Recent "Key" finds?

joeykoins · June 20, 2015 3:34AM

Hi Guy's. When and what was the last key coin you found in circulation. I'm talking major keys, the top of the tops. Such as the 1955 double die cent, 1909s VDB, 1914d, three legged buffalo,... You get the idea. Mine was never that much of the keys I'm talking about. Mine was back in 2000. I found the 1999 Wide A.M. Variety. How 'bout you guys? Thanks.

sanitarium1inmate · June 20, 2015 3:42AM

My last was a 1983 DDR that I regret selling on the bay for $223.00. Would have graded ms64RD atleast.

joeykoins · June 20, 2015 3:45AM

<< My last was a 1983 DDR that I regret selling on the bay for $223.00. Would have graded ms64RD atleast. >>

Cool! How long ago was that? I'm curious. Do you think the keys are just about all drained out of circulation by now?

ricko · June 20, 2015 3:50AM

No key finds in change.... found wheaties, silver and even a Merc... but no keys. Cheers, RickO

AUandAG · June 20, 2015 3:56AM

Have never found a key date in the wild.

bob

BustHalfBrian · June 20, 2015 4:00AM

I once found a 1949-S dime in a CoinStar reject slot. Other than that, I've found no 'key coins' in circulation - but I admittedly don't put much effort into looking. Just a quick glance at the change handed back to me at the drive-thru.

sanitarium1inmate · June 20, 2015 4:10AM

<< 

<< My last was a 1983 DDR that I regret selling on the bay for $223.00. Would have graded ms64RD atleast. >>

Cool! How long ago was that? I'm curious. Do you think the keys are just about all drained out of circulation by now? >>

This was about 6 years ago I believe. I'm still searchin my change and buying bank rolls to search through. Kris

joeykoins · June 20, 2015 4:27AM

<< Here's the full list for me...

$0.01
PCGS 64RD 1999 WAM back in 2011. Still have it.
Raw XFish 1972 DDO1 in 2012, sold.
There was a '22-D linc too, but it was damn near a cull. A few '09-VDB's too, all low grade and/or damaged.

$0.05
'50-D Jeff x2 in 2012/2013, one was BU, that's in my dansco, who knows where the circ one is...

$0.10
1926-S Merc in 2012, sitting in a roll in my SDB

$0.25
None

$0.50
VG '13 Barber, still have it.
XF '46 DDR in 2011 from a large lot of silver ($90 face in 90%) for face value from a bank, still have it.

$1
~120 1972 Type 2 Ikes. About 15 were graded, mostly 64's, a few 63's. Kept the nicest 64, sold the other graded ones. Still have about 100 raw ones in a bag somewhere. >>

Wow! It seems that your the luckiest of the bunch so far, good for you. I'm like busthalfbrian, haven't really been hunting as much, just a glance at my change now and then.

RichieURich · June 22, 2015 10:04AM

Best one for a long time was a circ 1950-D nickel in change in 1977. But two years ago, I found a 1970-S cent, Doubled Die Obverse #1, that PCGS graded as AU55. Kept it.

SaorAlba · June 22, 2015 12:06PM

I search through lots of bank rolled and bagged coins - found 2 '50-D Jeffersons, several '39-D and 38-D Jeffersons, 1 '55-D double die Lincoln(poor man's variety), oh a 1915-S Buffalo. Earliest finds were two 1858 dated FE cents, one in a customer wrapped roll, the other in a bank wrapped roll last year.

JeffMTampa · June 22, 2015 12:39PM

I still remember when I was a kid (mid to late '60's) I received a '17 D Mercury Dime in circulation. Not a key, but very close. I still have it, but it doesn't seem very important now. My thrills now come from raw finds on eBay- I've had some great luck there.

joeykoins · June 23, 2015 3:35AM

I just remembered, I did find a "small date" Lincoln Cent 1970. I do still have it somewhere. Good condition too.

johnny9434 · June 23, 2015 5:08AM

<< Best one for a long time was a circ 1950-D nickel in change in 1977. But two years ago, I found a 1970-S cent, Doubled Die Obverse #1, that PCGS graded as AU55. Kept it. >>

good idea to hang onto that

Treashunt · June 25, 2015 9:25PM

I know you said recent, but, this has been a long time before telling

killer story

Back in the early 1960's I collected from circulation.

I hoarded about a 1/2 roll of 1909 VDB's, no big deal back then.

Among other, I had a Whitman blue folder for early Lincoln cents, no big/better dates.

I did find a strange coin and changed the folder's date from 1922D to 1922 P.

I thought it was weird and just figured it was a typo.

Remember, this was the early 1960's, no internet, nothing but the local library.

And it was miles away, and a long ride on my bike to get there.

Sometime later, I found out that the value as posted in the 1959 (12th edition) Red Book was a bit out of date at $3.00

However, it was my father's birthday and I needed money for a gift, so I used a bunch of dups to get him a present.

Guess which coin was included in the gift money.

