Remember to Check the Reject Bins

While going through our home change cup in preparation for a nickel-dime poker game, I dropped a dime and heard the unmistakably lighter “ding” of silver. It was a 1954-S Roosevelt, somewhere between VG and F. The dime didn’t make it to the poker game; I was already a buck or two ahead.

Patrick Martin

St. Louis, Mo.

I started collecting coins in 1955 and I’m still active.

Here is my “Coin Find”:

In 1970, we were helping an older lady friend clean out her storage room. There was a very old trunk in the room. As we were cleaning out the trunk, we found a small leather pouch. In the pouch we found a dozen coins. We showed the coins to our friend, and she said to keep the coins, she did not want them. In this little leather bag, there was the following coins:

1. 1901 Lesher Silver Referendum Dollar, Slusher EF-48

2. Cripple Creek Newport Saloon 2 1/2 cent Trade Token

3. Cripple Creek W.M. Baer Bar 12 1/2 cents Trade Token

4. 1857 Flying Eagle cent VG-8

5. 1882 Seated Liberty Half Dime AG-3

6. 1901 Indian Head cent UNC RB, Mounted in a 50 cent size Alum. Trade Disk that says for White Water Soap

7. 1917-S Lincoln cent VF-25

8. Leopold Konig Coin, size of a dime, Good

9. 1875 Deutcher Reich Pfennig AG

10. 1885 1K 11 Oester Reichische Soheidemve

11. 1890 10 Centavos Republic of Mexico VG

12. 1894 Regno D’Italia 20 Centesima VF

These coins are still together in their little leather pouch.

Name and Address withheld

I love your column! My daughter has had a lot of really cool coin finds with CoinStar machines. Her latest was a 1960 Washington quarter and a 1964 Roosevelt dime. Coin collecting will always be fun with a purpose for me!

Phil H.

Lady Lake Fla.

My Husband thinks that I look like a bum when I check the reject bins of the CoinStar machines when we’re shopping for groceries, but I do it anyways. I hit the motherlode recently, and even he was impressed!

My handful of coins included: A Canadian toonie, 1951 George VI Canadian silver ten cents (VG), 1942 Mercury dime (VG), 2 1959 silver dimes (one VF, the other EF), 1961-D silver dime (VF), 1964 silver dime (EF), 1937 Buffalo Nickel (VF), 1936 Buffalo Nickel (F), 1918 Buffalo Nickel (G), 1944-P Silver Nickel (F), 1940-S Nickel (VF), 1946 Nickel (VF), 1947 Wheat Penny (VF), 1960-D Small Date Cent (EF), and 40 cents spending money!

Needless to say, I’ll continue to check the reject bins at the CoinStar machines!

Name and Address withheld

Several years ago I was buying bank rolls of original, uncirculated, unsearched Lincoln cents, looking for repunched mintmarks. I was having especially good luck finding 1960-D RPM’s. The last batch of ten rolls was very good to me!. I found TEN 1960-D with a small date over the large date variety. I sent them all in for certification and they are MS-66 to MS-64 except for one. Their current value adds up to just over $3,000! They cost me about $3.50 per roll. Unfortunately, the company that I bought them from is now out of business.

Robert Umbarger

Munroe Falls Ohio

Recently while metal detecting in the playground of a local school yard I made three good circulation finds. The first was a 2015 P Eisenhower dollar (not the first one of these I have found). Next up was a 2020 W Marsh Billings quarter. The final and most unusual find was a 2019 D Delaware innovations dollar. I never expected to find one of these as they have not been issued for circulation. The only reason I can think of for one of the innovation dollars being lost is that a teacher bought some to use as awards.

Evan Lay

Denver, Colo.

It has been a long time since finding anything in change, particularly when I use credit cards for most purchases. However, I recently paid cash for breakfast at a local Denny’s. I got 56 cents in change and immediately noticed a worn Jefferson Nickel. 1940. My first thoughts wee that this nickel is 82 years old, was minted as Hitler was conquering Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. The Battle of Britain was occurring. My late father was 18 and my late mother was 15. If that nickel could talk, it would have a lot of stories to tell.

Name and Address withheld