Searching coins other than halves

[CC-Hunter]

I've been searching halves so far but today thought I would pick up a bunch of CWRs other than halves and see how things went. At least it didn't cost me too much bank roll (about $170 total) and the vault was happy to get them off their hands. Folks on this board have better luck with halves, and I understand the logic behind that, but we'll see how these go.

Anyway, it looks like searching dimes and quarters is pretty straightforward (yes, I read the beginner's sticky) - they are either pre-65 or they are not (except for silver proofs). Should I just do a simple edge check or is there any reason to do more than that? I look at each half, especially since the sides of 40% halves can be muddled and I'm looking for NIFC halves and clad proofs, but with dimes and quarters it seems painful and unecessary. Just wanted to confirm.

I also picked up a lot of pennies. I know what to look for there, so I guess I'll just have to quickly look at each coin.

As for nickels, is there any quick way to find the 35% silver or do I need to look at each one of these?

Thanks in advance.

Will post results later. All the quarters I picked up are skunks (and I was given one worthless token and a '75 UK 5 pence) and the dimes aren't any better.

 

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[mercury1]

CC, cwr can be great producers. I do better then with boxes although I like to do both. Edge check is how I do dimes and quarters. Just check dates on anything that looks like a maybe. Always check the black edges also. For nickels, I can search pretty fast by spreading them out on my table. The war nickel mint mark jumps out at you when it's tails up and for the heads up nickels it's pretty easy to spot the older ones. HH

 

[CC-Hunter]

Thanks guys.

Mercury - I didn't mean to say that I favored boxes over CWRs. In fact, I think CWRs provide a better chance of finding a collection/hoard dump. I was just talking about the difference between halves and coins other than halves.

By the way, I slightly broke the CRH rule of "take all CWR they have". They had three rolls of small dollars (i.e., non-Ikes). I figured these would be a waste of time, but if folks like to search these I'd appreciate hearing why.

 

[fistfulladirt]

Don't forget the clad proof dimes, love the cameo frost. Also, when I search quarters, on average, boxes produce better. I cut to stricktly cwr dimes a while back, but have never found a solid roll, about $100,000 searched. Boxed and cwr give me the same average when searching dimes.

 

[PhattyB]

You can edge check nickels, but you're only going to find the bad condition keepers ;-)

 

[hotrod]

the war nickles to me usally have a dark rim but still check dates

 

[PhattyB]

If you popped open a roll into a little tray, I bet I could find keepers 97% of the time based off coloring and condition. Obviously, buffalos and shields are a different design. War nickels tend to range from green, thru slate grey or all the way into black. Pre-1960's are completely worn out looking or darker/dirtier. It's those 3 out of 100 that make me check dates, don't want to pass over a gem coin.

I usually find several pre-1960 nickels per day on the job, and one war nickel per week with a quick shake and look. I'm sure i've missed many, but don't have time while working.

 

[CC-Hunter]

Phatty - Why do you keep the pre-60 nickels?

 

[sagittarius98]

Phatty - Why do you keep the pre-60 nickels?

Just for fun or to create a set. Sometimes you can sell them on eBay for profit.