Top 10 Most Valuable US Coins Found in Pocket Change

This is taken from the About.com article written by Susan Headley.  Our own comments are in parentheses in this font.

There are a number of fairly valuable U.S. error coins and die varieties in circulation today. These coins are overlooked by people because they have small distinguishing characteristics, such as a modest doubling of the coin image, or minute differences in the size or spacing of the letters in the legends. Learn which of your pocket change coins is worth a large premium over face value, and why.

1. 1969-S Lincoln Cent With a Doubled Die Obverse
This coin is exceedingly rare. The early specimens were confiscated by the Secret Service until the U.S. Mint admitted they were genuine. Counterfeits abound, but usually have the wrong mint mark. 

How to Detect: Look for clear doubling of the entire obverse ("heads" side) except for the mint mark. If the mint mark is doubled, it is probably a case of strike doubling, rather than a doubled die, which isn't worth much. (Mint marks were punched in the dies separately in 1969, after the doubled die itself had already been made.)
(strike doubling is common, while a doubled die is scarce)
Approximate Value: Around $35,000 or more in EF-40 or so.

 2. 1970-S Small Date Lincoln Cent With a Doubled Die Obverse

As with virtually all true doubled die varieties, only one side of the coin shows doubling. If both sides exhibit doubling, the coin probably exhibits strike doubling instead, and is worth little.
How to Detect: The rarer Small Date variety is most easily distinguished from the common type by the weakness of LIBERTY. The Doubled Die Obverse is best demonstrated by doubling in LIB and IN GOD WE TRUST.
Approximate Value: Around $3,000 in EF-40 or so.

3. 1972 Lincoln Cent With a Doubled Die Obverse

The 1972 (no mint mark) Lincoln Cent doubled die variety shows strong doubling on all elements. The "Cherrypicker's Guide to Rare Die Varieties", which was an important source for this article, suggests using a "die marker" to help verify your finds. A die marker is a gouge or crack that identifies a particular die.
How to Detect: Clear doubling of all obverse elements; look for a tiny gouge near the edge above the D in UNITED as a die marker.
Approximate Value: About $500 in EF-40 or so.

4. 2004-D Wisconsin State Quarter With an Extra Leaf

Variety experts disagree about the cause and long-term value of this type, but I've included in the list because it is very findable in pocket change and worth hundreds of dollars right now.

How to Detect: There is some defect on the die that makes it appear as if there's an extra leaf on the lower left-hand side of the ear of corn on the reverse. The leaf is very clear. Known in two varieties, the High Leaf and the Low Leaf type.

Approximate Value: $200-$300 in MS-60 or so.

5. 1999 Wide "AM" Reverse Lincoln Cent

This variety is known for 3 dates, 1998, 1999, and 2000, with 1999 being by far the rarest. The mint erroneously used a proof die to strike normal circulation coins.
How to Detect: The AM in AMERICA on the reverse is clearly separated in the Wide variety. In the normal variety for these dates, the letters AM are very close or touching.
Approximate Value: $5 to $25 in circulated condition, $75 to $600 in MS-63 or better depending on color. 1999 brings the highest prices, with 2000 being second.

6. 1982 No Mint Mark Roosevelt Dime

At the point in time that these coins were made, the dies sent to the individual branch mints would be punched with the proper mint mark letter for that branch. This variety is believed to be caused because one or more non-punched dies were used to make coins. (The letter P was being used for Philadelphia on dimes at this time.)
How to Detect: The 1982 dime is missing a mint mark.
Approximate Value: About $30 to $50 in AU-50, more for higher grades.

7. Presidential Dollar Edge Lettering Errors

Ever since the first Presidential Dollar (the Washington Dollar issued in 2007) there have been errors associated with the lettering on the edge of these coins. In some cases it is missing entirely. In others, the edge lettering has been placed there multiple times.
How to Detect: Look at the edge. The inscription should appear fully incused all around the circumference of the coin. Missing or doubled inscriptions are rare and valuable.
Approximate Value: $50 to $3,000, depending on the President.

