A question for the more "elite" collectors among us...

[jtryka]

I wonder, as you start to collect greater rarities, with much higher price tags, do you still get as excited about the little things in coin collecting? I am certainly a lot more advanced in my collecting than when I started (even though I am not typically buying coins with price tags over $10K), and I still really get excited when I find a wheat penny in change, or a silver coin, or an old Jefferson. Do folks approaching the upper echelons of collecting still look at their change? Do they still get excited when they find something interesting handed to them at the newsstand or lunchtime eatery? For me it is still like finding treasure, and brings me back to the excitement I felt as a child, newly drawn into the hobby, and I hope I never lose that!

[EVillageProwler]

I don't know if I qualify as "elite", but I still look at my change. I regularly fish out SQ's that either I need or simply look very choice. I save all the older and key date spare change too.

 

I also save all the star notes and silver certs. I even save all samples of foreign currency and coinage from my travels.

 

EVP

 

[Tradedollarnut]

My brother showed me a 1944 Merc dime he received in change the other day. I was excited for him - so yes, I'd say the old feelings are still there.

[TomB]

I am certain that I would not qualify as being in the "elite", however, I still gleefully remove every Wheat cent from circulation that I find and stash them all away!

[Dermott]

I still check my change even though most of what I pull are items I wouldn't buy in a coin shop.

 

Uncirculated State quarters are the current things I look for though I keep an eye out for older items such as wheat cents, war nickels and the like.

 

Sure, I don't pull all that much, but it only takes a second to glance through the change I recieve and decide if any of it is worthy of setting aside or not... then later when I get more time I do a second, more thorough look to cull out the lesser pieces and keep the better ones.

 

 

[nwcs]

I suppose an interesting followup question (which can apply to all of us) is: what do you do with those items? Do you all maintain an "A" collection of your best stuff and a "B" collection with the items that don't fit into your A collection?

[Dermott]

Mine would fall into Collections A, B, C, D, etc. Just depending on what it is.

 

First off, I have my Sets: Type Set being the main one, then series sets based on different criteria (Indian Cents and V Nickels in Full Liberty or better, MS-63+ Morgans, and so forth)

 

Next would be my "elite" coins: Gold singles, better grade older US coins, my Platinum Eagles, Proof sets, and my Buffalo Dollar set.

 

Then my Coin Drawer which hold my foreign silver, modern uncirculated pieces, and lesser older US type (circulated Buffalos, indian cents, etc)

 

Then I have a couple of boxes of 2x2'ed Wheat cents that I pulled from 5000 count bags I go through

 

Next are the bags themselves sorted into 1950's, 1940's and pre 1940's.

 

Next is the bag I use to keep rolls of Unc state quarters.

 

I guess the Coin drawer down would be my "B" collection while the Sets and "elite" coins would constitute the "A" collection.

[BillJones]

I'll confess that I don't get very excited about finding a wheat penny in change. I've been like that for over 20 years now. Stuff like that just does not do anything for me.

 

I do excited with I find a Civil War token, a 19th century presidential campaign token or a medal that I admire, even if the price is well under $50. The price is not the issue as whether or not something is fun interesting. It's the story around the piece, the die work and other factors.

[LucyBop]

I love circulation finds...... wheeties, silver, proofs.......

 

i even buy rolls of halves and search themm I have never found a Frankie but I have found 5 Walkers....

[gmarguli]

I'm not close to "elite" as most of the coins in my collection cost me under $2000. However, I still frequently search my change. It is fun to find silver or a wheat cent. I pull them all out and save them up and then put a bag up on a bid board.

 

I even play the 5¢ slot machines in Vegas in hopes of finding war nickels. Found an XF/AU Buffalo a while back.

[Hoot]

I definitely do not qualify for the elite status (heck I mostly collect nickels!) but I check my change all the time. I love finding anything old. Not long ago I found a 1938 VF20 Jefferson nickel in change! I thought it was a '58 at first - took it home and popped it on a velvet tray to put in a 2x2. When I went to do that, I looked at the date again! Very cool.

 

Hoot

 

Heck, I keep looking for SQs with rotated reverses or minute men or puking pelicans, etc., but I simply find none. Why does LEAKYCOIN have all the luck?

