Are You A Change Checker ?

[Ridge Runner]

I'm not saying you will become rich over night but it can pay off. Today was not my first time to look down at my change and take a look over it. When I did I could see it was a wheat in it and with a date of 1925. I've have had the luck to find silver in that change in the past.

So if you be a coin hunter are just a trash and treasure hunter it pays to look.

Chuck 

[N7XW]

I always check my change.  In fact, I have to tell the wife to not give exact change because I need to check more coins in my unending hunt for silver.  Haven't been very lucky lately, but have found what seems to be an over abundant amount of '65 quarters.  Go figure...

 

[deathray]

I throw my wheats in the coinstar with other change...trying to keep it interesting for someone,haha. 

[Mike Hillis]

Got a 1939 nickel in my pocket right now.

HH
Mike

[GB_Amateur]

Yes, but success is few and far between.  The last time I found a silver coin was a dime I got in change at a Northeast Illinois toll booth about 10 years ago.  (Value almost paid the toll.  )  Theft and younger people cleaning out deceased parents/grandparents nick-nack drawers are likely the only way they get there today, and they wont stay back in circulation very long.

I recall finding a Wheatie within the last month, but not particularly old and of no numismatic value.  Jefferson 5c gives one a better chance because you have to read the date (until recently) to tell the oldest (first minted in 1938) from the new ones, unlike Wheaties where any nincompoop can cull out the older ones (pre-1959) by looking at the reverse.

Saturday while MD'ing I dug up a 1904 Indian Head (bad shape due to our caustic soils) and it brought back memories.  I started coin collecting in 1959 and never found an Indian Head, whether in change (my parents' back then) or going through bank rolls which I did quite a bit.  So 50 years was enough time to clean out pretty much all of the Indian Heads.  But you could find Buffalo nickels (last year 1938), Mercury dimes (1945), Standing Liberty quarters (1930) and Walking Liberty halves (1947) in the 60's, until the silver cleanout that left us with nothing but dull (in more ways than one) clad by about 1970.  Thus 20-30 years and you still have (or had...) plenty of the previous designs in circulation but by 50 years they are gone.  Wheaties more/less confirm this (58 years now).  Believe it or not (I can't, or won't), we've had those p-o-s zinc pennies for 35 years now.

"Those were the days, my friends.  We wished they'd never end...."

[shredmandan]

Don't forget copper pennies! 1982 was the change over year....some 82's are copper and some are zinc. The copper in 1982 and earlier is now worth a 1.5 cents (check out coinflation.com). I have a high speed sorter that separates the copper and the zinc pennies. At this time it isn't legal to melt pennies but somethings happening to them. Nowadays I am finding about 16% copper pennies when I do a large scale sort with my machine.

[Bear]

I always look at change but it's been about 5 years since I found a dime.  

When I was kid my grandma worked in a chashiers cage.  She always paid attention when older people brought change in, some of the time there would be a little silver.  

[Ridge Runner]

Hey Bear

 When I started detecting everything came up silver in 65 66. Before that I'd go to the bank to get change.

Chuck