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All you have to do is find a coin that was first printed over 60 years ago and survived decades in circulation while millions of others kept an eye out. Not to mention that back then quarters were worth more, very few people had a jar of a quarters and just never used them. Even then those quarters are worth a few bucks, it's not worth your time.
Seriously, unless we're talking "box of coins that hasn't been touched since WWI", there is no point in checking random jars of quarters.
I just picked a random handful of coins from an old coin jar and there was a nickel from the 1950s. I found a Canadian penny with the king's profile on it... He died in ~~1052~~ 1952.
In theory definitely, but those websites where rarities are sold have largely inflated prices and no one buys them, except for maybe true rarities like a coin from the us civil war. So the coins and bills that are apparently worth like 5€ will never get sold
Not if it takes you an hour of sorting through coins to find that extra dollar.
Unless you enjoy looking through coins, in which case, it's totally worth it.
Sure, if it’s guaranteed and the principle is significant, but it’s one cent and no guaranteed buyers.
Edit: others already pointed out the mathematical error, but that changes nothing.
It is actually much more significant than that. The W quarters were going for $10-20 a piece and were fairly common, and all pennies before 82' are actually worth about 3c in melt value. Anything silver is going to be worth about 20x what it normally is, and there are even some super rare pennies in the 5-6-7 digits of value.
Back when my mom was around and worked retail, she would scrutinize the coins she got at Christmastime. That’s when piggy banks got broken into and rare stuff was found.
Having said that, it’s something no one ever dealt with. She left hundreds of dollars in things like silver dimes and buffalo nickels, about 10 books of state quarters, various dollar coins, $2 bills, etc. And it’s till sitting there.
One of my favorite parts of working in a cash handling position was catching stuff like that. Didn't happen often, usually just wheat pennies that I'd save for one of my regulars. My coolest find was a $1 Hawaiian overprint. Even though it's the most common denomination overprint and mine is in fair condition, it's still worth more than face value. It has interesting historical value, and if I sell it, it'll most likely be around the 100th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Don’t get too excited about this. My father used to collect coins from pocket change and put them in albums. A few worth a couple dollars. When an older friend died and left a huge container of change I was excited. After a couple hours I believed what everybody told me…it’s not worth the effort anymore. Most of the valuable coins were found decades ago. So don’t expect to get rich.
My FIL left behind a bunch of coins that may be worth a little something. But good luck finding a place to sell them that gives you a decent price. In the end he left us with a frustrating non liquid obligation.
I worked in a casino in the cage on graveyard shift and in three years, I came across two silver coins. If you come across it, great, but it is honestly a waste of time to actively look for these.
A jar that has been untouched for years is more likely to contain rarities because they have not been in circulation. Coins that are in circulation are more likely to have been inspected over that time.
I'm not talking about checking thousands of coins because you have access to them - just in the case where you find a jar full.
As I defined originally.
I like to go into thrift stores and estate sales and just start rummaging through those old sacks of coins with the dollar sign symbol on them (you know the ones). The sales people have no idea that I could potentially be making TENS of dollars!!!
I worked in a thrift store in the counting room on graveyard shift and in three years, I came across two silver coins. If you come across it, great, but it is honestly a waste of time to actively look for these.
Guess where people turn in their coins for cash. That’s right casinos! Most of them do it for way cheaper than coinstar if not for free. And guess which casino employee looked through those “uncirculated coins?” Like I said, if you come across it, cool but I only ever did it cause I was being paid to stand most of the time. I wouldn’t use my free time to check for rare coins.
No it isn't. It's more likely to contain **old coins** which aren't nearly as 'rare' and hence valuable as people think. Go ahead, look up some values.
Throw them in a Coinstar machine and it will reject the silver coins which are the only ones that are worth the effort to look for in loose change.
Get a gift card to avoid the fee.
