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Advice for new cherrypicker
Rob9874
Posts: 315 ✭✭✭✭
After avoiding the effort of the education my entire collecting life, I'm excited to learn all I can about cherrypicking and give it a go. Maybe flip some nice finds to fund my hobby. I know where to start, and have invested in some not-so-cheap books on various series. My question is, in 2022, which coins are likely picked clean? I just bought a new book on early copper attributes by Thomas Walker. Then I read a thread on here from 2004 saying early copper and bust halves have been picked clean.
Is that the consensus in your experience? There's so much to learn, and I'm willing to put in the work, but not on a series that there's nothing left.
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I am not sure if there is really much money to be made, but it can be fun to search and find die varieties.
Possibly the best way to make money on this topic is to sell books? But I'm not sure about that, either!
You could ask @Aspie_Rocco - he has shown some of his finds.
I think most are fairly modern.
You can see many of them in threads he has started:
https://forums.collectors.com/profile/discussions/Aspie_Rocco
I'm not looking to get rich. But it sounds fun to cherry pick junk boxes and find $25-$50 coins.
I love...
'In.
Three main denominations. At least, my opinion.
Cents- Indian/Lincolns
Quarters - Washington's
Halves - Kennedys/Franklins
If I had to choose? It would have to be the Washington Quarters!
Many, many varieties.
Very popular:
1952 proof Quarter "Superbird"
Too many to list.
Books are the key to know what to pick.
Good Luck, my friend.
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.This might sound brutal, but if you plan on cherrypicking coins to fund your hobby then I would just tell you to quit the venture entirely or fund it a different way.
In my experience, the vast amount of what folks call cherrypicking is directed toward minutia that has a very thin collector base and that collector base doesn't like to spend the funds to purchase coins. If, on the other hand, you mean to find well known varieties from popular series, then these can be sold for value, but you will also have nearly everyone else in the pool with you and the pool will have been populated for decades already.
If what I wrote doesn't sound pretty, well, it's because it isn't. Good luck and no doubt there will be someone else to post shortly to tell you how I am wrong and how they (or someone they know or someone they read about) has made terrific scores using your strategy. They are the outliers.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
You can use NGC VarietyPlus for a pictorial of just about all early die marriages and Cherrypicker's Guide Varieties: https://www.ngccoin.com/variety-plus/united-states/
I wouldn't say anything has been "picked clean". Hell, not even bulk wheat cents have been "picked clean" - I have found every date in bulk wheats except 1909-S NO VDB, 1914-D, and 1924-D. Just need to know how to source juicy ones (which in my case meant finding an LCS that did). People cherrypick early copper and bust halves all the time but you're not going to be cherrypicking a major dealer. Some dealers who may have a few early coppers or bust halves in their inventory but just don't have the time or expertise to identify each one by die marriage, and you can score here. In addition unattributed rare ones show up on Ebay on occasion, gotta catch em before someone else does.
"You can't get just one gun." "You can't get just one tattoo." "You can't get just one 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent."
I expected nothing less than a "dumb idea" response from you, Tom.
Previous responses to an idea of mine:
Cherrypicking requires quite a bit of personal discipline. A lot of us, including the best pickers around, have learned costly lessons going overboard (buying too much) and in seeing things we wished were on some coins. The OCD that is common among collectors makes many of us prone to get things out of hand even if starting out with a sound plan.
But I would suggest either just ignoring the herd and doing varieties few others are (also limits potential premium resell potential) or doing series you actually like. I, and many others, would caution trying to make money in coins period. There are some great varieties, not all are appreciated with a broad collector community and easy sales with healthy premiums, no matter how much they might seem to deserve.
If you want to do junk bins, then ask, "What is in typical junk bins?" Maybe tokens could be fun. Popular series tend to be picked over by others if not exhaustively prescreened by the selling dealers.
Appreciate the feedback everyone. I think the intent of my question got lost when I mentioned "fund my hobby". Getting a lot of advice to not get into cherrypicking for profit. So let's forget the flipping aspect. I don't need the money. I'm going to learn about cherrypicking regardless. I'm excited about spending the summer delving into a new aspect of the hobby for me. I know there is a considerable time investment learning enough to be somewhat knowledgable. I'm asking if I'm wasting my time spending a considerable amount of effort learning about die varieties of early copper or bust halves, if finding anything is next to impossible.
Thanks to @joeykoins for answering my question. I do like Washington Quarters, and have a graded RPM already.
