I'm Back With News of Silver, Pennies, and Nickels

Ok I'm back after too long of a break from the blog.  I'll try to be around more and post more consistently.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I did!

To provide an update to my previous post about the half dollars, I got the box.  Sorting through the entire 1000 half dollars I found one 40% silver half dollar from 1967.  Finding some circulated silver was pretty exciting!  However, considering the amount of time it took to order, sort, and re-deposit the box, I don't think I will be doing this very often.

What I have found to be a much more productive way of finding silver below cost is picking around yard sales.  After a few weeks of doing that, I've managed to obtain several pieces of sterling and gold filled jewelry for well below their melt value.  In between the silver and gold finds I've also just found tons of random stuff that I've picked up for a buck or two and resold on ebay or craigslist.  There are some videos with my finds over at my youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/atherontube

Also in the news is this:
http://skewnews.com/penny-and-nickel-coins-to-be-phased-out-in-2013/

Pennies and nickels are going to be phased out of circulation.  This sounds like an opportunity to me!  Stacking up a few boxes of nickels and pennies might not be a bad idea.  Are you going to have to wait a long time to see the appreciation? Definitely.  However, we're talking a seriously low barrier of entry in both cash and time.  You can go grab a box of pennies at the bank for $25.  You don't even need to sort it.  If pennies are removed from circulation, I would imagine even zinc pennies will sell for a premium (although you'll probably have to wait a while).

Excited For My Box Of Half Dollars

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've begun doing some coin roll hunting lately. A few days ago I ordered my first box of half dollars from my bank, they should be arriving on Wednesday. I'm excited and looking forward to sorting through that box!

When I found out I wouldn't be able to get the halves until next week, I picked up a box of pennies to sate my appetite for coin hunting. Unfortunately, the penny box turned out to be first box I've gotten totally skunked on, with not even a single copper penny. I found this bizarre because the coins were bank rolled, in plastic wrappers. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that some other coin hunter deposited a large amount of zinc pennies and they were all rolled up together.

 Hopefully the box of halves will yield better results! I'll do a post with any finds after I finish the search.

For anyone getting started in coin roll hunting, the following article provides an excellent beginner's how-to guide 
http://www.treasurebarrel.com/199/coin-roll-hunting-crh-coin-collecting-tips/

Why The Ban On Melting Pennies Does Not Matter

Here is my take on why the legality of penny melting is unimportant.

Coin Roll Hunting

Lately I've been reading through some interesting threads over at the Coin Community Forums.  Of particular interest is a thread where people post their finds from hunting through rolls of half dollars.  Seems like people consistently find silver among halves, so I'm going to take a crack at it.  I am planning on heading to the bank this week to try and order my first $500 box of half dollars, hopefully I'll be posting some good finds of my own!

What is the value of a penny? You may be surprised!

If you've ever wondered what the value of a penny is, watch this video and what you learn may surprise you!