8. 1995 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent

This doubled die variety generated a lot of mainstream interest when it was featured as a cover story in USA Today. Specimens are still being found in circulation all the time!
How to Detect: Clear doubling in LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST.
Approximate Value: About $20 to $50 in Uncirculated condition.

9. Certain Uncirculated State Quarters

As the economy has worsened, people who have been hoarding rolls of State Quarters have been spending them into circulation. If you can put together whole rolls Uncirculated quarters of certain in-demand states, you can get as much as $50 per roll for them.
How to Detect: Demand changes from time-to-time based on major coin dealer promotions. Currently, look for Georgia, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Illinois. Quarters must be Uncirculated!
Approximate Value: $20 to $52 per roll for strictly Uncirculated rolls of certain states. For current updates, see the State Quarter Rolls Value Guide.

10. Silver Half Dollars

Most people think that the silver in U.S. coins ended in 1964, but this isn't true. The Half Dollar coin had silver in it until 1970. Many people spend the Half Dollars from 1965 to 1970, or sells them in rolls of halves they take to the bank, not realizing they are 40% silver.
How to Detect: If the Half Dollar is dated 1964 or earlier, it is 90% silver. Halves dated from 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver. You might also find silver Proof Half Dollars, which are 90% silver and dated to current. Silver Proof Halves have very shiny, mirror-like surfaces and there is no copper color when you view the edge.
Approximate Value: Value is based on silver spot price.

America The Beautiful Quarters

America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a multi-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and other national sites in each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories—Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, United States Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.  Under this program, five new reverse designs will appear on the quarter-dollar each year beginning in 2010 and through 2021.

For 2011, the coins will feature Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, Glacier National Park in Montana, Olympic National Park in Washington, Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi, and Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma..

Release dates for each of the issues are now also available. The dates listed below represent the official dates that the coins may be released into circulation.  Official launch ceremonies for each quarter have usually been held on or shortly after the circulation release date, at the park or a related location.

The following information about individual quarters was taken from the US Mint site:

The Gettysburg National Military Park quarter is the first to be released in 2011. The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War, the Union victory in the summer of 1863 that ended General Robert E. Lee's second and most ambitious invasion of the North. Often referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy," it was among the war's bloodiest battles, with 51,000 casualties. It also provided President Abraham Lincoln with the setting for his most famous address. It was the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, a group of concerned citizens, that first set out in 1864 to preserve the battlefield as a memorial to the Union troops who fought there. The park is well-known for its many monuments and memorials, the majority of which were placed by veterans of the battle. On February 11, 1895, the battlefield was transferred to the federal government as Gettysburg National Military Park (28 Stat. 651).

The reverse image depicts the 72^nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, which is located on the battle line of the Union Army at Cemetery Ridge. Inscriptions are GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM.

The Glacier National Park quarter is the second to be released in 2011. The park is named for its prominent glacier-carved terrain and remnant glaciers descended from the ice age of 10,000 years ago. Glacial forces, ancient seas, geologic faults and uplifting all combined to create some of the most spectacular scenery on earth. Known to the Blackfeet as the "Backbone of the World," Glacier National Park preserves more than 1 million acres of forests, alpine meadows, lakes, rugged peaks and glacially carved valleys in the Northern Rocky Mountains. These lands were first set aside as a national reserve on February 22, 1897 (29 Stat. 907).

The reverse image depicts a classic view of the northeast slope of Mount Reynolds towering in the distance, while a mountain goat clamors over the rocky slopes of the park's high country. Inscriptions are GLACIER, MONTANA, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Glacier National Park.

