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!

COIN ROLL HUNTING SILVER WARTIME NICKELS

Welcome back, Coin Roll Hunters!

We are moving right along on our first coin collection, the BIRTHDAY COIN COLLECTION!

Here is our collection, so far:
1983D Lincoln Memorial Penny
1983D Jefferson Monticello Nickel.

Since we are coin roll hunting Jefferson Nickels, I thought we should take a moment to consider another exciting aspect of coin collecting; coin composition.

Composition refers to the materials used to make the blank metal disk which is struck at the mint to create a coin. This blank metal disk is called a, planchet.

The first Jefferson Nickels, which featured the Monticello reverse, had a composition of 75% Copper and 25% Nickel. But, something interesting happened in 1942.

America was in the middle of World War II and there was an increased demand for the metals Nickel and Copper to support the war effort. In order to meet the rising demand, the composition of the Jefferson Nickel was changed during production in 1942 to include 56% Copper, 35% Silver, and 9% Manganese. The new silver nickels were produced until 1945.

These Silver Wartime Nickels were also set apart by a special mint mark that was larger. But rather than including them below the date on the obverse side, the mint marks of P, D, and S, were placed on the reverse side above the image of the Monticello building.

CLICK HERE to join me as we search our first roll for Silver Wartime Nickels. Keep your eyes open for the large mint marks above the Moticello Building!

CLICK HERE to hunt through the customer-wrapped roll!

How did you do with your silver wartime nickel hunt?

Let me know in the comments below and be sure to add your coin-related questions.

Join me here next time as we continue with our Birthday Coin Collections.
You will need two rolls of dimes; a bank-wrapped roll and a customer-wrapped roll.

Continue growing your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) Handbook of United States Coins: The Official Blue Book
2) Profitable Coin Collecting

Happy Hunting!

LINCOLN SHIELD PENNY IN REVIEW

Welcome to another great numismatic adventure!

Let's take a closer look at the reverse of our Lincoln Shield pennies.

This design was first introduced in 2010 as the latest long-running design for the Lincoln penny. It is also the seventh reverse design of this coin since it was first produced in 1909.

The shield design is sometimes referred to as the "Union Shield" or the "Shield of Union" and has been used before on some earlier designs of American coinage, medals, and tokens.

Traditionally, the Union Shield has come to symbolize the importance of uniting the 13 original Colonies into one country; The  "United States of America" which you will find written above the Union Shield along the rim.

Looking closely now, we can break down the elements that make up the Union Shield.

You will notice 13 stripes running vertically down the lower part of the shield. There is one stripe for each of the 13 original colonies which formed into States.

At the top of the Union Shield, you will notice that the stripes are united by a crossbar, that symbolizes the Federal Government.

Across the crossbar, you will read a phrase written in Latin, "E PLURIBUS UNUM" In English this translates to, "One From Many." This was America's first motto, and refers to forming one country from many States. If you count the number of letters in the Latin phrase, you might be surprised to discover, there's 13 of them, too!

The refreshed design of our traditional symbol of our country's unity, is meant to honor Abraham Lincoln for preserving the unity of the United States of America during the Civil War that threatened to tear them apart.

What a beautiful specimen to show us that a coin does not have to be old or expensive to be interesting and worth collecting.

Add your thoughts about the new penny design in the comments below. Also, include any coin-related questions you might have, and don't forget to follow this blog for our next exciting coin roll hunt.

Build your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) A Guide Book of United States Coins: The Official Red Book
2) The Complete Guide to Lincoln Cents

Happy Hunting!

HUNT #2: FIND A LINCOLN SHIELD REVERSE PENNY

Hello, Coin Roll Hunters!

Thank you for joining me as I guide you through another exciting coin roll hunt!

Here is today's goal:

HUNT #2: Find a Lincoln, Sheild Reverse Penny.

CLICK HERE to join me in the hunt!

Be sure to follow this blog to join me on our next numismatic adventure when we will be taking a closer look at our new finds.

Also, let me know how your own coin roll hunt went, and include any coin-related questions or ideas you have for other coin roll hunts you would like to do, with your comments below.

Be sure to keep growing your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) A Guide Book of United States Coins: The Official Red Book
2) Pennies by Mary Hill

Happy Hunting!

MAKING CENTS OF PENNIES

Wellcome back, fellow Coin Roll Hunters!
Today we are going on a numismatic adventure.

So far we have gathered our gear, gone on a coin roll hunt in search of our Birth-Year penny, and learned about mint marks on Lincoln pennies. Now, I am going to explain the difference between a penny and a cent.

Let's begin by taking a closer look at the reverse of our Birth-Year Pennies.

Here is the reverse of my 1983D penny:

Take a look below the Lincoln Memorial, and you will notice the words "ONE CENT".
Have you ever wondered why it doesn't read "ONE PENNY"?