I still miss that piece, but eventually 40+ years later replaced it with a 1922 P VF-30, Die Pair 2, PCGS.

I also found an early wheatie that looked strange and years later ANACS (pre slabs) noted it as struck on a foreign planchet

joeykoins · June 26, 2015 3:42AM

Good story and memories of Dad when you were young to boot! Too bad those 1909's weren't the VDB S.
Redbook from 1959, wow.

BillJones · June 26, 2015 3:54AM

<< When and what was the last key coin you found in circulation. >>

From circulation ???

I'll quote Oscar Hammerstein:

"Wild old men who give you jewels and sables Only live in Aesop's Fables"

From "Show Boat" - "Life Upon the Wicked Stage"

The only one I have found was circa 1962, a 1919-S half dollar in Fine or so. My father mistook it for pocket change and spent it.

Back in the '60s guys would write "Letters to the Editor" about how they found a 1909-S VDB and 1914-D cent in the sale roll. I refer again to Mr. Hammerstein's lyrics.

Jinx86 · June 26, 2015 5:43AM

Pocket finds for me just a few pieces of junk silver and wheat cents.

Cherry picks so far this year however have been nice.
1936 D 3 1/2 leg
1937 D 3 leg
1886 Type 2 Indian Cent PCGS MS64RB
1899 Chinese Dollar in junk lot

coppercoins · June 26, 2015 7:04AM

If it is not required to be "from circulation" I have a few good ones, but have never really found anything of great merit from the outside world at-large.

I have, however, found a number of Cherrypicker listed coins at shows and in dealer stock for pennies on the dollar, to include one of my latest, a 1971 DDO cent in a raw MS64ish grade for about a dollar.

I, for one, appreciate and simply LOVE to hear stories of collecting in the days before I was old enough to care. I didn't get started until the mid-1970s, right about the time silver was quickly disappearing from circulation, and wheat cents were still a one or two per roll find. I did pick a few buffaloes and a few Mercurys out of change, but that was few and far between.

Elcontador · June 26, 2015 7:34AM

In the early 60s, until silver coins were pulled by people out of circulation, you could find rarish coins. I found a 32 S Quarter in F-12, a 24 S Nickel in VF 20, a 26 S dime in VG, the odd worn Barber coin, Liberty Nickel, and IHC. My father gave me a Franklin he found and my sister gave me a Merc she found, both around 1998. Nothing since.

SeattleSlammer · June 26, 2015 7:59AM

I've been looking and can't even find silver.
Best lately: two '65 quarters and a '57 penny.

joeykoins · June 26, 2015 8:09AM

<< In the early 60s, until silver coins were pulled by people out of circulation, you could find rarish coins. I found a 32 S Quarter in F-12, a 24 S Nickel in VF 20, a 26 S dime in VG, the odd worn Barber coin, Liberty Nickel, and IHC. My father gave me a Franklin he found and my sister gave me a Merc she found, both around 1998. Nothing since. >>

The 32s is an awesome find!

Cocoinut · June 26, 2015 9:15AM

Not really a key, and not so recent, but I pulled an AU 1929-D half dollar out of a bag of junk 90% silver halves back around 1981-82. That was my best find ever.

As a kid in the late 1950's, I found all of the Lincoln cents except 1909-S, 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1931-S, and 1955-S.

Other coins (non-varieties) I never found in circulation:

Cents: 1960-P small date
Nickels: 1938-S, 1939-S, 1950-D. I began collecting Jefferson nickels in 1957, and didn't find 1958-P and 1959-P nickels in circulation until around 1980. By that time, I had purchased uncs.
Dimes: 1916-D, 1921-P & D, 1926-S, 1931-D & S. Roosevelts were easy - I guess there were very few who liked them. Not much has changed.
Quarters (Washington only): 1932-D & S, 1936-D, 1937-S, 1940-D, 1955-D. I began collecting these in 1956, but my allowance was only 50 cents a week, so this collection grew very slowly, and was the first to be raided if I needed money.
Halves (Franklins only): 1948-D, 1949-D & S, 1955, 1956. I didn't start collecting these until 1965, and easily completed the set by buying the last few (circulated) coins. These were all upgraded to MS, and most of the circs sold as bullion.

So you can see that for me, the key dates were elusive even 50 - 60 years ago.

Jim

winky · June 27, 2015 12:42AM

Never found a key coin, just a door key once.

DCW · June 27, 2015 1:27AM

Found a 1983 ddr in 64rd in 2013.
Over at the Lincoln Cent Forum website, a fellow posted a 1909-s VDB he pulled from a bank roll last month. Hard to believe, but I've no reason to doubt him. Great coins can still be found with due diligence

joeykoins · June 29, 2015 4:15AM

The 1909s VDB. If true, that is a cool recent "key" coin find!

rhedden · June 29, 2015 4:39AM

My roll hunting finds were pathetic, but I pulled a 1939-D Jefferson in XF45 around 1989. Did much better metal detecting with a 1903-S Barber dime in VF30. I should send that one for grading, as it came up out of the dirt without environmental damage. Was on top of a dry, rocky ledge with an Indian cent lying on top of it for protection.

joeykoins · June 29, 2015 5:01AM

1903s, Beautiful find! Yes, I too would send in to our host.

