The Year’s First CRH (Coin Roll Hunt)

To start the new year, I just did a single roll of pennies. I haven’t set aside much time yet to go through numerous rolls, but I did have some fun at least getting one in.

My typical strategy is to go through the rolls looking for key dates (I should write a post on this eventually), and checking each penny for errors. So I’ll usually take my time, and put each penny under the microscope, just to be sure. I’ll typically compare finds to my red book a well, if I find anything interesting.

I know that this may vary from other collectors, and people will probably fly through rolls way faster than I will, but I am of the opinion that as a hobby, this is a marathon, not a sprint. I’m doing this for fun.

From there, I’ll compare anything interesting I find vs the ones I already have in my books. If I find one I like more, then the one in the book goes in the recycle jug, and the better one goes in the book. Wheat duplicates get kept in tube containers, or put in Air-Tites.

Coins that are “recycled” just get dropped off at the bank (or a Coinstar or similar machine, depending – though those fees are bogus), then the money received is exchanged for more rolls. With this method, the hobby nearly funds itself!

In total for this session, there were only two pennies I ended up keeping. The first was a beautiful Copper Large Date 1982-D, with a slight woodgrain effect. The photo looks a little creepy (Lincoln looks like the Terminator), and really doesn’t do it justice.

The second was a 1988-D that is in great shape, but has some interesting striations on it. I tried looking around to see what specifically these are (I’ve seen them before), but I couldn’t find a solid answer. I don’t think it’s been cleaned, but I obviously can’t be 100% sure. If you know, let me know in the comments!