Mighty Bargain Hunter

Check your change!

February 28th, 2007 | by mbhunter |

And not just to make sure that the cashier gave you the right amount back for your purchase!

It doesn’t happen very often, but the change you get back could be worth more than face value — sometimes a little, sometimes a lot — because the last person who spent the money didn’t recognize its real value.

Some of the treasures you might run across if you do a quick scan for them:

• Wheat cents.  Lincoln cents minted from 1909 to 1958, before the reverse was modified to the current design in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.  Wheat ears and “ONE CENT” in the upper half of the reverse characterized the design.  Copper pennies in general are relatively scarce, so these are pretty infrequent now.  Pre-WWII wheat cents have a book value of at least ten cents in most conditions.  Some are worth much more.
• Error coins.  Double-die, off-center, and mis-stamped coins are worth a great deal more than face value because many error coins were never put into circulation.  The 1955 wheat cent is a more well-known example of a double-die.
• Limited mintage varieties.  The Wisconsin quarter “extra-leaf” designs have a mintage of only a few thousand.  These are worth a hundred dollars or more.
• Silver coins.  Dimes, quarters, and half-dollars minted in 1964 and earlier were 90% silver.  The melt value of these coins is about ten times their face value.  (I’ve found a couple of silver dimes in the past few months, so they do exist!)  Kennedy half-dollars minted between 1965 and 1970 were silver clad (40% silver).  The melt value of these coins are worth about four times face value now.  When I go to our credit union I usually ask for “funny money” like dollar coins and half dollars.  I’ve scored a few clad half dollars that way.
• Buffalo and Liberty “V” nickels.  My wife found a “V” nickel in her change a while back.  These were minted between 1883 and 1913.  Buffalo nickels were minted from 1913 to 1938.  These are worth about a buck or so at least.
• Foreign coins.  Canadian coins are pretty well-mixed-in near the Canadian border.  (Not in Virginia though — my credit union wouldn’t take them!)  I found a 1967 Dominican Republic 25 centavo coin (which I’m still not sure whether it’s silver or not, since they changed the composition during that year).  We’ve also run across some European coins.  These might or might not be worth more than face value but they’re cool conversation pieces.
• Copper cents.  Pre-1982 Lincoln cents are 95% copper, which has risen dramatically in price.  I separate them out as I find them (I have about $4 now).  I don’t know whether they’ll ever be worth a lot more than face value but they’re starting to become “good money” like silver dimes have.  Your mileage may vary.
• Old or rare bills.   If you run across $2 bills, the ones with the red seal are more valuable.  $1 Silver certificates might be worth a few times face value depending on the condition.

One thing I haven’t started doing is going to the credit union to withdraw large amounts of change at once.   They’re good about counting change for free once in a while, but I’m afraid that if it starts getting abused the free counting could go away.  A friend from my home town regularly withdraws hundreds of dollars of halves at a time, sorts through them for silver or clad coins, and takes most of them back.  I’m afraid that would get really old really fast.  Some banks already charge a “box fee” if someone wants to withdraw a full $25 box of pennies because it’s nothing but an expense for the bank to supply these coins and take back the ones that the customer doesn’t want.

Anyway, if nothing else, checking your change is really cheap entertainment.

Anyone found any valuable treasures in their change?