Which items are easier to cherry pick than others??

atarian

Outside of time and time and more time what is the easiest to pick out and what else do you need besides studying the book to know how to do this productively. I have a hard time knowing DDO from MDD and RPM from MDDs ( even pre 1990) .

frnklnlvr

On Ebay, I find it's easier to cherrypick varieties by using die markers such as die scracthes, polish, cracks, breaks, etc., because with most of the pics it's impossible to really see the doubling or RPM. Of course for this you would need to already be familiar with the variety.

WaterSport

Well, I guess you need to ask “why” you want these coins. As discussed in an earlier thread, some do it for the hunt as they want as many varieties as they can fined. Others are filling holes, and others do it to fill their pockets.

Obviously some coins are easier to spot than others. And some are worth a lot more than others. Some you can ID even in a crappy picture. But some dates I have bought multiple times over only to have the coin in hand asking myself, “what the heck was I thinking.”

Time is your greatest asset. I probably spend 1-2 hours a day on the electronic search, and it takes me 3+ at small shows. I would suggest to look for just 2-3 easy to spot coins and develop the visual impression for those coins and then move on to the next. It’s like looking for shark teeth on the beach. Once you find a couple, they begin to get easier to “see”.

No one here is going to tell you their search locations, or specific coins they are searching for. But lest face it, we all search Ebay. But the majority of the pictures leave a lot to be desired. And some coins are still nearly impossible to see even in the best of photographs. A good example is a die DDR #4 1955 proof . Those I save for the shows.

WS

seanq

<< <i>Well, I guess you need to ask “why” you want these coins. As discussed in an earlier thread, some do it for the hunt as they want as many varieties as they can fined. Others are filling holes, and others do it to fill their pockets.

Obviously some coins are easier to spot than others. And some are worth a lot more than others. Some you can ID even in a crappy picture. But some dates I have bought multiple times over only to have the coin in hand asking myself, “what the heck was I thinking.”

Time is your greatest asset. I probably spend 1-2 hours a day on the electronic search, and it takes me 3+ at small shows. I would suggest to look for just 2-3 easy to spot coins and develop the visual impression for those coins and then move on to the next. It’s like looking for shark teeth on the beach. Once you find a couple, they begin to get easier to “see”.

No one here is going to tell you their search locations, or specific coins they are searching for. But lest face it, we all search Ebay. But the majority of the pictures leave a lot to be desired. And some coins are still nearly impossible to see even in the best of photographs. A good example is a die DDR #4 1955 proof . Those I save for the shows.

WS >>




Thank you for taking the time to write the post I would have written. Excellent advice all the way around.

There are some varieties that are easy to see even in bad pictures (two feather Buffalo nickels, as one example), and others which you can train your eye to spot. But then there are others that you need a loupe and the coin in hand to attribute. I wish I could get to more shows but until that changes, I've had some success and a lot of fun cherrypicking eBay.

There's no shortcut for the knowledge you gain from looking at a lot of coins and studying a lot of pictures. It also helps to commit common pick-up points or PUPs to memory, especially as you start to expand your reach.


Sean Reynolds

ressikanflute

I was struggling mightily with Vams... still do.

When I bought Elite clashed Morgans book, it made me look at the trees instead of the forest.

These PUPS are roughtly identical and BAM... now I'm trained to look for them first. Still miss the vast majority, but it's coming along.

Same with a few cracks and such with Peace Dollars.

I have a fun time with Ike's looking for Peg Legs, always something I can score with and a mistake doesn't cost much more than a ham biscuit.

Moving into IHC's full bore... we'll see how that comes along in the next few months.

atarian

Im looking through boxes of pennies to help yield my learning curve on lincolns. I got my cherry pickers guide next to me with my 16x loop. Im trying to focus on the 83-00 variations. training myself what to look for. ( im just worried im gonna question myself if i find something similar to what i want to find) thus all the posts ive been posting lately on 70S and 89 D/D that was a machine doubling

cladking

If you want to fish the easiest way is to get a shotgun and find
a barrel of fish. Sure you can look for a superb gem '79-d dime
in rolls or a '70-S sm dt cent in circulation but you can wear your-
self out just trying to find any clad dime roll and you'll wear out
three sets of eyes looking for a sm dt in circulation.

More than 10% of '70-S cents in mint sets is a sm dt and about
2% of '79-D dimes in mint sets is a superb gem. Don't look for
a '76-D DDO quarter in mint sets though because it's a waste of
time; there are none. These are best sought in the numerous
rolls that were set aside or in circulation; go with the rolls.

Maybe it's a little like bird watching. If you want to see a yellow
bellied sapsucker you don't go to Vermont.

Like the birds a lot of the gems and varieties do get bunched up
in various parts of the country because of the way coins are made
and released or sold by the mint. Knowing where these coins ap-
pear is some help in locating them but the biggest thing is always
going to be the ability to recognize them when you see them. Hav-
ing seen them before is an excellent way to spot them but a picture
can be good enough.

I think many collectors make a mistake using high powered glasses
to check coins. They will catch a lot more varieties but many of them
will be minor ones with limited interest. The best are the naked eye
ones but using a wide field 3x glass won't slow you down much and
will help in spotting more subtle varieties.

Happy hunting.

UtahCoin

I'd say Capped Bust Half Dimes.