New arrival here, penny question

[rlawrence]

Hello all! I've been lurking for a while now, and reading through hours of posts. I've started to pick up and go through coin rolls of different types, but as far as interest goes, I keep coming back to that penny. It's all very interesting, but one of my goals is also to actually profit from my hobby. Pennies seem exciting because

a. I can save anything pre 1983, and at least it can net me something with copper value
b. Wheaties and older pennies can be found, which have value and are just plain cool

but the big one ...

c. error pennies. I had no idea about all of the different valuable error varieties that can actually be worth something! I've been studying the lincoln cent resource sites, as well as others to familiarize myself, but there are soooo many varieties.

Now in reading your posts so far, its seems most people are just sorting out copper and older pennies. Anyone here actually spend much time looking through your loupes for errors? Do you look at every penny? Just a few key dates? Are you actually finding errors of value?

Would love to hear more on this from you experienced hunters. Thanks.

 

[BuffaloBoy]

WELCOME

 

[Henry2]

To be honest unless it catches my eye right off the start it would be painful to even think about looking for slight error coins in a whole box of pennies, soon you would look like this . I usually just double check through whatever wheats I find, most common errors I run across are grease filled dies and the occasional cud, they don't run much of a premium unless seriously screwed up. But hey give it a try you might have more patience than me, good luck.

 

[BigL]

I sometimes look for the errors in cents. I actually found a 1998 wide am cent yesterday night.

 

[FormerTeller]

a. I can save anything pre 1983, and at least it can net me something with copper value

Bear in mind that some 1982's are not 95% copper. If you're looking purely at date, it's easiest to keep only 1981 and earlier. If you don't want to get rid of your 1982's, the ring test works pretty good.

 

[kvilleification]

a. I can save anything pre 1983, and at least it can net me something with copper value

Bear in mind that some 1982's are not 95% copper. If you're looking purely at date, it's easiest to keep only 1981 and earlier. If you don't want to get rid of your 1982's, the ring test works pretty good.

I actually have trained myself to tell by ear whether a penny is copper or zinc. I just bang it on the table and can tell instantly. If it sounds flat, then its zinc. If it has that high pitched ring sound, then its definitely copper and should be saved. If you can't do that, just have a small scale next to you so that if you come across one, you can weigh it quick.

 

[enamel7]

I actually look at every cent with a loupe.
HH
enamel7

 

[coinfinder]

I do the same thing, I drop the 82s on the table and listen for the ring. As for errors, if they are obvious I grab them, otherwise I move through the rolls pretty fast.

 

[SFBayArea]

You could just get a scale and weigh the 82's. 2.5 grams for zincoln & 3.0-3.1 grams for copper.