Buffalo Nickels are a very fun series to collect by variety. Check out the abraded dies (two feathers, 3 1/2 legged Buffaloes, etc.) in addition to the typical RPMs, doubled dies, and whatever else.
These are very popular varieties and are bringing strong prices. As a result they are also getting harder and harder to cherrypick on ebay but there are still plenty of dealers unfamiliar with these varieties and you can take advantage of that. You will probably have better luck finding them at shops and shows. Also learning how to grade the teens/twenties mintmarked Buffaloes with very weak strikes can land you some cherrypicking opportunities as Buffalo Nickels are quite difficult to grade and some dealers mistake weak strikes for wear.
If you want stuff generally less picked over... look at Indian Head Cents or Seated coinage which are both an absolute blast to collect by die variety.
"You can't get just one gun." "You can't get just one tattoo." "You can't get just one 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent."
I have an early start on IHC varieties. I needed an 1864 IHC for my 1st year type set, and bought a PCGS MS64BN at a show. Got home and realized it's the RPD variety, which is worth double what I paid. It's currently in our host's hands getting reslabbed with the variety notated. Fun indeed!
Best way to cherry pick is to be lucky, or in the right place at the right time. I don't think there is such a thing as a series being "picked clean", there's always deals to be had if you look hard enough.
Collector, occasional seller
These less than encouraging posts from well-respected members here are both surprising and wonderful to read. They help ensure the future of cherry-picking will remain productive for those who know their varieties well. I just started variety collecting a year ago and I can conservatively foresee making $500-$1000 per year on select varieties. It takes putting in the effort to educate oneself well, developing a good eye for recognizing them, and some diligence.
Send me $100 and I'll let you know my secrets.
I am not sure what you collect, but those are the series you should focus on while looking for coins for your collection.
Excellent post, though I have to disagree with you about junk bins a bit. Maybe junk bins aren't what they used to be, but I've had lots of fun finding coins worth 5X, 10X, and even 100X (and a "You suck" award) hunting through junk bins 30 years ago. The hardest part about searching junk bins was getting the coins you find past the dealer. Look for an assistant when you find something juicy and have them ring up the coin.
Alright Joey, made me look!! I had to look up the Superbird variety....I never heard of it. I guess I need to get a varieties book-see @Rob9874 that is good advice, a great way to learn.
Some Superman fan in 1952 put an S on the Eagle's chest and a few, around 15,000 were minted that way. Only appearing on the '52 Proof Quarters...a fun coin to cherrypick for. Good luck.
I found an 1878 S long nock in a junk bin many years ago. Cost me $8. I brought it to a coin show a couple months later and traded it to a dealer there for a $20 Saint Gaudens. Sold the St. Gaudens to another dealer at the show for $570. Some money can be made 🍒 picking, but tough to find the good ones.
Successful BST with ad4400, Kccoin, lablover, pointfivezero, koynekwest, jwitten, coin22lover, HalfDimeDude, erwindoc, jyzskowsi, COINS MAKE CENTS, AlanSki, BryceM
First, find a series or a few to focus on. Evaluate what has resale value and what has personal appeal to you and proceed accordingly. Over the years I have learned a few good lessons regarding cherry picking.
One good lesson is that Cherry pickers are sometimes not appreciated or even openly disliked. Some dealers do not mind, some do not want to waste their time with a picker, and some dealers hate the idea of someone picking over their inventory. So beware of these possibilities from the start.
Ebay is a great source for picking, although photos can be downright abysmal to impossible at times. Owning a few varieties to start is a big help. If you can examine good pics and terrible pics of known varieties it helps. Learn what varieties look like in bad pics so you can spot them online or in person.
Be patient. There are weeks (or longer) when I find nothing and then there are days or weeks when I find several to too many. Have a spending plan or a cash reserve to fund your picks. Also, never flood the market if you find a variety in quantity (it depresses prices)
Picking is a lot like gambling so be cautious. Be prepared for mistakes and tuition. This month I have picked around seven FS# cherry picker varieties and a few minor ones. I have also picked 4 coins that were NOT what I thought from photos.
I will write more when I have time later today or tomorrow.
Best of luck Hunting;
Rocco
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/publishedset.aspx?s=142753
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
Hey howdy. Here’s how we figured out a bunch of stuff 😉🦫🙀
🎶 shout shout, let it all out 🎶
Learn the varieties actually worth a crap and get into the habit of checking every coin you see for those dates.
IE; I look closely at every 1942 and 1946 walker I see. 1888 Indian Head Cents, 1888-O Morgans. ect.