[EVillageProwler]

Why does LEAKYCOIN have all the luck?

 

Maybe he has a better eye than you?

 

[jtryka]

I love circulation finds...... wheeties, silver, proofs.......

 

i even buy rolls of halves and search themm I have never found a Frankie but I have found 5 Walkers....

 

Well Lucy, I have found dozens of Franlins in rolls, but never a walker, wanna trade?

[SilverEagleCoins]

Once I was in Canada on vacation. In Canada using dollar coins (the Looney) is a very popular option up there. One day my mother was getting change after a purchase and paid with a US$5 bill. The change was to US$4+. The cashier, obviously not used to US coins, gave my mom back 4 American Silver Eagles. I guess to a foreigner it is just a dollar. The coins were in great condition and must have come from the nearby casino in a new roll.

 

I immediately asked if she were willing to convert the rest of her dollar coins to Canadian bills (50% exchange) and she was more than happy to because she did not want to calculate the US exchange when she closed up. So I got 16 Eagles for $24 Canadian dollars!!!

[jtryka]

Once I was in Canada on vacation. In Canada using dollar coins (the Looney) is a very popular option up there. One day my mother was getting change after a purchase and paid with a US$5 bill. The change was to US$4+. The cashier, obviously not used to US coins, gave my mom back 4 American Silver Eagles. I guess to a foreigner it is just a dollar. The coins were in great condition and must have come from the nearby casino in a new roll.

 

I immediately asked if she were willing to convert the rest of her dollar coins to Canadian bills (50% exchange) and she was more than happy to because she did not want to calculate the US exchange when she closed up. So I got 16 Eagles for $24 Canadian dollars!!!

 

That is such a cool story! I really need to get up to Vancouver again!

[GP_]

I am certain that I would not qualify as being in the "elite", however, I still gleefully remove every Wheat cent from circulation that I find and stash them all away!

 

 

good thing you dont get change around here! I put all the wheaties I have left over after going through lbs i get from ebay back into circulation

[nwcs]

Yeah, I just got through putting a bunch of wheats into circulation here today.

[Dermott]

Are there even any bulk wheats worth buying on EBay? Everything I've seen has been way high in price.

[gmarguli]

Are there even any bulk wheats worth buying on EBay? Everything I've seen has been way high in price.

 

No.

 

And one thing about the "unsearched" wheats. If they are really unsearched, then how does the seller know they are wheats?

[jeffnpcb-migration]

Everyday I run through my change, and on occasion find some pre '64 dates. Now what do I do with a tub of mixed coinage that weighs over 50 pounds! Too lazy to roll it, but I guess I could find the time.

[Dermott]

This is true, it's just amatter of just what level of searching they've been through. I buy them occasionally from a dealer back home (in Nashville) for $150 for a bag of 5000 and pull anything that books a quarter or better. While I haven't found any S-VDBs or 14-Ds, I still get my money's worth and then some both in coin value and the enjoyment of the search.

 

Aside from popping the keys from folders and albums, he doesn't really have the time to sort through rolls and so forth that he buys, so he bulks it out... that's fine with me though.

 

Maybe I'm lucky in that regard... cheaper price and at least a marginally better chance of finding something.

[keithdagen]

I wouldn't call myself elite by any stretch, just your average collector who's been at it a few years seriously. And I still get stoked any time I find a silver coin in circulation, bicentennial coins in circulation, or those little wheaties.

[EZ_E]

Sure! I just found a mishandled 1986 proof Kennedy in change.

 

In Maine, a year and a half ago, I got two dollars worth of 1964 quarters in change in a convience store.

 

While in Niagra Falls in the late '80's, I got all sorts of buffalo nickels in change.

 

Once, in Vegas, someone asked the cashier, "Hey, can I get a real quarter for this one?". I promptly traded a "real" quarter for his silver one.

 

So, shor-ah, it's exciting to make such finds.

[James_OldeTowne]

I am working on a collection of high-end circulated Wheat cents, and recently was thrilled to finally pick up a 1924-S in XF+. The coin I picked up before that was a 1928 in XF.

 

James