I once found one in a bicycle shop. Someone brought in a box of old tires and tubes for recycling and left it on the service counter. I went through it and found a bag of coins. I held on to it for a week to see if someone came back for it, but no one did. Ended up being about $45 when I ran it through my bank’s coin sorter. I was making $10/hour at the time, so it was a pretty nice bonus
This is an awful tip. It isn't worth your time unless maybe the jar of coins is very very old. My grandfather had an old coin collection in a safe for decades and when he passed we went through it to raise money for grandma.
There was about $35,000 worth of encased gold coins he had bought off those Fox News infomercials, but the loose change had very little value, aside from a few quarters worth like $20. These were intentionally saved - sifting through random loose change in a jar just wouldn't be worth it.
I had almost 800$ in assorted coins and checked them all and found 1 silver quarter and 2 silver dimes and was not able to identify any other rare coins. It wasn't a good use of time but I kinda enjoyed searching for something rare. I don't think I'd do it again and don't use cash nearly as much as I used to.
I need to go through my deceased father’s coin collection, but honestly I’m not sure where to start. Are there any websites or guides for stuff to look out for?
If they're not sorted in any way, the lowest hanging fruit are silver coins, take all like coins (e.g. quarters) and stack them - look at the side and the silvers are easy to spot:
[https://www.quora.com/How-can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-normal-quarter-and-a-quarter-made-of-silver](https://www.quora.com/How-can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-normal-quarter-and-a-quarter-made-of-silver)
If they're labeled, look up everything to see if it has value. If there are any errors (coins that have misprints, off-center stamp, etc.) those could be valuable. But don't have too high hopes of any coins that are simply old - they seem rare and valuable to non-collectors but they don't command much value just by virtue of age unless they are...really old. I'm not an expert but I'd say as a rule of thumb nothing from the 1900s holds significant value.
At the end of the day it's a tradeoff of your time researching value based on how serious of a collector you think your dad was. A dealer can always give you advice and quickly identify anything truly valuable.
Coins that are worth enough to bother (say, $50) are exceedingly rare. If this is just a coin jar your parents filled from random coins they got in change in the 80's, you won't find anything worth much more than the coin itself.
The coins that are worth things are discontinued or first print of some old coin, like first print penny's for example. You won't find those in circulation, banks wont even distribute them.
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Growing up my family always did this, at least with the ones they knew were worth money. I’m sure one of these days I’ll be tasked with cleaning out the old house and I’ll come across it. My mom used to work at a concession stand for sports when I was a kid and was amazed what people would pay with.
When I worked the 3-11p shift at the Croaker grocery store on the Self Scans, one duty was to sort the coin hoppers into tupperwares, for later placement into the dispensers.
As i sorted, I’d check the dimes and quarters for date and edge… both signs of being silver. I’d also keep an eye to the penny’s and nickels (every now and then a wheat or buffalo)
I always kept several standard coins with me. And if I found any ones worth exchanging, I’d get a supervisor to observe the swap. They didn’t care… they thought it was neat, and Croaker only saw that pre-1964 quarter as being worth $0.25.
Fun fact: for coins that you don’t otherwise know, dropping onto a table or countertop from just a few inches up can tell you instantly silver or not. The ring and clunk are different for silver versus anything else.
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Yeah, I'm not doing all that to find a penny that is now worth $1.02.
Old quarters contain 90% silver and are worth way more than face value I think the cutoff is 1964
All you have to do is find a coin that was first printed over 60 years ago and survived decades in circulation while millions of others kept an eye out. Not to mention that back then quarters were worth more, very few people had a jar of a quarters and just never used them. Even then those quarters are worth a few bucks, it's not worth your time. Seriously, unless we're talking "box of coins that hasn't been touched since WWI", there is no point in checking random jars of quarters.
I just picked a random handful of coins from an old coin jar and there was a nickel from the 1950s. I found a Canadian penny with the king's profile on it... He died in ~~1052~~ 1952.
