My error coin just arrived back from PCGS. Here is a video of me unboxing the potential Copper 1983 Penny. Enjoy! At the time of filming I also didn't know if this would be authentic or not.
My potential 1983 copper penny, that was found several years ago while I was removing any zinc cents from the copper pile, is FINALLY getting ready to ship to be authenticated at PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Services).
And making use of the 8 free grading vouchers that comes with a Platinum PCGS membership. I decided it made financial sense to send 8 coins with the possible mint error penny. Shipping more coins at once, helps reduce overall costs associated with professional authentication and grading.
The coins selected include:
1913 Barber Half Dollar 1895 O Barber Dime (3) 2021 P Peace Dollars (3) 2021 P Morgan Dollars
Until I have enough coins to submit for bulk grading, I am keeping the submissions to coins that I believe have a value above $100.
Posting a quick video of a possible 1983 Copper penny found around March 2022. I did a little research on how to submit it to a grading company. But that turned out to be more than I had time for, so I put it in a 2x2 flip and sort of forgot it with all the other things going on.
Fast forward a couple years...
This coin is currently on the way to PCGS and I'm really excited to learn if it's authentic and how it grades.
First and foremost, I hope that you are all doing well and keeping your spirits up around the pandemic. And Happy Thanksgiving!
This channel has had such amazing support from all of you. It's always great to get questions, and comments on the coin related content. So to all of you I want to say my blog/channel is going to continue to create those types of posts and videos.
WHAT IS COMING??
Soon I'm going to start also making videos about Magic the Gathering. I have been interested in this for sometime now, and it would be a little too much work to create a completely separate blog/channel.
I think this is something to get excited about! And again if you're really just into coins and currency. Well those posts and videos are still going to be made.
Hope you enjoy what in store and Be well and safe out there!
Silver is approaching $30 an ounce today. Climbing over $4 USD/oz in just the past 3 days. And is up from $19 USD/oz last month.
At the time of this posting US Junk Silver (pre-1965 90% Silver Coins) are valued at over $20 per dollar face (e.g. four quarters, or ten dimes).
Is this a good time to start unloading some or all of your silver stack?
Looking at a 5 year view of silver prices
Silver prices for the past 5 years have been rather flat in the $16-18 USD/oz range. At that time, one dollar face of silver coins would be valued a little. above $13 (e.g. 4 silver quarters). There are many factors that could continue to drive silver prices higher.
COVID which has both a global impact, and also the continued impact in the US, and vaccines not likely being available until at least 2021.
2020 political elections are coming up.
Continued turmoil between the US and other countries (e.g. China)
We would like to hear what others are doing at this time. Do you wait, Do you unload some/all, or do you wait for prices to potentially skyrocket past the highs both in 1980 (~ $120 USD/oz) and 2011 (~ $60 USD/oz).
We recently did a road trip through Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. First if you haven't been up to Vermont. It really is a great state to visit. And it's a fun place to go in nearly all seasons. Fall and Spring can be wet, but it really is great all year round.
Anyway here's a video of the highlights from the trip.
The trees had not yet started to really change colors. But the weather was beautiful. And given a choice. I'd rather have nice weather.
Nature and adventure:
As I said the weather really was amazing. Even for late September, the skies were mostly clear and it was actually quite hot.
One of the things I love about Vermont are the rural highways for road biking. You also get a lot of nice vantage points for photographs.
I think at the peak we had a couple +2000 feet climbs. That is not something we typically find where we live. And it was intense, not too much flat road where we biked. It really just felt like one hill after the next.
Classic Vermont - Awesomeness
We found this really amazing little place. And were allowed to photograph it. The owners were keen on keeping the interior to a specific time period.
Really felt like going into the past when you entered the building. The TV was a gigantic box and lots of antique accessories around the place. Even the tables and chairs all screamed I'm not modern.
This might be seen as tacky in our places around the U.S., but here is works.
Again just another example of what makes Vermont a unique state to visit.
Vermont Craft Micro Brewery - Hill Farmstead Brewery
Really no trip to Vermont should be considered complete until you have visited at least one local brewery. They are a great place to go after a day of skiing, hiking, or for us road biking over 40 miles.
We ended up choosing Hill Farmstead Brewery, because it was closest to where we were.
