BIRTHDAY COIN COLLECTION: COIN ROLL HUNTING FOR A 1983 D WASHINGTON QUARTER

Welcome back, Coin Roll Hunters!

We have had quite the adventure exploring our birthday coin collection.
Let's see how we are doing on our list...

1983 D -Penny
1983 D - Nickel
1983 D - Dime
1983 D - Quarter
1983 D - Half Dollar

Today, we will be searching three rolls of quarters for a 1983 D Washington Quarter!

Pick a roll to search:
Roll 1: Customer-Wrapped Roll
Roll 2: Bank-Wrapped Roll
Roll 3: Bank-Wrapped Roll

I hope you like the new coin roll hunting set up.
Now you're in control of the coin roll hunting experience.
Comment below to let me know what you thing.

Now, on to our find!

When you first encounter a new coin, it's important to learn some basic numismatic information.

Ask yourself these 5 simple questions:

1) What type of coin is this?
    By looking at the reverse side, we can see the phrase "Quarter Dollar" below the image of the eagle. Sure, this all seems very basic, but it's also very important. Out of all the coins this could be, we have now narrowed it down to one very specific group.

Now we know that we have a quarter. Not a penny, a nickel or a dime, but, a quarter.

So, let's get specific.

2) What type of Quarter is this?
     This question may seem a bit confusing at first, as you might not have realized that the quarter, as we know it today, used to look very different.

This is a great time to reference our guide book:
A Guide Book of United States Coins: The Official Red Book

With our guide book at hand, turn to the section about quarters.
Here you will see all the different designs that the quarter has had in the past.

One way to narrow down our search for what type of quarter we have is to look at the date on the obverse side of our coin.

This one reads, 1983.

Now, look up the date, 1983 in the quarter section of our guidebook.
Follow the dates backward with your finger, 1982, 1981, 1980, keep going until you reach the design header. It will read, "WASHINGTON (1932 TO DATE)"

Here you will see why we call this type of quarter a "Washington Quarter."

In 1932 the design of Standing Liberty was replaced by a portrait of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington.

Now we know we have a Washington Quarter!

3) Which mint produced our 1983 Washington Quarter?
     We have already had some practice looking for mint marks. So, you will know what type of mint marks to look for and what each one will indicate.

Bring out your magnifying glass.

Closely examine the obverse side of our Washington Quarter.
Did you find it?
You will spot the mint mark just behind his neck.

The coin in this example shows a "D".

Now we know that our 1983 D Washington Quarter was minted at the Denver Mint in Colorado!

4) What is the composition of our coin?
     We have already explored the composition of nickels and searched for silver in dimes. So, you might already realize that coins can be made of many different types of metals.

So, what is our Washington Quarter made of?
Once again, we will refer to our guide book.

You will notice that in the description for the first Washington Quarter, you will see that the coins from 1932 to 1964 were composed of 90% silver and 10% copper. You may have already heard these coins called, "Silver Quarters". This is because of their silver content.

Now, run your finger down the list of dates to 1965.

What happened on that date?
     Our guide book tells us that the composition of the Washington Quarter was changed! Instead of using silver, they replaced it with a less expensive metal; nickel. But, it's more interesting than that!

By sandwiching a core layer of 75% copper between two thin layers of 25% nickel, the cost to produce a quarter went down. This method produces what we call a "clad" coin.

Clad coins are easily identifiable by the band of copper exposed in the edges of a coin.

Let's take a look at the edge of our 1983 D Washington Quarter.

See that band of copper in the edge?
That is the easiest way to tell if you have a clad coin.

Now we know that our 1983 D Washington Quarter is clad, and composed of 75% copper and 25% nickel.

5) How many coins of this type were made?
     To answer this question, simply slide your finger forward through the dates to find 1983D again. Now, follow the dotted line to the right.......to find a number under the column "Mintage".

Mintage refers to the quantity of a coin that was produced at a specific mint for a specific year.

Following the dotted line for 1983D, we see that the Denver Mint produced 617,806,446 coins!

AMAZING!!!

We now have in our possession, 1 out of 617,806,446 coins! Another one will never be made and coins of this date will continue to be lost, damaged and destroyed, every day of every year; never to be seen again.

That's why it is so important for us to take great care of our coins.
By becoming a numismatist, you must also become a curator for your collection. Make sure to wear gloves when handling your coins and store them in a dry location.

From this moment on, you are responsible for a piece of history that can never be replaced.

We will go further into storing and displaying our coins in a future blog. But, for now, let's just enjoy our find!

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel to see other videos and playlists not included in this blog.

And, keep growing your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) Handbook of United States Coins: Official Blue Book
2) A Guide Book of Washington and State Quarters: Complete Source of History, Grading, and Prices

Until next time,
Happy Hunting!

BIRTHDAY COIN COLLECTION: DIMES

Welcome back, Coin Roll Hunters!

Too bad we didn't come up with any silver while coin roll hunting for wartime nickels, but we won't give up!

Today, we will continue with our Birthday Coin Collections. So, gather your dimes and your numismatics gear as we search for the next coin in this series.

CLICK HERE to join my search for a 1983D Roosevelt Dime in a bank-wrapped roll.

This has been a great hunt so far! We've had some success, but this coin is a bit worn.

CLICK HERE to search through the customer-wrapped roll to see if we can find a 1983D Dime in better condition.

