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:
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 1972-72 BU LINCOLN Cent DOUBLE DIE SUPER EYE APPEAL  US $437.75 2d 10h 48m See Full Details |
 1972 DOUBLE DIE OBVERSE LINCOLN CENT NGC MS 64 BN RARE US $474.992d 10h 57m See Full Details |
 1972-72 DOUBLE DIE UNCGREAT DOUBLING A US $.991 Bid 4d 9h 32m See Full Details |
 1972-72 DOUBLE DIE UNCGREAT DOUBLING B US $.991 Bid 4d 9h 34m See Full Details |
 1972-72 DOUBLE DIE UNCNICELY DOUBLED C US $.990 Bid 4d 9h 36m See Full Details |
 1972-72 DOUBLE DIE UNCREAL NICELY DOUBLED D US $.990 Bid 4d 9h 38m See Full Details |
 1972-72 DOUBLE DIE UNCDOUBLED CLOCKWISE BETTER VAR E US $.991 Bid 4d 9h 40m See Full Details |
 1972-72 DOUBLE DIE UNCNICE EVEN DOUBLING F US $.991 Bid 4d 9h 41m See Full Details |
 1972-72 DOUBLE DIE UNC NICE DOUBLING G US $.990 Bid 4d 9h 44m See Full Details |
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.
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 BEAUTIFUL 1883 VAM DOUBLE DATE MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR US $49.005h 51m See Full Details |
 1889 P BU MORGAN DOLLAR VAM 50 DOUBLE 1 TRIPLE 9 I3 R6 US $99.008h 54m See Full Details |
 1878 Uncirculated Morgan Dollar DOUBLE TAIL ERROR US $1,749.979h 28m See Full Details |
 1889 MORGAN- ICG MS 64 BRILLIANT UNC DOUBLE EAR O526 US $32.455 Bids 9h 58m See Full Details |
 1887 PCGS MS65 Double RAINBOW Silver MORGAN DOLLARs US $141.5014 Bids 10h 6m See Full Details |
 1897-P MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR AU OR BU VAM-2 DOUBLE 18 US $9.991 Bid 11h 1m See Full Details |
 1897 P BU MORGAN DOLLAR VAM 8 DOUBLE STARS RARE US $119.0015h 5m See Full Details |
 CH-GEM BU VAM 1886 DOUBLE DATE MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR US $49.001d 13m See Full Details |
 1921 S VAM 3 Double Date Morgan Dollar US $99.001d 1h 27m See Full Details |
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!