FredF · June 29, 2015 1:30PM

Maybe some multi-zillionaire should buy some low-grade key coins, then spend them around the country, then tell everyone (s)he did it, and watch everyone get interested in coins again. (I remember someone did put a 1909-S VDB in circulation in NYC, I think it was, before some coin show. But I'm talking on a larger scale.)

cecropiamoth · June 29, 2015 6:40PM

Copying and pasting a post I made on another from 6/6/2015. The 50-D Jefferson is of course not a monstrous key, but for me these two would be highlights --

I don't sort through a lot of nickel boxes. Unlike the enormous quantities of dime and half dollar boxes I've cycled through since 2009, the number of nickel boxes is small, although still significant. I'll guess ~100 boxes. In all those boxes, never found the 1950-D.

On 6/25/2011 I found my first and it came in pocket change no less. Got it at the neighborhood Speedway gas station/convenience store. It was nice and looked like it has just dropped into circulation -- high AU or maybe even yet a low MS coin.

Fast forward.

Today -- 6/6/2015. Got my 2nd!!! Can't say for sure where it came from, could have been either the CVS or I made stops at the bank and credit union. This one has been out there a little longer, but still nice. Perhaps a low AU coin.

I'm 43 and looked for that coin throughout my childhood and most if not all of my adult life (always checked my pocket change). Now two in the space of four years, both from pocket change, not heavy roll hunting.

Just amazes me.

Jeff

Adding -

I've found three Indian Head cents and a few '09 VDB's in cent rolls. (not keys)
In nickels I believe I can account for all four of the '38 and 39 mint marked Jeffersons.
In dimes I have found a few Barbers and 20's Mercs, although no keys.
In halves I got an 07-O Barber (perhaps an AG-3 coin) and a Columbian Exposition and Washington Carver commem. Also one or two 70-D and 70-S 40% Kennedy's. Cool finds, but not keys.
I did get a worn 99-0 Morgan from a bank teller.

I do love roll hunting, just wish I had more time and energy for it and with spot silver down and things drying up, some of the luster has gone away.

Take care,

Jeff

lasvegasteddy · June 29, 2015 8:18PM

closest i came was an 1894 liberty nickel i found that someone tossed on the roadside
while walking home from school

what a chewed up example that was...

Barberian · June 29, 2015 9:51PM

The only coin I've found that might be considered a key was a 1921 merc dime in G4.

I also found a 1909 Lincoln cent in what will probably grade AU58 (BR). I figured it was just another wheat cent until I flipped it over and looked at the obverse. I couldn't believe my eyes! There are certain dates that just look special to me. 1909 on a Lincoln cent is special.

joeykoins · July 1, 2015 4:13AM

You ever wonder how and when the famous " 1913 V nickel " was found by these certain 5 people? I bet they have some stories!

bob48 · July 1, 2015 8:35AM

Just common wheaties and silver in change,
But Cherry picked alot:
1879-CC Morgans, two from a junk box, many VAMs also
D/S Buffalo nickels
and others.

joeykoins · July 2, 2015 2:18AM

I don't know? Since starting this thread, I have found two, in separate occasions, two Silver Roosevelt dimes in the Coin Star machines. Not worth much but still Silver. I hardly never find any Silver in them, just mostly common pennies and Foreign change. Maybe, next I'll find a 1909sVDB? Yeah right.

jdillane · July 2, 2015 3:34AM

Back in 65 or 66, I discovered that my lunch money - the princely sum of 35c - included a SLQ. Now she was dateless or nearly so, and the imagination of my 7 yr old mind had me convinced that she was a 1916. Had to skip the hot dog lunch that day. My closest encounter to a key date in change.

cladking · July 2, 2015 4:20AM

On another board someone reported finding a 1982 NMM dime recently.

I've seen hundreds of reports of rare and valuable finds in the last several years but
I've never found much beyond a '50-D VF 5c back in 1964 that was worth the equivalent
in today's money of about $280. I sold it immediately. In those days valuable coins were
almost never seen in circulation and those that were no longer have so much of a premium.

joeykoins · July 3, 2015 1:39AM

This dumbfounds me. In the near two weeks I started this thread, not even a handful of forum members has ever found a "key" coin in all their years of collecting! This is amazing when you think of all the coins we (forum) have sifted through. Sure, I realize not ALL members are replying but still. Most people stated they have not caught a major key in circulation, including myself. Now were not talking recent were talking nearly 50 to 60 years of searching. To me, this is hard to believe. Esp. in the early years of the '55 double die. Where are all these keys and why do you think we can't seem to snatch up one of these? Oh well.

Recent "Key" finds?

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Recent &quot;Key&quot; finds?

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Recent "Key" finds?