress. Thanks everyone and good night.

[AgCollector]

I search them before they get to you in Maine (I THINK). (LOL)
If not send them back down as Billy and I will go thru what you don't look at. (LOL)
More good luck to you on your hunts.

Ha! Sure, I'll send 'em down, but- who will pay for the freight charges?!

[1sgret]

Ha! Sure, I'll send 'em down, but- who will pay for the freight charges?!

There we have a problem!!!!!!!!!! It was just a FLEETING MOMENT THOUGHT!! :LOL_Hair:

[Brad]

I briefly told him and that I search circulated rolls of cents obtained from my local banks. He told me I was NUTS!



A lot of dealers think that coins are only collectable if they are minted prior to 1965.

[Wheat Cents]

A lot of dealers think that coins are only collectable if they are minted prior to 1965.

That is right Brad. If they had the patience and persistance of many of our LCR Forum memebers they'd see it differently... persistence pays off.

Was talking today to a friend who has pulled quite a few 1984-D DDOs from circulation. He doesn't believe it and is living proof.

[legend]

The clads have SO MANY GEMS that folks don't even bother, making it heaven for me here. I got 10 dollars of customer wrapped lataely, and I know I got 5 DMPL from the 90's, and a ton of satin finish business strikes. I also got an error 2009 P. a crisp DDO 1972 P, almost gem BU, a 1972 S that looks the same as the 72 P DDO, and scads of other BU, all of which you can sell for a buck a piece. I started out in the hobby looking at deep photos on a different die variety site, acquainted myself with the top 50, then the top 100, and landed here for the vitality of the feedback. I'd bet we could fill a show up with stuff from just us here, and meeting experts like Billy can be very rewarding in terms of knowledge. Learning how he identifies die markers is the key to the entire hobby.