The Olympic National Park quarter is the third to be released in 2011. From glistening tidepools to glacier-capped peaks, Olympic National Park protects more than 70 miles of Pacific Ocean beaches and, less than 33 miles away, the glacier-capped 7,980-foot summit of Mount Olympus that is the heart of the Olympic range. The park consists of coastline, rugged peaks, meadows and lakes, scattered forests and steep forested slopes ending in broad, U-shaped valleys. Geology, climate, isolation, history and sheer size mean this nearly 1 million-acre park protects relatively intact ecosystems, making it a priceless living laboratory and a home for plants and myriad species of animals large and small. It was first established as a national site on February 22, 1897 (29 Stat. 901).

The reverse image depicts a Roosevelt elk standing on a gravel river bar of the Hoh River with a view of Mount Olympus in the background. Inscriptions are OLYMPIC, WASHINGTON, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Olympic National Park.

The Vicksburg National Military Park quarter is the fourth released in 2011. The park commemorates one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War — the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg, Miss. Surrender on July 4, 1863, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, La., split the South, giving control of the Mississippi River to the North. The museum exhibits at the park depict the hardships of civilians and soldiers during the devastating 47-day siege of the city. More than 1,350 monuments, a national cemetery and the restored Union ironclad gunboat, the U.S.S. Cairo, mark the 16-mile tour road. The U.S.S. Cairo was the first warship sunk by an electronically detonated "torpedo," which ushered in a new age of naval warfare. Vicksburg was first established as a national site on February 21, 1899 (30 Stat. 841).

The reverse image depicts the U.S.S. Cairo on the Yazoo River as it would have been seen when it served the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. Inscriptions are VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Vicksburg National Military Park.

http://www.usacoinbuyers.com/

http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com/

The Chickasaw National Recreation Area quarter is the fifth released in 2011 and the 10th overall in the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program. The 7th national park established in the U.S., the park is unique in that it was founded through the support of an Indian tribe, the Chickasaw Nation. Chickasaw National Recreation Area exists as a part of the national park system to provide for the protection of the area's unique resources, springs, streams, lakes and other natural features; to protect and interpret its cultural history, historic landscapes and structures; to commemorate the Chickasaw Nation; and to provide for public education, appreciation and recreational use and enjoyment of those resources. It was originally established as a national site on July 1, 1902 (32 Stat. 641).

The reverse image depicts the Lincoln Bridge, built of limestone and dedicated in 1909 to celebrate the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The bridge is the first constructed improvement in the national recreation area and a favorite scenic spot. Inscriptions are CHICKASAW, OKLAHOMA, 2011 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Design candidates were developed in consultation with representatives of Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

Proof Sets

What is the difference between the United States Mint Proof Set and the United States Mint Silver Proof Set?



Both coin sets use the same "proof" manufacturing process, and both contain the same number of coins. However, the United States Mint Proof Set is made with the same metal alloys that the United States Mint uses to produce coins for general circulation.

The Roosevelt dime, Kennedy half-dollar, and the quarters contained in the United States Mint Silver Proof Set are minted in 90% silver alloy.



SILVER Proof Set

http://www.usacoinbuyers.com/

http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com/



Satin Finish Mint Sets

Here is a great article we found on http://coinblog.org/:


The United States Mint has indicated that the "satin finish" will no longer be used for the annual Uncirculated Mint Set. This finish had been used for the sets since 2005. From 2011, a brilliant finish will be used.
The satin finish has a frosted look that is created by sandblasting the coin dies and burnishing the coin blanks. This created coins that were potentially in higher grades, provided they were not covered by contact or handling marks.
For some years such as 2005, higher grades are abundant. However, in the past two years, more often than not coins could not achieve the highest grades due to the aforementioned contact marks.
With the change, registry set collections will have less coins to worry about finding each year. Some interesting subsets are also created, consisting of satin finish coins issued from 2005 to 2010. Personally, I had been working on a satin finish Presidential Dollars Set. Now, I will try to complete this collection in earnest.
The scheduled release date for the 2011 Mint Set is February 8, 2011. This will be many months earlier than the release date set for the 2010 Mint Set.

http://www.usacoinbuyers.com/

http://www.bjstampsandcoins.com/