Professional Numismatist. "It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
Cherrypicking can be rewarding, if you use your knowledge to your benefit.
A quick check of my records shows that I was able to 'cherrypick' #11 1864 L Indian head cents as No L's over the years, one graded as high as VF.
In addition, some Lincoln cents:
1) from Ebay: a 1909 S, sold as AU, now in an MS 63, RB holder, s over horizontal S
2) From a coin shop: a 1909 S Lincoln, now in an NGC F-12 1909 S VDB holder.
many others.
Yes, you can profit from your finds, but it takes time and patience + knowledge.
Like the 5 Barber dimes: 1905 O micro O's in grades from G to AU-50
BHNC #203
There are dealer shops that don't want to be bothered searching through a lot of the stuff they get, so you may get lucky with some. One dealer I know did not even bother to look up an 1823 "ugly" 3 variety and I bought it for common money. But such dumb luck is not common.
Good advice from @TomB and @Aspie_Rocco ... If you are going in this direction, get the CPG - both volumes.... It will help. Cheers, RickO
@TomB
Good post, I agree with almost all of it. However, the major varieties aren’t as picked over as one would think. You can find immensely popular varieties pretty easily in my experience. These aren’t doubled dies, however. I’m not going to tell you what I’m picking though
.
Coins in DCAM are an excellent way to cherry-pick as well, no one seems to be going for them and they bring strong prices.
But yes, if you’re trying to pick doubling or varieties that are not major, you’re not going to be making much. The collectors of those already know how to pick them.
Coin Photographer.
There's one popular variety that is so common that I told the club guys at Summer FUN I could find a roll of them in a year. Other cherrypickers swarm over them as well. I stopped at 8 cherried coins in 8 months, including a VG8 coin in an ICG holder, and passed on many others that had been discovered and bid up by other cherry pickers.
I even broke the cherrypicker's code and told a seller what he had. I didn't care much for the coin so I did it to test the market through this seller. He changed the auction, increased the price by 150%, and it sold in a few days.
BIN is the cherrypicker's best friend.
One more thing...Vegan is an old Indian word for "bad hunter". Are you cherrypicking pessimists by any chance vegans?
(Turns and runs...)
I started and funded my whole coin business based on cherry picking modern coins.
It can be done, it is a tremendous amount of work tho.
Learning how to grade goes hand in hand with successful "cherrypicking". With a plethora of info out there on "coinfacts" I think the opportunity to ramp up the grading learning curve is somewhat easier, but you still need to spend a lot of time on research and gain actual experinece with grading coins in-hand.
This forum is a great learning resource as well, so take advantage of it!
Got them both! Plus great books on bust halves, half dimes, Morgan & Peace, early copper. I'm ready to study!
That's awesome! Love it!
That's what I suspect the motivation is.
Encouraging stories, thanks!
Looking forward to it! Appreciate the thorough response.
Noting those down!
Encouraging to hear, thanks! And I do not underestimate the effort involved.
Thanks, I plan to. Appreciate all the advice.
About cherry picking in junk bins.
On two separate occasions at the same shop. I picked 2 gems for cheap money.
One, was a beautiful 1920s FB Mercury. With a little luster to boot. For only $5.
It turned out to be cleaned. Determined by PCGS. You may know the story about this one? The "Clean detailing" baffles me and my dealer friend. Oh well, still an awesome pick for $5.
Then, there was another pick from the bin (at the same shop, different time) in the junk silver $ bin.
I saw lurking in the pile a fantastic 1891cc Morgan Dollar. Yes, A CC! All dollars in the bin were priced for $25.
Yep, I know even the CC. Sure it had two issues. One a rim ding and some strange hit in the field. Other than that, it was gorgeous. Esp for only $25.
I'll post some pictures later, thanks.
Just remembered. Two Walker halves. I found. One bin was for $50.
Where I found a spectacular toned Walker.
Then, in the $25 bin.
I picked a 1942p DDR. Both of these Walkers, I guess, weren't in junk silver bins but still great Cherry picks for the prices!
So keep picking in those junk bins.
1939d
for $50
1942p DDR
for $25
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.Absolutely agree with you. I started cherrypicking about 27 years ago, and the first thing I did was purchase a copy of the Cherrypicker’s Guide to Rare Die Varieties. The preface is an invaluable tool for the beginner learning what die varieties are and how they are produced. As far as varieties being picked clean…no, there are plenty out there waiting to be found, even certified coins that are not attributed. It might not happen on a frequent basis, but just 2 weeks ago I picked an 1867 with Rays Shield Nickel Repunched Date FS-301 slabbed by NGC as an AU55. Unattributed in the holder. Very rare variety. Value….I’d say an easy $3500. Beautiful coin in a very early die state (no die cracks). Being at the right spot at the right time helps a lot too. Keep a keen eye out for anything at all times. Learn about all the different varieties listed in the CPG. You never know when you’re going to hit pay dirt. Good luck and happy hunting!