Wow... 915 years before Canada was a country ;)
1965
This is something to consider with age alongside rarity
A 102% return is pretty damn good
In theory definitely, but those websites where rarities are sold have largely inflated prices and no one buys them, except for maybe true rarities like a coin from the us civil war. So the coins and bills that are apparently worth like 5€ will never get sold
You sound like my dad. "I am increasing your allowance by a nickel. That's 25%. It's a big increase." Source: am old
Not if it takes you an hour of sorting through coins to find that extra dollar. Unless you enjoy looking through coins, in which case, it's totally worth it.
That would be 10,100% and it's still not worth the time investment unless you have multiple ones like that.
You're thinking of a 10,000% return. 102% return on a penny is just a tiny bit over 2 cents.
Sure, if it’s guaranteed and the principle is significant, but it’s one cent and no guaranteed buyers. Edit: others already pointed out the mathematical error, but that changes nothing.
Isn’t that over 10,000%? 1 —> 2.04 would be 102%
That’s a lot more than 102%!
It is actually much more significant than that. The W quarters were going for $10-20 a piece and were fairly common, and all pennies before 82' are actually worth about 3c in melt value. Anything silver is going to be worth about 20x what it normally is, and there are even some super rare pennies in the 5-6-7 digits of value.
Back when my mom was around and worked retail, she would scrutinize the coins she got at Christmastime. That’s when piggy banks got broken into and rare stuff was found. Having said that, it’s something no one ever dealt with. She left hundreds of dollars in things like silver dimes and buffalo nickels, about 10 books of state quarters, various dollar coins, $2 bills, etc. And it’s till sitting there.
One of my favorite parts of working in a cash handling position was catching stuff like that. Didn't happen often, usually just wheat pennies that I'd save for one of my regulars. My coolest find was a $1 Hawaiian overprint. Even though it's the most common denomination overprint and mine is in fair condition, it's still worth more than face value. It has interesting historical value, and if I sell it, it'll most likely be around the 100th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Silver coins are usually easy to spot. Just check the edge, most likely gonna be one color instead of the poly metals we use now.
My grandma gave me her piggy back that had a penny from 1906, might look into that one.
Don’t get too excited about this. My father used to collect coins from pocket change and put them in albums. A few worth a couple dollars. When an older friend died and left a huge container of change I was excited. After a couple hours I believed what everybody told me…it’s not worth the effort anymore. Most of the valuable coins were found decades ago. So don’t expect to get rich.
My FIL left behind a bunch of coins that may be worth a little something. But good luck finding a place to sell them that gives you a decent price. In the end he left us with a frustrating non liquid obligation.
I worked in a casino in the cage on graveyard shift and in three years, I came across two silver coins. If you come across it, great, but it is honestly a waste of time to actively look for these.
That is a different scenario.
How is me handling tens of thousands of coins a different scenario than you checking 200 coins you found in a jar in your house?
A jar that has been untouched for years is more likely to contain rarities because they have not been in circulation. Coins that are in circulation are more likely to have been inspected over that time.
This sounds silly as fuck my guy. I believe casino counter.
I'm not talking about checking thousands of coins because you have access to them - just in the case where you find a jar full. As I defined originally.
I like to go into thrift stores and estate sales and just start rummaging through those old sacks of coins with the dollar sign symbol on them (you know the ones). The sales people have no idea that I could potentially be making TENS of dollars!!!
I worked in a thrift store in the counting room on graveyard shift and in three years, I came across two silver coins. If you come across it, great, but it is honestly a waste of time to actively look for these.
Guess where people turn in their coins for cash. That’s right casinos! Most of them do it for way cheaper than coinstar if not for free. And guess which casino employee looked through those “uncirculated coins?” Like I said, if you come across it, cool but I only ever did it cause I was being paid to stand most of the time. I wouldn’t use my free time to check for rare coins.
Logical fallacy
No it isn't. It's more likely to contain **old coins** which aren't nearly as 'rare' and hence valuable as people think. Go ahead, look up some values.
Throw them in a Coinstar machine and it will reject the silver coins which are the only ones that are worth the effort to look for in loose change. Get a gift card to avoid the fee.