Alright! We've searched through two rolls of dimes and found two 1983D Roosevelt Dimes in two different conditions.

This is a great way to find the best coins for our collection. When you are coin roll hunting, if you come across multiple coins your are looking for, put them all aside and compare them to each other. Then you can choose only that coin that you like best for your collection.

Just remember, the more rolls of coins you search, the more success you will have coin roll hunting. It's all about volume.

Thanks for joining me for our search for dimes. We are one step closer to completing our Birthday Coin Collections!

Let me know how your dime hunt went in the comments below and be sure to leave any of your coin-related questions.

Join me next time as we learn some tips on how to grade your coins.

Continue growing your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) Handbook of United States Coins: The Official Blue Book
2) Dimes by Mary Hill

Happy Hunting!

1983D JEFFERSON NICKEL AND CLEANING YOUR COINS

Welcome back, Coin Roll Hunters!
That was one of the best coin roll hunts we've had so far.

The 1983D Jefferson Nickel is the second coin in our Birthday Coin Collection, right after the 1983D Penny. This coin really hid from us until the last moment but, I think that's all part of what makes coin roll hunting so much fun. Anyway, we got it and here it is.

Behold the 1983D Jefferson Nickel!

On closer inspection, you'll notice that this coin has got some grime between the 8 and 3 in the date, as well as on President Jefferson's chin. You might be tempted to scrub it away, but I urge you not to clean your coins. Ever!

But, you said this was my collection and I could do with it whatever I wanted?
Yes, I did say that. And, there's no way for me to physically stop you from cleaning your coins. But, as a Numismatist, it's important to realize that we are also curators of our coins and collections.

What does it mean to be a curator? 
As curators, we are expected to care for the good of our coins, protecting them from damage while they are in our possession.

As you hunt through more rolls of coins, you will find plenty of road-battered and abused coins. Scratches, burns, scrapes, and stains; all kinds of things can damage a coin during its lifetime. So, it's important that we don't add to a coins destruction.

Even improper handling of a coin by using our bare hands without wearing gloves will transfer skin oils onto the surface and damage the tone, or color, of your coin.

Harsh chemicals can also damage the tone, but even by scrubbing grime away with the softest brush, you will create micro-scratches. These are scratches you won't be able to see with your unaided eye but they are easily seen under a microscope. The results will be a lesser grade for your coin and ultimately, by cleaning your coins you will make them less valuable to another collector.

Worst of all, by neglecting your responsibilities as a curator you can cause irreversible damage to your beloved coins, which means you can't repair them. Generations of Numismatists after you, your grandchildren's grandchildren, will lose the opportunity to see your collections in their best condition.

But, I've watched your videos and you don't wear gloves. What gives?
Excellent observation! Now you're beginning to think like a serious Numismatist. The reason I'm not wearing gloves when we coin roll hunt is because the coins we are searching are already tarnished by circulation, being handled as day-to-day currency. But, occasionally, we will find a coin that is shiny and new. At that point, you will want to put your gloves on before handling this coin, especially if you are going to press the coin into your coin folder or album!

What's the important takeaway here?
As Numismatists, we are responsible for the condition of our coins while they are in our possession. If we cause damage to our coins it is our fault and it is at the expense of future generations, as they will miss out on seeing your coin and collection in its best condition.

In addition to our other coin collecting gear, let's get some nice cotton gloves so we don't ruin the tone on our bright, shiny coins, and remember, DON'T EVER CLEAN YOUR COINS!!!

Let me know what you think about cleaning coins in the comments below, and be sure to get ready for our next Coin Roll Hunt!

Go out into the world and get yourself two more rolls of nickels, one in a bank-rolled wrapper and another in a customer-rolled wrapper. And, gather your gear, because the next coin roll hunt is going to be even more fun! See you next time.

Continue growing your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) Handbook of United States Coins: The Official Blue Book
2) The Dirty Little Secrets About Cleaned Coins: A Common Sense Handbook on Coin Cleaning

Happy Hunting!

BIRTHDAY COIN COLLECTION: NICKEL

Welcome back, Coin Roll Hunters!

Now that we've gotten some experience coin roll hunting, it's time to complete our first collection.

Our birthday coin collection!

We have already found our Birthday penny from our first coin roll hunt.

Mine was a 1983D Lincoln Memorial penny.

Now, we just need a list of coins to include in our collection.

Here is the list for my 1983 Birthday Coin Collection:

1983 D -Penny
1983 D - Nickel
1983 D - Dime
1983 D - Quarter
1983 D - Half Dollar

My Birthday Penny had a Denver mint mark on it. To keep my collection more cohesive, meaning to include as many similar details as I can throughout the theme of the collection, I decided to include only those coins that have the "D" mint mark on them.

You may like a different mint mark and that's great! The main thing to remember is that this is your Birthday Coin Collection. So, pick a mint mark that you like and go from there.

Now on with the hunt!

We have two rolls of nickels to search today. One roll is a white bank-wrapped roll. The other is a striped customer-wrapped roll. This should give us a good mix of coins to search through.

CLICK HERE to open the bank-wrapped roll.

CLICK HERE to open the customer-wrapped roll.

Be sure to join us here next time when we'll take a closer look at this coin. Share your experience looking for your Birthday Nickel in the comments below and include any coin-related questions you might have.

Keep building your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) A Guide Book of United States Coins: The Official Red Book
2) A Guide Book of Buffalo and Jefferson Nickels

Happy Hunting!