Cherry picking is for collectors, not flippers.
This variety, which I mentioned in my last post, is listed in the CPG, and more info can be found at shieldnickels.net, an excellent website created by Howard Spindel, dedicated to Shield Nickels and the many varieties that can be found in the series.
I'm not implying that these members are trying to discourage others from cherrypicking for selfish reasons. Likely they have found success down other cherry-picking avenues to take in the coin universe. For example by developing their grading skills (perhaps the best way to make money in coins, IMO), researching the market for underpriced coins for their availability, searching for particularly choice examples that are underpriced, etc. Some have patience and a terrific eye for nice coins. In other words, they've found more success in other aspects of the hobby rather than working the coin mines hard to find scarce varieties.
My first significant pick came 25 years ago when I just started looking for varieties. I was at a local coin shop and the dealer had a really nice 1883 Shield Nickel in his display case. It was an easy AU58, a highly lustrous coin that wasn’t tampered with (not cleaned). The price on it was a measly $40. So I figured I’d take a closer look, but at that point I realized I forgot my loupe at home. Dang it! I gotta take a look anyway. Viewing it with just the naked eye, I could see something at the date but I wasn’t sure. For forty bucks I figured if it wasn’t an overdate at least I got a really nice coin anyway. Couldn’t get home fast enough. The suspense was building. Got in the door and made a beeline for my magnifier. And sure enough there it was. An early die state, with no die cracks, die #2 1883/2. I was ecstatic, jumping around, with my fiancé laughing at me every moment of the way. I couldn’t help but start laughing myself! Turned out to be a $1200 coin. For 40 bucks! Today’s value is significantly higher, especially with it being a very early die state, but I no longer have it. Over the years I have regretted parting ways with it, but I did trade it for a rather nice 1913-S Barber Quarter.
My cherry picking involves looking through proof and SMS sets and singles from 1936-1970 for Cameo coins, major varieties and eye appealing toned coins.
You have to devote a lot of time and effort looking through these sets and singles to find coins worth cherry picking. When you find one, many times you can purchase it for modest money. If you then have it graded and it grades well, you can keep it in your collection or sell it for much more than you paid for it.
My best cherry pick is a 1961 proof set in OGP that I paid $25.00 for in 2011. I bought the set because the half dollar had frosted devices and mirrored fields. When I got home and looked at the coins in the set closely with a loupe I realized that the half dollar was the Big DDR. Last year I had that coin graded by PCGS.
It came back graded PF67.
Awesome! Would love to find one of those. Very rare coin indeed👌
Dude,
Every pickers dream!
Congratulations
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.To add more info;
Get acquainted with CoinFacts images and how to search the varieties. To get an idea of pricing and value become familiar with searching auction house results and ebay results for completed and sold listings.
Get a good loupe, lighting, variety references, and maybe even a dissection microscope 🔬 if you really want to get close to the coins. After the eye and the loupe I use a 10x-30x binocular dissecting microscope for final verification of varieties, diagnostic marks, and close up photos.
Start viewing as many attributed varieties as you can online and in person. Check out
Variety Vista for modern varieties http://www.varietyvista.com/
Build a relationship with your local coin shop and carefully feel out their interest/opinion on varieties. One distant shop I know does not care about varieties at all and sells all coins as normal regardless. The newest local shop near me is quite openly against cherry picking and is very unpleasant (I no longer go there at all). My favorite local shop is fine with picking but wants to know why I buy what I buy and closely examine everything I buy. I respect and appreciate that shop and it is the only place I go in person anymore.
Do a lot of research and comparisons before buying, like a whole lot!
Decide in advance what kind of buyer you will be when it comes to mistakes. Will you keep your mistakes as tuition? Will you return them when possible?
I prefer to keep most of my mistakes and on the rare occasions I actually return a coin, I pay return shipping AND slip some cash in the package for the seller. I do return coins that are not what I ordered (swapped) or when the seller hides problems in photos. In those situations I usually pay return shipping but no cash is included.
