Advice needed.

gofish · New Member

I bought 47 rolls of old wheats at an estate auction. When going thru them I put aside any that looked odd or different than the others. When done going thru the rolls I was left with about 100 odd ones. I know little about wheat cents. What I ended up with was a 1916 with about a 165 degree rotation, several with cracks, one all the way across the coin, some have what looks like dropped letters, a few with missing letters, one with an xtra "i" in liberty, some with pockets or areas with some of the metal missing and some with just look like die damage. Which ones should I spend the time investigating more. I went to the library and got the Breen book but most of mine are not listed. Can you suggest a source of information and or pricing?? Would have posted pics but have not been able to succesfully post a pic. on this site in the past.

Bob P · Site Admin

Hi gofish,
A lot of what you are describing seems like minor errors. We mainly deal with varieties on this site, but the forum is a great way to get your questions answered. As far as a written book that can help you in this area, the owner of this site (Chuck) has written a book that would help you out immensely. His book (Looking through Lincoln Cents) is available in some book stores, but I do have a few copies here that I can sell. If you are interested in going this route, send me an email at bobp@coppercoins.com, and I will give you the specifics. I do not believe Chuck has any more available. The books I have are the first edition. I do not have any of the second edition books for sale.
Another way to learn about what we do here is to just browse the coppercoins.com web site. You can always come back here to the forum if you require any more guidance. OK???

gofish · New Member

Since my post I have been exploring the site, it's very easy on the eyes and lots of usefull info. Although I dont collect small cents it's been interesting, I had no idea there were so many varieties and errors on the wheat cents. I think this is the site where last year sometime I came across a really long list of photos by year, I mean you could scroll down the page and come up with a pic of anything you looked for. I'm sure this is the place but I cant locate what I just described, is it still here? I am not able to find it anymore. Giving some thought to buying the book. Thanks.

coop · Expert Member

GoFish: I bet you are thinking of the search. It is located on the home page marked "Die Variety search." It will ask what year and you can enter one year or several. Ii then asks what mintmark, then asks about the variety your looking for. (RPM/DDO/DDR) then click on search and the images will come up with 10 varieties per page. Welcom again to the forum. After reading ask any questions you could have found already answered on the site.

gofish · New Member

COOP, yah thats it ,thanks. I dont have much for magnification, just the florescent desk type and an old loupe that my dog has chewed on, I think I need a microscope. I had planned on just selling these on Ebay but after further checking it almost looks like the previous owner (deceased) had been collecting pennys that had something different about them. I'll have to try again to post pics. so I can get experienced opinions. Thanks again.

coop · Expert Member

GoFish: You might see if the errors that you are seeing are sold on ebay, then check to see if they sold or not. On ebay a lot if definitions are hap hazzardly used and without an image most auctions don't get a bid as you are trying to guess what they are selling. Every now and then you can get a deal but only about 1 in 10. So check there to see what they go for there. With a GREAT image and a nice variety in BU they will sell. I bought coins on ebay for as low as 1 Cent and it was a $3-$5 dollar coin. And I have bought coins for $2.50 and they were Worth $25. I'm not going to go into the lossers I also bought, but deals are there is you take a chance, but the key is having images, listing them on Sunday for 7 days, use no reserve if possible. If I am buying a coin I want it to be a BU coin. Will pay very minimal for a circulated coin. Errors its anybody guess what they will bring. You mentioned a die crack all the way across. If it is a BU coin it could bring a lot. Use right terminolgy for the coin. Advoid terms like L@@K, RARE, mispelled words, coins are struck not stamped, Lincoln spelled correctly, Not to use HYPE in your auction, use a realistic opening price and a reasonable buy it now price. Don't gouge on shipping costs. Use bid pay or PayPal. Sure you have to pay for these services, but add a small amount on shipping to cover that rather than pass of a sale. I hardly ever buy with a check or certified check. I use only paypal and usually don't bid if they don't take paypal. Anything else you would like to know others would be able to add more as most of us at one time or other have used ebay. That is how most of us met.