Got A Fortune In Your Pocket?
You just might have. But if you're not a change checker you'd never know it. Did you know there are pennies and nickels, as well as other common coins, worth hundreds of dollars? That's right. All thanks to mistakes that are made in the minting process. And they're more common than you might think.
The mistakes are called varieties by coin collectors and those varieties can be worth a lot of money and bring a lot of fun while looking for them. In fact there are numismatists that specialize only in varieties of all kinds. Double strikes, missing devices, off center strikes, coins struck on the wrong planchet and other error coins are just the beginning.
After discovering a couple of these little jewels a few years ago I've gotten in the habit of looking at all the change that comes my way. And I'm always happy to take change in coins. More to look at and more opportunities to find valuable coin varieities. Here are a few examples:
 1972/72 Double Die DDO-1 RED-BROWN $320.00 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 15h 24m |
 1972 Double Die Obverse # 6 - XF $5.95 Time Remaining: 1d 37m Buy It Now for only: $6.95 |
 1972 /1972 DOUBLE DIE TYPE ? BU CONDITION $9.95 Time Remaining: 3d 19h 8m |
 1972-D or S Double Struck Double Dated Lincoln Cent - w045 $31.00 (12 Bids) Time Remaining: 5d 19h 8m |
 1 COIN LOT 1972 P DDO MEMORIAL PENNY DOUBLE DIE OBVERSE #B207 $79.95 Time Remaining: 6d 12h 56m Buy It Now for only: $79.95 |
 UNITED STATES 1972 DOUBLE DIE LINCOLN PENNY AS SHOWN ORIGINAL $674.93 Time Remaining: 6d 16h 12m Buy It Now for only: $674.93 |
 1972/72 DOUBLE DIE OBVERSE LINCOLN CENT NGC MS-64 RED ** FULL RED MINT LUSTER ** $0.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 6d 22h 25m |
 1972/72 DOUBLE DIE LINCOLN CENT PENNY NGC MS-64 RB $499.77 Time Remaining: 9d 15h 33m Buy It Now for only: $499.77 |
 1972 DOUBLE DIE---NGC GRADED UNC. DETAILS-VERY NICE...RED SPECIMAN $595.00 Time Remaining: 18d 21h 56m Buy It Now for only: $595.00 |
You're not just limited to pennies...your interest might lay in larger silver coins like Morgans or Peace Dollars. While they are a little more expensive to acquire every coin dealer has a junk coin bin. And searching there, making it to local auctions, online auctions and sometimes just trading with friends and other coin collectors can help you find the coin you're searching for.
 1900 Vam 11 Double Arrows Top 100 Morgan AU 0RS3 $102.00 Time Remaining: 43m Buy It Now for only: $102.00 |
 1888 MORGAN DOLLAR GEM BU DOUBLE DIE OBV VAM II q25 $121.50 Time Remaining: 1h 25m Buy It Now for only: $121.50 |
 BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED " DOUBLE EAR VAM " 1889 MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR US MINT COIN $79.00 Time Remaining: 16h 3m Buy It Now for only: $79.00 |
 1890-P SILVER MORGAN DOLLAR /SCARCE/DOUBLE SHARP/Z9002 $37.95 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 18h 12m |
 1878-S SILVER MORGAN DOLLAR /SCARCE/DOUBLE SHARP/Z9003 $44.95 Time Remaining: 18h 14m |
 1883-O SILVER MORGAN DOLLAR /SCARCE/DOUBLE SHARP/Z9005 $37.95 Time Remaining: 18h 20m |
 1903-P SILVER MORGAN DOLLAR /SCARCE/DOUBLE SHARP/Z9006 $45.95 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 18h 23m |
 1878-S SILVER MORGAN DOLLAR /SCARCE/DOUBLE SHARP/Z9007 $44.95 Time Remaining: 18h 26m |
 1885-P SILVER MORGAN DOLLAR /SCARCE/DOUBLE SHARP/Z9008 $37.95 Time Remaining: 18h 29m |
So how do you find these valuable coins like the pennies and silver dollars above? You start by checking your change. Sometimes a little education about what to look for helps. There are 3 great books that can help with your searches.
Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties of United States Coins: Half Dimes Through Dollars, Gold, and Commemoratives (Official Whitman Guidebook)
The second is Strike It Rich with Pocket Change
The last book in this list of required reading for coin collectors is A Guide Book of United States Coins 2010: The Official Redbook
Don't let that loose change go to waste when it may just be worth a lot more than you think. More than one coin collector has cut their teeth learning about coin varieties and mint mistakes. Good luck in your search and have fun!