Decide if you will focus on picking raw coins or graded coins. I prefer to buy only material already graded by PCGS. I only buy raw/NGC/ANACS/ICG under rare or extreme circumstances. I do it this way because I only want PCGS material in my collection and grading fees can add up quickly (as well as coins coming back “Details/cleaned” anything not straight graded.)
Find someone trustworthy to get opinions from and guidance. By trustworthy I mean someone who will not buy a coin out from under you and who will give you an honest opinion. There are several good folks in this community like this whom are diamonds in the rough.
Remember that not everyone has an eye for varieties and some well respected folks will not always see the specialness or details of some varieties. Try not to let negative responses or insults bring you down or diminish your enthusiasm.
Beware of wishful thinking and excessive imagination when viewing coins. Your eyes can and will play tricks on you at times.
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/publishedset.aspx?s=142753
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
Occasionally I'll share my favorite cherrypicking story, but today won't be that day.
Professional Numismatist. "It's like God, Family, Country, except Sticker, Plastic, Coin."
Great advice here but it doesn’t work for me just yet. Between my business, family, kids theatre, karate, baseball, and my golf twice a month I barely have enough time to eat and sleep.
So the little time I do spend reading is here. Which I enjoy 😉
I must be in that time frame that you described (entire collecting life).
When on the hunt and looking to score I avoid dealers and coin shops as much as possible assuming that they know and understand their own stock for crying out loud. I prefer to take the road less traveled to find proof sets, mint sets, original bank rolls, and after market coin souvenir sets etc.
stuff the old-timers collected before the variety was even discovered and before grading was even a thing.
Like most I’m probably upside down and I don’t really care to count. After all it’s about the journey not the destination right.
Thanks @Aspie_Rocco. Appreciate the time you took to provide the helpful advice.
These are my suggestions for DM hunting. This is how I've approached SLH DM hunting and it's fun and productive in terms of landing scarce DM's.
1) Pick a series with a diversity of die varieties to work on - Draped and Capped Bust halves are classic series for variety collectors. Seated coins also have a lot of die marriages to play with, and more scarce and rare DM's (R5-R8) at the moment.
2) Pick a series where good references have recently been published. - For example, Wiley & Bugert (1992) and Bill Bugert's registers of die marriages are nice references, and they have opened the Seated Liberty half dollar series up to variety & DM collecting.
3) Within your chosen series, find dates/mms that have an abundance of scarce varieties. For example, New Orleans half dollars minted in 1840 consist of 14 known varieties, 8 of which are considered to be R5 or above, and two common varieties have rare collar die states. Therefore, rare varieties should turn up often simply because of the sheer numbers of these rare varieties.
At the moment, only three 1840-O varieties consistently carry a significant premium that I'm aware of: the two no-mintmark DM's (WB4 & 12) and the baseball die-crack reverse (WB9). However, there's good potential for a DM premium if the coin is billed as a rare DM. I anticipate these R5 and R6 DM's will develop a premium as Seated Liberty DM collecting grows. Oddly enough, the expensive WB4 is actually quite common (R3).
4) Learn how to recognize these varieties for that date in a wide range of grades. That means practically memorizing the reference for these DMs and even noting other markers not mentioned. For example, one can identify 74-S obverses by their arrow positions, a character not mentioned in Bugert (2009).
5) I reduce Bugert's info for 40-Os into key character states to look for to find rare DMs: weak date, large O only, O far left, narrow wingtips, large recut obverse dentils, large die cracks through D(OL) or mm.
6) Now test your knowledge against every 1840-O on eBay or on every 40-O in Heritage Auction's archives or CoinFacts. Practice, practice, practice . . . . And you'll be surprised I think at how efficient you'll become and what you'll find. For instance, there have been three WB13s (R5) on eBay at the same time most of this Spring and several other rare DMs were available as well.
Collectors like large numbers and sizes of die breaks, so grab a few of those as well if you want to sell varieties. The 1840-O WB10 and WB11 have cool dramatic die breaks on the reverse. I just went nuts bidding for a 1843 WB27 (R3) because of its extensive die breaks. This late die state example has more die breaks than Bugert's example & illustration (Bugert 2016: Page 173).
7) Now find another interesting date/mm with lots of scarse DM's. Don't be surprised if you find a new die marriage along the way.
If you want to go after the current popular die varieties that command a strong premium, then do that. For many rare DMs, they're now difficult to find but there are some that are surprisingly common. I think you'll find a good way to get these without other cherrypickers pushing up the price is to check for BINs often. And when you see a rare one you need as a BIN or best offer, hit the BIN if it's close to reasonably priced. From my experience, if you try negotiating with the seller, other cherrypickers will take it out from under you for the BIN price. That sucks when you lose an R7.