It can be broken down like this.

The word "Penny" is a common term that refers to a type of coin.

For example, here are some other types of American coins you are probably already familiar with:

Penny, Nickel, Dime, and Quarter.

These are the words we use commonly as a reference to certain types of American coins.

However, the word "Cent" is used as a reference to the face value of a certain type of coin.

1 Penny is equal to 1 Cent.
1 Nickel is equal to 5 Cents.
1 Dime is equal to 10 Cents.
1 Quarter is equal to 25 Cents.

So, a Cashier can give you 30 Cents but, that doesn't tell you what type of coins they have given to you. That person may have given you a quarter and a nickel or, three dimes. But, if you're really lucky, maybe they gave you 30 pennies!

Simply put, that's the difference between what is meant by the common term "Penny" and the value described as a "Cent". However, I did say this was a numismatic adventure.

Numismatically speaking, the word "Cent" is also used to describe a class of coins.
Oh, Brother!

Class refers to a category of things. For instance, American coins with face values that are less than one dollar. But, are also separated from each other by differences, such as type, size, or design. Each type of coin will create its own sub-class within the larger class of its category.

By classifying coins this way, the term "Cent" is applied to separate the classes and types of coins.

For an example, let's look at just the One Cent Pennies.

In the beginning, there is the class of Large Cents. That is to say, One Cent coins which were minted from 1793 to 1857, and which are different in some way from One Cent coins after 1857.

Indeed, these Large Cent coins were much larger in diameter than the pennies we use today. This is the reason why we have separated them out into their own class.

Large Cents were then followed by the class of Small Cents, which were minted from 1856 to the present. 

1856 to 1857 was a transitional year and was used to show Congress how the newer, smaller, Flying Eagle Cents would look as the country transitioned into using the smaller diameter One Cent Pennies.

So, where do our Birth-Year Pennies fit in?
For that, all we need for reference is the date struck on the obverse of the coin.

My Birth-Year Penny shows 1983. This means it falls into a class of coins minted from 1856 to the present, known as Small Cents. And, the class of Small Cents includes many different sub-class designs:

The Flying Eagle (1856 - 1858)
The Indian Head (1859 - 1909)
The Lincoln, Wheat Ears Reverse (1909-1958)
The Lincoln, Memorial Reverse (1959-2008)
The Lincoln, Bicentennial (2009)
The Lincoln, Shield Reverse (2010 - Present)

Now, wasn't that easy?

Let me know what you think about pennies and cents in your comments below. Include any other coin-related questions or coin hunting ideas as well.

Join me next time, as we continue to explore the class of Small Cents.

Keep growing your numismatic knowledge with these great books!
1) A Guide Book of United States Coins: The Official Red Book
2) The Power of the Penny: Abraham Lincoln Inspires a Nation

Happy Hunting!

COIN ROLL HUNTING SILVER ROOSEVELT DIMES

Welcome back, Coin Roll Hunters.

You're in for a treat! I had so much fun coin roll hunting for Silver Wartime Nickels, I thought we should go on another silver hunt. I hope you brought your customer-wrapped and bank-wrapped rolls of dimes because we will be coin roll hunting for more silver from Roosevelt dimes!

Modern Roosevelt dimes, as we know them today, are composed of sandwiched metal we call clad. 
Roosevelt dimes from 1965 to date are composed of an inner core layer of pure copper, clad between outer layers of a copper-nickel alloy of 75% copper and 25 nickel%.

What are dimes from 1964 and earlier made of?
They used silver! Yes, Roosevelt dimes minted from 1946 to 1964 are composed of a silver-copper alloy consisting of 90% silver and 10% copper. That's about .07234 oz. of pure silver!

Why was the composition of the dime changed in 1965?
Due to the increased value of silver in the early 1960's, it would cost the mint more than 10 Cents to make a Dime. In order to make the coin less expensive to produce, they passed the Coinage Act of 1965 to remove the silver content from the dime and substituted a clad copper-nickel alloy.

Are all Dimes made before 1964 made with silver?
Yes! So, as we coin roll hunt through our Roosevelt Dimes, keep an eye out for dimes made in 1964 or earlier.

Let's get started!

I hope you enjoy the new video format as I search for silver Roosevelt Dimes from a customer-wrapped roll and a bank-wrapped roll.

 CLICK HERE and join the hunt!

Thank you for joining me on another great silver hunt. Add your comments below and share your own coin roll hunting experience. Feel free to add any coin-related questions as well.

Also, be sure to Subscribe to my YouTube Channel to get even more videos not posted on the blog. Be sure to Share, Like and Comment on what you like, so I can continue to produce content you want to watch and enjoy.

And, keep expanding your numismatic knowledge with this great book!
1) The Complete Guide to U.S. Junk Silver Coins

Happy Hunting!