This Brewery was established in 2010 by Shaun Hill a local Vermonter, and is also located in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
Wiki actually states that the brewery is 70 miles away from the largest city in Vermont, which happens to be Burlington. And that was very fitting, because to get to this wonderful establishment, one has to drive a decent amount on a dirt road with a not so gradual incline at times.
Please do not take this as a warning, all cars would be able to get to the brewery.
Their beer selection was really great. And perhaps it was a busy day due to how beautiful the weather was that weekend. The line to get beers was about 15-20 minutes.
Pro-tip: Place your order for pizza before getting in line, so you'll be able to have a brick oven cooked flat bread ready for you, after you get your beers.
Vermont Nature and Wild life:
During our bike ride we actually saw bear. This was such a crazy situation. I could go on for a while on the subject, but to keep it short.
Biking by a chicken farm we saw some kids by a house who yelled, "Watch out! There's bears in the trees". We thought it was a joke until we saw the mother bear.
Watch the video above to see the bear, the screen shots from my phone didn't do it justice.
During the road trip we also came across a unique bee hive. And man were they active. From afar it just looked like the tree was spitting out bees. And when I got closer to the hive, the bees would just fly around me. It was enormous and I could only imagine how many bees were in that colony.
Amazing, Unexpected Currency Collector Find:
On our way home. We randomly selected a coffee shop. Wanting to keep things local and avoid dunks and the bucks. We decided to go to a place in Saint Johnsbury, called, Locally Social. Run by Ian and Cari. I knew we made the right choice as soon as we entered the shop.
One was plastered with foreign currency.
Ian and Cari were happy to talk about the wall of money.
It started with a single foreign bill coming to the shop. Then they had another. And soon enough people were starting to provide then with bank notes from new countries around the world.
When we visited they had examples from over 63 countries. In some cases multiple denominations from a particular country. Some still in circulation others not.
I found this to be amazing because as you already know, I'm a coin and currency collector.
I just think this was a wonderful little find. We could have easily missed this experience by going to one of the larger chains in the area and been on our way. But instead we had some really great coffee and a wonderful chat with local shop owners.
I didn't bring it up, but I did think to myself, these should all be in holders. Just to preserve them. That was my collector side trying to get out. Lol.
Also if anyone wants to donate to their wall of foreign currency.
The store address is: Locally Social, 21 Memorial Dr., St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
Thanks all for reading this post!
I'd love to hear of any exciting coin and currency finds you've had during road trips.
It could be coin roll hunting finds. Or perhaps something more like our experience here in the Northeast Kingdom.
Or totally unrelated to Coins and Currency. Just your experiences from visiting Vermont or the greater New England area.
I created this video in response to a YouTube subscribers question regarding Coin Roll Hunting. Essentially what is the best way to coin roll hunt, Edge hunt only or Date Check all coins.
I have also proposed this topic to a number of coin collecting forums.
Personally my process for CRHing dimes, quarters, and half dollars is to edge hunt and then date check coins that appear to be AU or better.
A lot of people commented that date hunting is the only way to Coin Roll Hunt. Otherwise you risk missing Coin errors, varieties, doubled dies, and more.
Where do you stand on this? Leave a comment below.
This is a post for anyone that is currently buying Silver or plans to start investing in Silver.
In particular those interested in Silver Bullion (e.g. American Silver Eagles, generic bars & rounds, etc.) and U.S. Junk Silver coins (e.g. 90%, 40% or 35%). It's always a great feeling when you find a great deal on a some silver. Whether your buying .999 fine bars/rounds or something like 90% U.S. Junk silver, a great deal is a great deal.
However if you're not careful with detailing your purchases, you may not know as much about your collection as you should.
Here are just a couple examples of issues, not having a good record of your purchases can lead to:
- Wasting time doing repeat inventory of your collection
- Selling for a loss (because you aren't aware of your initial purchase price, not due to the market)
- How much have you spent in a given time period or in general
For anyone that is buying (and selling) silver, I really feel that using software like Microsoft Excel is essential. And you don't have to be a pro to use this software.
I have created a spreadsheet that aims at helping people track their Bullion and U.S. Junk Silver coin purchases.
Below is a YouTube Tutorial for the spreadsheet I have created
What can you expect to get from using this Tracker?
