Expert: Ronald Fern - 2/26/2010

Question
My little boy and husband "collect" coins, paper currency, etc. but they are all circulated...I bought the R.S. Yeomen book but honestly dont have time to "read" in depth with four children. My son is really into the "treasure" hunting of old stuff and we are wondering if you can guide us on what they should be looking for in circulated coins or is it not of value once it is in circulation? He also has mexican peso's that are no longer in print (like 70 or 80's) guess they change every so often - are they worth anything? The bank can not exchange them once a new dictator/president changes the form.....any info would be greatly appreciated....my 8 yr old just loves "treasure hunting". ha ha

Answer
Hi Brenda:

Thanks for asking me to answer your question.

There are few collectible coins that can be found in circulation. World coins are also very limited in finding what you call "treasure" pieces. Mexican pesos are virtually worthless. I have lots of them from the early 1980's that are not worth the value of the metal they are made from.

With that said, your husband and son should be on the look out for silver coins. The U.S. mint made coins struck of 90% silver (dimes through halves) up to 1964. See this link for silver value of the coins:  http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html  If you have local banks that offer rolls of coins, it is an inexpensive way to purchase a few of them and go through them looking for silver. People save coins and pass away. Often times relatives don't want to bother with going through the trouble of investigating what things are worth, or they don't know. Occasionally, silver coins end up in the rolls turned into the banks. After you look at them, re-roll them and turn them back into the bank.

I personally like a specialized area of coin collecting, errors. You can find errors in circulation. There is a great book called "Striking It Rich with Pocket Change". See: http://catalog.ebay.com/Strike-Rich-Pocket-Change-Brian-Allen-Ken-Potter-2006-Pa...  
There are even a few "special" coins worth looking for, like the famous 1955P doubled die cent, or the 1936P doubled die cent. I found one in a roll I purchased on eBay, and it has a retail value of about $50. I got the roll for $3.00.

There is a national club devoted to errors. See: http://www.conecaonline.org/ There is a lot of valuable information to be viewed. There are many doubled dies to be found on the Lincoln cent "Rail Splitter" coins struck in 2009. Some are worth a dollar, and others worth up to around $25. See: http://varietyvista.com/DDRs%202009P%20FY%20cent%20(1-21).htm

Another area to consider would be to purchase unsearched rolls of wheat Lincoln Cents (1909-1958). Try purchasing a Lincoln Cent Album for a few dollars, and go through the rolls looking for different date and mintmarks. You can usually buy rolls of fifty coins for about $4 to $5 each. A number of collectors start with Lincoln Cents, due to the large quantity struck. Most are not scarce prior to the 1930's, but they are fun and relatively inexpensive to collect.

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I hope I've answered your questions. Thank You and Good Luck in supporting your husband and son in their collecting.