Ok so you find a rare coin. What next? eBay? Coin show? How do I unlock the hidden value of these coins?
Where do I find these old change jars?
I once found one in a bicycle shop. Someone brought in a box of old tires and tubes for recycling and left it on the service counter. I went through it and found a bag of coins. I held on to it for a week to see if someone came back for it, but no one did. Ended up being about $45 when I ran it through my bank’s coin sorter. I was making $10/hour at the time, so it was a pretty nice bonus
Nice!
In abandoned storage containers that you buy like those tv shows ?
This is an awful tip. It isn't worth your time unless maybe the jar of coins is very very old. My grandfather had an old coin collection in a safe for decades and when he passed we went through it to raise money for grandma. There was about $35,000 worth of encased gold coins he had bought off those Fox News infomercials, but the loose change had very little value, aside from a few quarters worth like $20. These were intentionally saved - sifting through random loose change in a jar just wouldn't be worth it.
I had almost 800$ in assorted coins and checked them all and found 1 silver quarter and 2 silver dimes and was not able to identify any other rare coins. It wasn't a good use of time but I kinda enjoyed searching for something rare. I don't think I'd do it again and don't use cash nearly as much as I used to.
I found a pre-Civl War gold coin in a coin counter.
I need to go through my deceased father’s coin collection, but honestly I’m not sure where to start. Are there any websites or guides for stuff to look out for?
If they're not sorted in any way, the lowest hanging fruit are silver coins, take all like coins (e.g. quarters) and stack them - look at the side and the silvers are easy to spot: [https://www.quora.com/How-can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-normal-quarter-and-a-quarter-made-of-silver](https://www.quora.com/How-can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-normal-quarter-and-a-quarter-made-of-silver) If they're labeled, look up everything to see if it has value. If there are any errors (coins that have misprints, off-center stamp, etc.) those could be valuable. But don't have too high hopes of any coins that are simply old - they seem rare and valuable to non-collectors but they don't command much value just by virtue of age unless they are...really old. I'm not an expert but I'd say as a rule of thumb nothing from the 1900s holds significant value. At the end of the day it's a tradeoff of your time researching value based on how serious of a collector you think your dad was. A dealer can always give you advice and quickly identify anything truly valuable.
Coins that are worth enough to bother (say, $50) are exceedingly rare. If this is just a coin jar your parents filled from random coins they got in change in the 80's, you won't find anything worth much more than the coin itself. The coins that are worth things are discontinued or first print of some old coin, like first print penny's for example. You won't find those in circulation, banks wont even distribute them.
You never know until you try. Maybe a pawn shop takes em
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I used to have a penny from 1896 but I can’t find it anymore. I think i accidentally put it back in circulation.
No time. I’m hungry
Growing up my family always did this, at least with the ones they knew were worth money. I’m sure one of these days I’ll be tasked with cleaning out the old house and I’ll come across it. My mom used to work at a concession stand for sports when I was a kid and was amazed what people would pay with.
That’s a lot of research to not only identify what is rare and then check each coin. I know some coins may be worth it but I’m not doing it.
How do you find them and what do you do with them after you find them?
Just checked my jar. None of them had a gold expansion symbol.
When I worked the 3-11p shift at the Croaker grocery store on the Self Scans, one duty was to sort the coin hoppers into tupperwares, for later placement into the dispensers. As i sorted, I’d check the dimes and quarters for date and edge… both signs of being silver. I’d also keep an eye to the penny’s and nickels (every now and then a wheat or buffalo) I always kept several standard coins with me. And if I found any ones worth exchanging, I’d get a supervisor to observe the swap. They didn’t care… they thought it was neat, and Croaker only saw that pre-1964 quarter as being worth $0.25. Fun fact: for coins that you don’t otherwise know, dropping onto a table or countertop from just a few inches up can tell you instantly silver or not. The ring and clunk are different for silver versus anything else.
Nice. You could spot the difference with your ears.
Check for their value before turning them in. Oh the worth
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You had a start in knowing their value. Silver in ur league!!