At the very least I hope that this tracker will provide those who use it with the following:
- A simple way to keep track of their Silver Bullion & Silver U.S. Junk Silver purchases
- Keep a running total on the total Cost per ounce of silver in their entire collection
- Know how much the collection has appreciated or depreciated
- Have a running breakdown of each purity in the collection (by total oz. and % of collection)
Screenshots:
Start by selecting the product from the drop down list
The enter the quantity of that coin. So how many of that product you bought. Careful not to confuse the Quantity cell with the face value. Once you have entered a product and a quantity, the spreadsheet will automatically tell you the Total Troy Ounces within that lot. Please note this total is based on ideal measurements (newly minted bullion or silver coins), and does not factor wear on the products that could offset the actual silver content.
Finally enter the Unit Price, which is what you actually paid for the product. You also have the option to include any additional costs in the Other Costs cell. This can be a great place for expenses like premiums or travel expenses.
Now over time as you continue to make additional purchases, just update the tracker and it will keep a record for you to refer to.
BUT WAIT IT GETS BETTER!!!!!
There is also another worksheet in this tracker that will give you a summary of your purchases. I'm calling it the SnapShot page.
You do need to Manually enter the Current price of Silver in cell B2.
But after that the SnapShot page provides you with:
- Total T oz. of Silver in the collection
- Your cost per ounce of Silver (this will be skewed if you include anything with a high $$ premium)
- Cost of Investment (how much you've spent on the collection)
- Net Profit (Loss)
- Return On Investment
As well as the breakdown by purity:
- For .999 Fine bullion you can see Total T oz. & % of Collection
- For Junk U.S. Silver Coins you see Total T oz., Total Face, & % of Collection
- It is not designed to track sales
- It will not track Non-U.S. Silver coins
- It is only set-up to track U.S. Silver coins and common bullion amounts
- Does not include a section for grades of coins
This is my first attempt at creating an Excel Spreadsheet to track Silver Bullion & Junk U.S. Silver Coin collections and purchases. If you try it out, please comment on the YouTube video, or here on this post. I would love to learn if this is useful, or if you have a better system (digital or analog) for tracking your silver stacking.
Last week I asked a teller if they could order me large dollar coins. I believe there was a bit of a mix-up as they ordered me a box of small dollar coins instead. I mean they said sure we can order large dollar coins, so I was like excellent that would be super sweet. I would definitely order at least a box of Eisenhower dollars each week.
Anyways, the order came in and I found myself with my normal half dollar boxes and a box of small dollar coins. By the way, don't they totally look like tokens that you'd get at an amusement park... So it didn't seem right to not take the box, since I ordered it and all that.
Wide Rim (Near Date)
Narrow Rim (Far Date)
But there was one major issue. There isn't any silver in that box. But I did know of at least one variety in the Susan B. Anthony series. The 1979P SBA WIDE RIM (aka Near Date). I figured perhaps I could get lucky and find one of those. And what do you know I did!!!
How do you tell which variety you have?
It's easy, just look at the date. If there is a clear space between the rim and the bottom of the date, you have the common narrow rim (far date). With the less common wide rim (near date) variety, the bottom of the dates are nearly touching the rim.
This is a really fun variety to look for. The coins aren't all that small, so you can see the variety without the need for a loupe or magnifying glass. And they can be fitted back into the rolls much like half dollars for easy returns to the bank.
These coins I believe would be a great coin for young numismatic enthusiasts to hunt through. Also since SBA's were never that popular, the dollars didn't circulate that widely. So there could be a lot of gem examples of this variety still in circulation.
If you watch please leave a comment. If you'd like to see videos about other coins or coin topics please let us know.
Nickels can be a fun denomination to roll hunt. Pre-1961 coins are still fairly common. And if you're lucky you may also find a War Nickel or Buffalo Nickel. I didn't get so lucky in this round of roll hunting, but it's still fun.
I also understand that it's a numbers game, and that desirable nickels are still out there. But when you don't find any in a box or two, it really can test your metal. ;)
If you watch please leave a comment. If you'd like to see videos about other coins or coin topics please let us know.
Not sure how much of a demand there is out there for banknotes these days. But I got the itch to search $1 & $2 again. Largely because they are a bit easier to return to the banks unlike boxes and boxes of rolled coins.... :D
