Handsorting + errors = time so....

[atticus]

I'm convinced that we sorters are driven more by compulsion here than anything. For me as a relatively part time hand sorter, I find myself driven by what I might find in the "next" roll, the "next" handful that I pull from the bag. For those with a Ryedale, I assume you might get the same feeling through looking through what just came from the batch you just ran etc. As an example, I get a buzz from every pre 96 Canadian that I find, since they ended the cent, just thinking that there's sort of a finality to them. "They're not getting this one", I sometimes actually say out loud. Some, including me, get the same feeling with wheats, no matter how many we run across in a given batch, or how many we "know" we'll get in the next batch.

I find, lately, that I'm having a hard time with my zincolns in that it's constantly in the back of my mind that I could be "throwing away" even a $1 cent, if not something worth much more. Every time I find a dime in a CWR, I think, "there was an easy 9 cents".

The problem is that, as a handsorter, I'm somewhat obliged to rifle through a box or bag, and sort of rely on my culls to fund my next box or bag. This hardly allows me to set aside a large amount of cents to "go through later", if there is such a time. hahaha. Additionally, I still have enough common sense, I think, to realize that the odds of finding even a $1 error is pretty low, and yet... I can't contain the feeling that every cent I toss into the reject pile might just net me a few dollars or even tens of dollars.

Can anyone relate to this? Any suggestions, or tips, or therapeutics? hahaha

Atticus

[thripp]

Yes, I feel like this with wheat pennies, since it is not worthwhile to go through all the coppers from the Ryedale to find the wheats when they are only worth about four cents each to me... I am better off just doing more halves for silver. But I think I may have lost some double die zincolns or other valuable errors since I never go through them.

[RichardPenny43]

I love seeing the wheats drop from the Ryedale and snatching them up before they get burried in the pile.
Zincs don't thrill me at all. I can't wait to dump them, get cash, buy more boxes.

[scyther]

I also feel a compulsion to keep sorting more and more for stuff I know I won't find. For me it's wheats to complete my collection. I know I'd have to sort probably millions of dollars in pennies to do it, but I just keep wanting to find more older wheats. I don't check for errors; it's far too time consuming considering the unlikelihood of finding anything.

[DuckTales253]

I am definitely driven by some compulsion. I love hand sorting through the rolls, especially since I have been finding 25% copper in every batch lately, and at least one wheat cent in every roll. I often think about going through my full copper rolls and sorting them by date and mintmark, for no other reason than the fun of organizing them. Yes, fun! My wheat cents are sorted by decade, but I would also like to go through them sometime with a magnifying loupe and look for errors. Not so much on the zincs. They bore me and I toss them aside without a thought.

[shinnosuke]

atticus, thank you for a very well written post describing most of us. Well, all of us, really. There are still some deniers among the membership, ha!

When I have pennies to run through the Ryedale, I am slightly agitated when I can't get right to them due to my workload or family obligations. Always certain I'll find a few good wheats or get a great return on my money when a dime shows up...just like you described. Pure enjoyment.

[NHsorter]

atticus, thank you for a very well written post describing most of us. Well, all of us, really. There are still some deniers among the membership, ha!

When I have pennies to run through the Ryedale, I am slightly agitated when I can't get right to them due to my workload or family obligations. Always certain I'll find a few good wheats or get a great return on my money when a dime shows up...just like you described. Pure enjoyment.

+1 to this. And to DuckTales post as well. Glad to know that I am not alone in this respect. Even though it is on such a small scale, there is just something great about pulling value out of something like this. Getting a dime for a penny! Getting $12 worth of silver for $0.50! Finding a penny on the ground at the gas station! The joy!!!

[hammerrob]

As a handsorter it bugged me that 70% of the pennies I was touching were automatically total rejects, so I decided to start looking for the the 92/98/99/00 "Close/Wide AM" varieties. No way I was going to take the time to check all the variety/error possibilities, but this is pretty manageable. I've found 3 so far!

[spacemanX]

i too handsort, and set aside a few coins to look for errors. 2009 seated on log, 1972, and 1960p&d. i have had success and found 3 error 2009's.
as has already been stated, i enjoy finding wheats especially early ones, older canadian, and the dimes. it amazes me the CWR's and what is in them including occasional person who can't count. life is good!

just wish i could be able to get some reasonable money for the coppers.

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Wait until you find a GOOD ($$$) error or variety. As a die-hard handsorter, I struggled hard when I rented out a Ryedale from TXBullion. I made a few half-ass attempts to look for goodies in zinc and copper. It was really hard knowing some real decent returns were being ignored. Time, time, and more time is the issue! I have been lucky enough to have found 2 1999 WAMs. Both in great condition considering it's age and zinc composition. I sold one for $175. That's a decent return for a penny but that took time to find! I still have the other. I've sold "cuds" for $30. Lamination peels for $20. Double dies (minor ones) for $10. Repunched mintmarks for $10. Clipped and blank planchants for $5 or more. Off-set dies for $5 and up. The returns are there.......but it takes time.

As for wheats, they have a way of standing out most of the time! But just pulling them out takes time!

I will slowly start hand-sorting again as the snow starts to pile up....but not just yet!

[cesariojpn]

If we can build a Ryedale, whats stopping someone from making a machine that can date sort coins with high speed cameras and such? The diamond industry uses similar tech to sort diamonds from junk tailings.

[Sheba]

I too am a 'hand sorter' and don't do large amounts. But I continually look for 83 & 84 DD errors, as well as the wide 'AMs'. Also, if something turns up like a blank planchet, off center strike, cuds, etc., I hope to be able to see them. Have a few, but nothing spectacular.

I know there are a lot more errors worth looking for, but I stick to the main ones that are fairly easy to detect. (Still looking for a 1972 DD )

I've found several 98 and 2000 wide AMs, but haven't as yet, run across any 99 wide AMs. I have found 2 1984 DDs, one in bad condition, but still got $30.00 for it and the other in much better condition. I sold it to the LCS, but had I sold it on the 'bay' or better yet, on this forum, probably would have done much better price wise! That's been about 3 years ago.

Just recently found a 1921 S ... now I have only 13 more dates to find and I will have a complete Lincoln (to date) set (minus some of the really expensive errors like the 55 DD. Its fun and relaxing, even though I don't go through too many at a time. Anyone know where I can find a 'wild' 09 S VDB or a 14D or a few others like that

As others have said ... "just sort more"

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Just sort......more often!