What to hunt for??

TheGrandRapidian

I primarily collect nationals and i'm also slowly and carefully putting together a few type sets. Specializing in nationals obviously consumes most of my time but like many of you I like to browse coins shops and local shows looking for good deals. Because I don't have expertise in the rare FRN's, SC's, etc I'm curious, Has anyone put together a list of items they look for when searching? Things i'm thinking of are rarities that go unnoticed by the uninformed (this includes me). For example, inverted stars, certain plate numbers, rare series, etc. I'd like to get some ideas of notes to look out for and who's knows, these are notes i don't particularity collect but i'd love the idea of rescuing a note from a coin shop pile and helping put it in someone else's collection.
Feel free to share your ideas

gnat

Sounds like you have a good general idea of what you should be looking for. Pull out your S/L and make note of the late finished plates and wide and narrow varieties on $5 and $10 1934C FRNs, etc. Some note varieties are easier to look for than others: 1934A $5 SC 307 face plate which only are found on the KA block. Some others require knowing plate number ranges such as $5 SC 1934C narrows, 1934C $10 FRN narrows (only found on KC district). A cheat sheet may be helpful or notes on your smart phone. Except for 204 backs and 1928 inverted stars, there are fewer desirable varieties on $20s. Hawaii $20 204 backs are more common than the FRNs, except the 1934 plain 204 Hawaii is a significant rarity.

Tookybandit

Welcome to the club! It's a lot of fun collecting small size varieties.