Letters to the Editor: June 23, 2020

‘Coin Finds’ Inspiration

I just finished reading my latest Numismatic News(April 28 issue), and I very much enjoyed the new article “Coin Finds.” Since 1999, I’ve been searching coin rolls, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars (mostly pennies and half dollars). I would like to talk about pennies. Your first “Coin Find” was about someone finding a dime in a penny roll. Thus far, I have found 363 dimes in the penny rolls I have searched, and I could tell from the wrappers that most of these came from Coinstar machines. In one roll, I found six dimes and 44 pennies, while in several other rolls I found two and three dimes.

Other stuff I’ve saved:

500,000-plus copper pennies (1959-1982)

4,266 wheat pennies

3,241 Canadian pennies dating back to 1926

72 coins from 18 different countries

Two 1999 Wide AMs and 52 2000 Wide AMs

276 Die Varieties from 1926/2004

Nine 1997 Doubled Ear

19 2015 Doubled Die Obverse

6,000-7,000 minor to major mint errors: RPMs, OMMs, CUDs, doubled dies, die chips, die breaks, die cracks, etc.

I never found a 1992 Closed AM nor a 1984 Doubled Ear. I have never kept track of how many rolls I’ve searched, but I would check a box every now and then to see what percentage the copper pennies were. They consistently ran between 18 and 23 percent. So, doing a little math, using an average of 20 percent copper and having 500,000-plus in hand, I’ve searched between 2 and 3 million pennies. That’s a lot of coins.

Name and Address Withheld

State Quarter Error

Here is a picture of a 2007 Utah state quarter. It has extra “striations” around the rim on both sides. Was this perhaps punched from a foreign planchet?

Name and Address Withheld

VDB Coin Delivery Makes for a Good Day

I’ve been a collector since I was 5 years old. It took me almost 55 years to fill the 1909-S VDB slot. I looked and searched eBay for years. I found a coin listed as a 1909-S. I stared at that coin for five nights thinking I could faintly see “VDB” on the back. The seller stated that the coins were from his father’s collection that he inherited. He stated that he knew nothing about the coins and had no desire to keep them.

I bid $130 and got it for less. The Saturday that the mailman delivered it, I was sitting under a tree drinking wine. I quickly opened the package and took a pencil eraser and rubbed the bottom. I could see the “VDB” plainly! I thought, “what a good day!”

Wayne Fisher
Saxton, Pa.

2020 Weir Farm Quarter Spotted in Change

Recently, I received a 2020 West Point quarter. It is a Weir Farm and I was at a Burger King in Wooster, Ohio, when I received it.

Paul Stangelo
Orville, Ohio

Collecting from Circulation an Inexpensive Start

As most coin collectors know, coin collecting can be expensive. This is especially true if you’re considering a series like Morgan dollars, Walking Liberty halves or Buffalo nickels. Also, completing one in higher Mint State grades can cost many times that of a circulated set and take years to assemble. Since many early 20th century series are out of reach for a lot of collectors, what other options are there?

For the young or beginning collector, why not consider assembling a series that can still be found in circulation today? Late date wheat cents, Jefferson nickels, early clad Washington quarters or even the Presidential dollars are such series. This way, we are keeping the cost down and putting the fun back into the hobby. It is also a learning experience at the same time. This would be ideal for beginners or anyone on a limited budget.

Coin collecting doesn’t have to be expensive to be enjoyable.

Let’s start with collecting today!

Name and Address Withheld

Is Philadelphia 1982 Small Date Cent Rare?

I’m a new coin collector from Mississippi and just found a 1982 small date penny that weighs 3.0 grams. I have seen a lot of info about the small date 1982-D but not the Philadelphia 1982 small date. Is this a rare coin?

Equanya’ Allen
Mississippi

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, we would have to see an image of the coin to view the small date. We recommend contacting a local, trusted coin dealer for an appraisal.

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