I have one big bit of advice that I neglected to share:
Be prepared to find nothing for months on end. Today and yesterday I must have looked at upwards of 2,000 eBay listings and I found: nothing.
I have found some great coins, but a certain variety can take a while to find. I know cherrypickers that look for years to find a variety and still never do. It's just the name of the game. Don't ever give up, just keep looking. The best pickers simply look at the most coins.
Coin Photographer.
My best find was a 1798/7 16-stars dime that had someone's initials engraved on the planed-off obverse. I paid about $2 for it, passed it along to someone here with eclectic tastes including love tokens, and it sold at auction for about $160. I had offers for it as high as $200 years ago as well. Other finds were S/D and D/S Jefferson nickels, grade cherries, nice G-F large cents, nice problem-free bust dimes for $3, and almost an entire set of Canadian large cents for 50-75 cents each 40 years ago. I don't go to many shows these days, and I'm certainly not going to go "junk boxing" at a FUN show.
TomB is an outstanding contributor here and has one of the best eyes on this board for great coins. He's cherry-picked his share of great coins for good value. His articles on Barber halves were terrific and his taste for circulated coins served as a model for my collecting. IMO, one would be foolish to dismiss his comments on coins, even if they're not to your liking. I disagree with his comments here a bit because I've found a few good 'niches' for cherrypicking that can generate income for collecting.
Oh, I was just giving him a hard time. He deflates my enthusiasm from time to time, but I do value his opinion.
@Barberian You lost me at “These are my suggestions” holy crap can you imagine the petrified look on my wife’s face if I repeated some of what you just said?!
Just the other day I tried to tell her about the 1963 proof DDR FS-802 Washington quarter that I found and she looked at me like I was some kind of alien. Then I said it might go 68 and she said, “I thought you said 63”
Damn, I got a Long way to go
Yes. This can't be understated. All but the smallest dealers are satisfied if they can buy a coin for 20c and sell it for 30c without too much trouble, They're just not going to inspect 1000 of those coins under a microscope to see if one might be worth $5 (or $5000) instead of 30c. Dealers make their livings on flips, and this kind of find is good marketing for them. If it's well known that you can find $5 (or $5000) in ABC Coin's 30cent box, it'll sell out quickly, and be clear that ABC isn't paying anything extra for the "picks". Just too busy creating turnover to chase every possible nickel. Clear?
Memorizing the characteristics are key. If you're sitting at a dealers table and keep pulling out your copy of cherry pickers or pulling up references on your phone, you may be asked to leave. At best, the dealer may feel you're taking up space that could be used by paying customers, and at worst, dislikes the idea of being cherry picked.
Yes. I emphasize distilling DM information down to a few key characteristics and gave an example for 1840-Os above. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds to determine whether it's a rare (>R4) DM. IMO, one should do their homework and stick to those rare DMs they know like the back of their hand when attending a show.
Topics are best learned when one puts work into them. Those who use highlighters as a tool get the worst grades. For example, create a flow chart such as the one below for 1840-O halves.
Obverse: w/ large dentils or weak date ---Yes--> KEEP (WB1, WB8, WB9)
No
Reverse: w/ small O ---Yes--> Reject
No
Large O far to the left* ---Yes--> KEEP (WB6)...also WB8 & WB9
No
DIe crack thru either D(OL), or mintmark, or zigzag near arrows ---Yes -->KEEP (WB2, WB3, WB13)
No
Mintmark above and "contained within" F of HALF**---Yes-->KEEP (WB14)...also WB13
** ---the MM is "contained" within vertical lines extending from the left and right sides of the F in HALF. The WB14 comes darn close to the right line but does not extend past it as the WB5 does.
Reduce further to
ODD - obverse: date, dentils
far left
"contained"
DMZ die cracks - D in DOL, M=mm, Z as in zigzag die cracks near arrows
The odd far left was contained in the DMZ." - The characters for distinguishing all 8 R5 and R6 die marriages in one easy mnemonic sentence to remember.
With practice, you won't even need this because you've studied the DMs and know them so well that it'll be automatic for you. The more time and effort (such as what's shown here) one puts into learning these varieties, or any subject matter, the easier it is to recognize rare DMs when at shows. This hobby rewards study and effort, whatever that reward is that one seeks.
Now if I could only improve my grading ability! I've learned a lot here but that takes mentorship and/or commentary from others with coins in hand.