I’d be in good shape if it were 2012

Have you spotted a 2018-dated coin in your change yet? I asked readers of my blog on Jan. 11 to keep me posted. So far, no one has reported a 2018 coin find.

Naturally, I am looking, too, but new coins take a very long time to make their way to Iola, Wis. My only hope would be to get a new coin at an airport. However, I have been sticking close to home since the beginning of the year.

Since I can’t yet report new coinage, I can look in my own pocket. I emptied my pocket twice last week and left the coins on my desk. If you think it was some sort of plan, it wasn’t. I had intended to take the coins home, but I haven’t gotten around to it.

Since they have sat there a week, I decided to see just what coins are coming my way in early 2018. Their sheer age is probably the most surprising thing about the three cents, one dime and seven quarters.

The cents are all copper-coated zinc. The oldest is a 1989. Next year it will be 30 years old and proof the Mint has gotten its money’s worth out of this composition.

The second cent is dated 1997-D. The third is dated 2012. With this I just wondered how many people would know that there are two different reverses on them. Not many probably know that the Lincoln Memorial was last used in 2008 and the Union Shield arrived in 2010. The latter design already has nine dates in the set.

The lone dime is a completely unremarkable 2005-D. Enough said.

Quarters offered quite a variety of old dates. Of the seven coins, five have an eagle on the reverse, which is almost hard to believe since the newest eagle reverse quarter is now 20 years old.

The oldest quarter is from 1967. That makes it 51 years old. The next one is a 1969-D. Then we can leap forward three decades to 1993-P and then 1995-P. The most recent eagle is from a 1997-P. The fact that all three 1990s pieces are from Philadelphia is perhaps the most surprising thing about them.

Next up is a 2002-P Tennessee state quarter. Just to break the dominance of the Philadelphia Mint, the most recent quarter is dated 2007. It honors Oklahoma and has a “D” mintmark on it.

I have nothing to show from the Territories or America the Beautiful issues.

So in those two days of my personal spending, the coins I received ranged in age from six years to 51 years.

Perhaps nothing except recounting these dates shows how far off the beaten path Iola truly is when it comes to new coin releases.

That’s why I depend on readers to give a shout when they find the new dates in their change. Don’t let me down. Email me a report at david.harper@fwmedia.com. Include an image if you can. Readers want to know what others are finding.