How long does it take....

milbroco

How long does it take you to go through a roll of coins? Do you have a system to help it go faster? Let's say you buy a roll of pennies to search. How long is it before you are done. Do you have the coins face up with the date and look at the date first, then eliminating say half the coins because those dates do not have varieties.? Then what is your process? I have been through several rolls and then have to review them again when I realize a variety I did not look for.
How long do you look at each individual coin?
Any advice that can help me cut down my time would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob

ifthevamzarockin

"How long does it take you to go through a roll of coins?"

It depends on the denomination and what you are looking for. (silver or varieties)

"Do you have a system to help it go faster?"
"and look at the date first, then eliminating say half the coins because those dates do not have varieties."

Yes, I usually do a quick scan for dates I want to look at closer.

"Let's say you buy a roll of pennies to search. How long is it before you are done."

I don't know that I have ever timed it but I would guess about 5 minutes after inspecting better dates for varieties.

"How long do you look at each individual coin?"

A very short time, it doesn't take long to spot a variety if it is there. Maybe 3 to 5 seconds per coin.

"Any advice that can help me cut down my time would be appreciated."

Speed comes with a lot of practice, the more you do it the faster you become.
Don't spend too much time on one coin, put it aside if you need to spend more time on it.

ricko

A lot depends on what type of coins I am looking at.... Half dollars go faster than dimes... nickels are faster than cents. Average time is five to seven minutes a roll of coins. Cheers, RickO

milbroco

OK Thanks for the comments. I think what I will try is setting them heads up and look at the dates. I will have a list of dates to keep in mind like the dates with close and wide AM's, 1984 double ear....etc on the pennies and check all mint marks for possible doubling. I can spot silver like most everyone else here but I will look at quarters the same way as pennies.
Thanks for the comments gentlemen.
Bob

OAKSTAR

For me, there's no reason to rush or go fast. Take your time. I have a list of significant dates, varieties and errors to look for. Plus, looking for anything else that's unusual. I first separate the coins by dates. Then I go back and examine and look for all the possible anomalies associated with that date. I throw the minor die chips, MD, die cracks and struck thru stuff back.

jesbroken

As said in the first post reply by @ifthevamzarockin, it totally depends on what you are looking for. Some a quick one second glance and others may take up to 10 or so seconds, especially if you are looking at several different diagnostics. Some even have 1-3 sets of diagnostics you are looking for. Like some of the newbies, if you look at each coin under a microscope, good luck no measure of time for an average. Eyes are the quickest, if good enough. Knowing exactly what you are looking for is the most important factor, you cannot go back and forth to a book or a screen for each coin. There is no way I can tell you how long it takes you to do something, only you can arrive at that estimate. Yes, I would say that aligning the roll heads up or tails up with the number of coins to fit your situation would be the fastest way. I knew a friend once who dumped the roll on a table top, Smoothed the pile flat, then took a photo checked for the head diagnostics, removed any that qualified, then viewed the tails up photo and again removed any that qualified. Flipped all that were left, photographed again, repeated and placed remainder in roll tube. He claimed he could do a roll in wll under 10 minutes until the moderns had so many varieties he quit doing it that way. I have searched hundreds of rolls and never developed a way that seemed worthy of following each time. Good luck. Sorry for the lengthy reply.
Jim