Best way to find old pennies?

Ralib1

Newbie
Aug 11, 2018
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Hello I’m new to this coin hunting world and I’ve deciding I’m gonna start a penny collection. The goal is to have at least one penny from every mint date.(If Possible...) It’s gonna be a hard task, especially since I’m not willing to buy the old collectables. This is a search mission only!


My question is, besides buying coin rolls from banks and using cash while shopping, what’s the best way to find old pennies such as wheat and indian head.
 

trdking

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Feb 28, 2015
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Welcome and good luck with your quest of assembling a penny set without buying them. I hope you are very young!
 

vpnavy

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Jun 15, 2008
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Hello I’m new...
tn_md.gif
I noticed this was your very first post - so, Welcome Aboard Ralib1! You didn't list your state (or country) in your profile. So, you might consider jumping over to Sub-Forums: Select Your Area.... and selecting location information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state (or country).
 

Dozer D

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Feb 12, 2012
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Suggest by starting out, get yourself a current (2019 edit) or last years US COINS "RED BOOK". Asking around to some of your older family members, friends, etc for a start. Then it will become a HUNT for the next 50 years to complete all folders. I've been collecting since the '60-s", and still have yet to get the 4-key coins.
Welcome to the TN, we will all help where we can with your questions.
 

trdking

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You Can also trade your duplicates with others. I found an amazing 1914 D when I was 10 or so and my grandfather traded me 4 other wheaties for it! I didn't realize that he snaked me until I was much older. What a RAT
 

galenrog

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Feb 19, 2006
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Search boxes and bags of coins. Keep what you want. Any others that may have collector value, such as errors, can be sold. You can then purchase those coins that are harder to find.
 

cudamark

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Do what I did 48 years ago.....get a detector and find them! :icon_thumright:
 

smokeythecat

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You should be able to get most out of the "wilds", that is in circulation. Get whole boxes of cents. I nearly filled a whole set that way, then did two more sets for fun.
 

Dozer D

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You Can also trade your duplicates with others. I found an amazing 1914 D when I was 10 or so and my grandfather traded me 4 other wheaties for it! I didn't realize that he snaked me until I was much older. What a RAT

You got taken for a ride by grampa, the 1914-D is a key coin. I've been saving & collecting coins since the '60's, and just this year I finally got a 14-D from an older gentleman who gave me a bunch of US & foreign coins. If it wasn't for him, that hole in my folder would still be there. Not the same person (gramps) is it? Haha
 

Zomotion

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Check out sites like offer up. People will sometimes sell thing on the cheap. Not really knowing what they have. You'll see more people ask ridiculous prices for common stuff, but good stuff comes up,every once in a while.

Best way to do it though is through coin roll hunting no doubt. Check to see if you have any coin counters at banks in your area. If you can buy the full bags off their machines you've found a goldmine. Don't bring those coins back and run them through the same machine, big no no
 

tokameel

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Ralib1, Welcome to T-Net!

I ask members of any non-coin related group or club that I belong to, if they, or anyone that they knew of, have a 'coin jar' that they throw all pocket change into. If so, I will offer to take it to the bank for them, after I have examined each coin, keeping then replacing the ones that I like.
There is a certain level of trust involved but it has worked for me a dozen times, or so.

It also led to an elderly lady who had BUCKETS (about six) of old silver coins, cents and just a good mix of U.S. coins that she wanted me to evaluate for her, so that she can fairly divide them between 3 of her 4 kids! (one boy was out of contention because he had already swiped some.) I asked if she and a trusted family member and I could sort through them together. I gave them the 'spendable' coins first, then over the next few days, I had 3 equal value piles of coins for her. I wrote down the values of some of the better ones and that helped her divide them. Then she gave me a bunch of common, and a few semi-rare Wheaties.

It worked for me.
 

huntsman53

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Metal detect old properties and search every 60 to 100+ year old couch and living room chair you see sitting out to be picked up as trash or the let you search in trash dumps. Antique checkout counter conveyor machines from stores that closed long ago are also a great place to find old coins. The problem is, that you have to dismantle them to get to the coins that fell inside and practically to the bottom of the machine.
 

A2coins

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Ive got almost all pennies from detecting the 14d the 1909 vdb not the s though
 

trdking

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You got taken for a ride by grampa, the 1914-D is a key coin. I've been saving & collecting coins since the '60's, and just this year I finally got a 14-D from an older gentleman who gave me a bunch of US & foreign coins. If it wasn't for him, that hole in my folder would still be there. Not the same person (gramps) is it? Haha
Gramps has been gone 20+ years I did get that 14D back. Not the way I wanted but it did come back to me
 

Rookster

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Rookster

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Welcome to Tnet from Mississippi.
 

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