Wheat Pennies, Buffalo Nickels and Silver Dollars: Common or Worth a Closer Look

Almost every family has a jar with wheat pennies in it, and plenty have a Buffalo nickel or an old silver dollar tucked in a drawer. These are some of the most familiar coins in American collecting, which is exactly why they cause so much confusion. Many of them are common. A few are worth a closer look. This guide won't put a price on anything, because that depends on the exact coin in your hand, but it will help you decide which pile a coin belongs in before you talk to anyone.

Wheat pennies: familiar, plentiful, and still fun

A wheat penny is a Lincoln cent with two stalks of wheat framing the words on the back. Folks saved them by the jarful, so finding a handful is no sign you've struck gold. What separates one from another is the date, the small mint mark letter under it, and how much of the original surface survives. Some date and mint combinations are scarcer than others, and a standard reference such as the Red Book lists which ones.

The practical advice is simple. Don't scrub them, don't sort them by shine, and set aside any with an unusual look: a doubled date, a hole, a strange color. Everything else can go in a coin folder for the pleasure of filling it. Plenty of collectors started that way.

Indian head cents: older and often worn

Before the Lincoln cent there was the Indian head cent, which shows a figure in a feathered headdress. These are older and smaller, and many have spent a long life in pockets, so smooth and dark examples are normal. A worn one still interests collectors, but the details they care about, like the date and any trace of the lettering, are easily destroyed by a rough cleaning. If the date is faint, leave it alone and let someone look at it under good light.

Buffalo nickels: the date wears off first

The Buffalo nickel carries a bison on the back and a portrait on the front. Its date sits on a raised spot that takes the most wear, so a great many surviving nickels have a blank patch where the year should be. A dateless nickel is a common find and a modest keepsake. A nickel with a clear date and a readable mint mark is a better candidate for a closer look. Because altered dates exist, a coin whose date looks too crisp for the rest of its wear is also worth showing to someone with a loupe.

Silver dollars: weight and size give the first clue

A true silver dollar is big and heavy in the hand. The types people most often find are Morgan dollars and Peace dollars, and both show up in old gift boxes, safe deposit boxes and the backs of dressers. Not everything dollar-sized is silver, though. Some later large dollars were made from other metals, so size alone doesn't settle the question.

Silver coins of other denominations from earlier decades also turn up in jars of change. Setting those aside for a look is wise, because they can carry value as metal, as collectibles, or both. Condition and demand make the difference between the two, and that is a judgment best made with the coin in front of you.

Five quick checks before a coin goes in the pile

• Is the date readable, and is there a small mint mark letter near it?
• Does the surface look natural, or bright and shiny with fine scratches that may point to cleaning?
• Is the coin bent, holed, cut or stuck to something?
• Did it come in an album, a certified holder or original packaging that someone chose carefully?
• Does it match the size and weight of other coins of the same type?

A yes to the first and fourth questions and a no to the others usually earns a coin a spot in the closer-look pile. Anything uncertain goes there too. It costs nothing to ask.

Common is not the same as worthless

A common coin can still be a good one to own. Filling an album with wheat pennies is a fine rainy-day project, and a child who sorts nickels by date learns more about history than most textbooks teach. The main thing is to avoid assuming the best or the worst before someone has looked. Both mistakes are expensive.

If you'd like a real answer on the coins from your jar, stop by Kansas Coin Connection at 846 Illinois Street, Suite C in Lawrence. Wheat pennies, Indian cents, Buffalo nickels, silver dollars and proof sets are all part of what the shop buys and sells, and free informal appraisals are on offer. Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 10 AM to 5 PM, with Monday, Friday and Saturday by appointment. Call (913) 426-2567 to arrange a time.