What should i look for in coins

[Huber Sumter SC]

I have a large water bottle for a water dispenser we have been dropping change in for years. We'll it broke and I want to sort and look through the coins. Already found 2 wheats. But bout sure what dates to look for on the silver change. Wife said take to the bank let them count a deposit. I said no way need to check see what we might a
Have picked up over the years. Any suggestion what to look for before SHE wins?

 

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[doc-d]

1964 and earlier 10, 25 and 50 cent are 90% silver
1965 through 1969 50 are 40% silver..

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Check them by looking at the edge of the coin. The edges of silver dimes, quarters and half dollars will be all silver. If it's clad (made after 1964), it will be silver and copper on the edge. That's the fastest way to find any silver coins you may have. If they're clad, they have no value above their face value.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

You should also look for "war" nickels. They made nickels from 1942 to 1945 that were 35% silver. They should be easy to spot, since they have a different patina on them compared to the common nickels. All war nickels from 1942-45 also have a P, D or S mint mark on the back. No mint mark, no silver in the coin.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Also, Lincoln cents '82 and before are copper, and last I checked were actually worth $.025 in copper value.

Trust me, that's a whole lot of work looking through a pile - magnifying glass time.....

 

[BARKER]

Hi Huber; Get A copy of the R.S. Yeoman Red Book. It is Available at ANY reputable coin store and online as well. It is pretty much the BIBLE of US Coins from the 1500's - Present ok. You can also go online if you find any ERROR type coins. You'll find them especially bin the Lincoln pennies ok. Some are worth HUNDREDS ok. Here are a few of the Rare ones ok.: 1909 s VDB, 1914 D, 1922 Plain, (No Mintmark), 1955 Double Die, DD, means Double Strike ok, 1972 DD, 1983 DD, 1984 DD, EAR ok, 1995 DD etc., etc., ok. I hope this helps. PEACE:RONB

 

[xr7ator]

Actually, 1965 through 1970 kennedy halves are 40% silver, not 65 though 69.

On war nickles, they were produced from 1942 through 1945 however, not all 1942 nickles are silver. The way to tell if it is a war nickle is if there is a mint mark ABOVE THE DOME of the montecello. All nickels minted except from Philly have their mint marks on the back in that era. It is on the side of the montecello and much smaller than the mint mark on a war nickle. Newer nickles have the mint mark on the front next to the date.

just thought I'd clarify as info above is incorrect.

 

[BigWaveDave]

look for foreign money too.

 

[cti4sw]

You can actually get a Red Book from most Barnes & Noble bookstores too.

If you're looking for resale value, post-1940 wheats are near worthless unless they're uncirculated or have errors like the 1955 & 1972 doubled dies. 1960 and 1970-S had two varieties, a large and small date, that can be valuable. I have 1988 cents with small die cracks on the reverse, and one missing the designer's initials. The 2009 Lincoln bicentennial cents have a few errors on them as well; die doubling and whatnot. Your best cent reference is The Lincoln Cent Resource.

Pre-1940 wheats have some value in any condition. Save any teen years' S mints as well as 1909, 1914-D, 1922, 1924-D, 1926-S, and 1931-S.

All 90% silver coinage stopped after 1964. They did mint Kennedy halves in 40% silver until 1969.

None of the circulated Ike dollars are worth anything more than face value. Uncirculated Ikes book a little higher, and proofs might have some additional value, but not much. Same goes for SBA $1, Sacagawea $1, and presidential $1.

Very few post-WWII nickels have value. The key date Jeff nickel is 1950-D (only 2.6M minted). 40% silver war nickels have large mint marks over Monticello's dome. Pre-1966, non-silver mint marks were to the left of Monticello, and post-1966, they are on the front under the date.

Save any silver Washington quarter from the 1930s, especially with a mint mark. Watch for die doubling in 1942 & 43 as well as repunched mint marks in 1950. 1949-P also has some value. Circulated 1950s and after are worth their weight in silver and not much else.

Early state quarters were rife with die doubling, die cracks, grease errors, filled letters, off-center strikes, etc. Some of the more notable ones were the:
*Delaware "Spitting Horse" (die crack from horse's snout)
*Minnesota "Extra Tree" (treeline die crack on reverse)
*Wisconsin "Low Leaf" & "High Leaf" (extra leaves on corn husk)
*Kansas "In God We Rust" (grease-filled T)

I'm assuming you'd have saved anything older than that in a different jar so I won't go into Mercs, Buffalo nickels, Indian Head cents, or old silver.

 

[golden sluice]

Take your coins and look at their sides if its solid silver look at the dates and mint letters and go from there onto coin websites.

 

[smokeythecat]

Google "Lincoln penny error". There are a lot of coins in circulation you can get $10-$100 for, or more. Double dies, errors, all kinds of stuff.

 

[goldnugget]

Do not take to a CoinStar machine. They get 10 cent on the Dollar, so if you deposit $ 10.00 in Quarter's they keep $1.00 of you money. I'll be glad to count your Quarters for 10% of the take

 

[cti4sw]

Do not take to a CoinStar machine. They get 10 cent on the Dollar, so if you deposit $ 10.00 in Quarter's they keep $1.00 of you money. I'll be glad to count your Quarters for 10% of the take

A lot of banks nowadays have their own coin counters, and they don't charge the fee if you have an account or are a member there. Citizens Bank and TD Bank in the northeast are two examples.

 

[gleaner1]

Get the red book and a good magnifying glass and hope for double die error.

 

[Huber Sumter SC]

Get the red book and a good magnifying glass and hope for double die error.

what is a double die error?